THE CREDIBILITY THAT MADE CONSUMERS' SCALP ITCH

"but either way, we know the answer is Clear"

-Cruz on Clear TV Ad

"pero know that found the Best? I will never change."

- Cruz on Head and Shoulders TV Ad

Last night I was shocked when I saw John Lloyd Cruz, a popular actor in the Philippines, in the commercial of Head and Shoulders (H&S). What’s shocking about it? As I remembered, Cruz was a former endorser of Clear, the archrival H&S.

Clear vs H&S

Since the launch of Clear in the previous years, it had some hard competition with H&S. Both of the brands’ television campaigns swarmed each family’s household through television.

Clear then had Cruz and Bea Alonso, while H&S had Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin. Certainly, those pairs were the hottest love teams at that time, until Clear shifted to Piolo Pascual, Dingdong Dantes, and Gerard Anderson while H&S remains loyal with Locsin.

The Real Message of the Ad

So what’s the message of the advertisement? As a consumer, Cruz’s message is “hey, I’ve tried Clear, and it didn’t work for me, that’s why I tried H&S. Apparently, it’s good, or perhaps better”.

If all consumers who saw the ad thinks or see the message like I did. Perhaps they were all be persuaded. But what if they also know my other thought on this commercial?

Credibility on Ads

Credibility on TV Ads’ endorsers is one of the useful tactics in promoting a product. This is an assertion based on experience and opinion.

Who would forget Sharon Cuneta sticking with Mc Donald’s all throught out? It is same as with Aga Muhlach in Jollibee. Perhaps, Jollibee did find a worthy replacement for Muhlac in the personality of Sarah Geronimo, but then Muhlac did not transfer to its rival fast food chain. Instead, he rendered his graceful exit.

So what can be the impact of the Ad on Cruz’s credibility as endorser? As media student before, I see the ad as a lack of credibility on Cruz. As a media literate person, I see the message of Cruz in the Ad as “I endorsed Clear before and I told you that the product is good. Now I’m switching to Head and Shoulders because Clear have new endorsers”.

Perhaps it’s a plus point on H&S that they got the endorser of their rival, endorsing in their side. But, for Cruz? I don’t actually know. Cruz is now endorsing a fruit drink, which happens to have another rival. Now in Cruz’s case, I won’t be surprise if in a month or in a year, I’ll be seeing Cruz in the rival fruit drink TV ad, making his message as an endorser in a product less credible.

Cruz's Clear Ad

Cruz's H&S Ad