lucrative deals

Just one example of a lucrative business endorsement is that of "Gary Linekar, he was paid £1.5m for a five year contract with Walkers, and Charlotte Church recently became another crisps-crunching high earner, signing a £100,000 contract to star alongside him. " (http://education.independent.co.uk/magazines/article1204381.ece)
By putting their face in connection with a product, they are giving that product a new dimension, a personality. They give the consumer something to identify and relate to.

When choosing the celebrity to front your brand, one must be careful of what that celebrity brings to the brand. Because all they are famous for, the good and the bad, are automatically associated with whatever product they are advertising. For example Charlotte Church. Her association with Walkers makes very good business sense, among many things, she is known for her curvaceous figure. And in this age of the size 0 model, it is quite refreshing to see someone of normal size, who is till successful. This element of normality makes Charlotte Church a very realistic role model, some one that consumers can aspire to be like and could actually be like her in reality. the fact that she is shown to be eating and enjoying these crisps, makes them not a food product to feel guilty about buying but something to enjoy. She certainly appeals to the female market, just as Gary Linekar appeals to the male. A middle aged man, who is still famous even after his football career has long been over. Two very realistic celebrities, which both young and older, bring certain elements to Walkers not previously had by the brand.
"The relationship between the consumer and the brand, or more precisely the consumer's perception of that brand, is key to the brands acceptance"( Hawkinson/Cowking:1993:3).
This quote shows the importance of making the business or corporation look as good as possible, as their image is the main thing that sells their product.

It is not just about contracts however, there are also other ways to get celebrities to front your product.
The good old fashioned goodie bag is a guaranteed way to persuade celebrities nad other high profile people to wear/eat/drink your product. The bag consists of freebies, basically and Can usually be found at most award ceremonies, and high profile events. According to the guardian online, the Oscars in 2005 had goodie bags worth £78.000! The gifts include holidays, mini breaks, i pods, clothes, jewellery, food etc. "Really, it's a business transaction," Karen Wood, president of gift company Backstage Creations, said. "It's not that the companies feel celebrities can't afford it. They are the trendsetters and can make the difference for a product."(http://film.guardian.co.uk/oscars2005/story/0,15583,1425847,00.html)This demonstrates the thinking behind this gift giving which has now become a tradition. IT is not done out of the kindness of any ones hearts, it is carefully thought out , products are carefully picked, as are the celebrities. Its really a win win situation, the celebrities get the goodies and the manufacturers/corporations get the recognition of participating in such endeavours, and the chance to say that a celebrity owns or uses their product.
Gifts are given in the hope that the high profile person will be photographed with the companies product. One photograph on the cover of a magazine can prove to very lucrative. The celebrities end up endorsing the product without the manufacturer paying the endorsement fee.