There's an interesting Page One article in The Wall Street Journal about how large companies are dealing with unwanted celebrity endorsers. Specifically, the story outlines how Kendra Wilkinson, a Playboy centerfold and reality television star on Hugh Hefner's "Girl Next Door," frequently extols the virtures of Olive Garden without any form of compensation. For instance, she recently returned from Italy and declared that the food there is no match for Olive Garden.
Olive Garden is struggling with how to deal with this unsolicited endorsement. In the aforementioned Wall Street Journal Article Michel Kay, executive vice president of WPP Group's Grey advertising firm, which handles the Olive Garden account, said, "I don't feel comfortable talking about this...because it is a complicated issue for the brand." Clearly, the company is trying to walk a fine line with its response, believing that it must maintain the chain's wholesome image without alienating potential customers.
Olive Garden is missing a golden opportunity when it comes to Wilkinson's spontaneous endorsement. Will families actually stop going to Olive Garden because a Playboy centerfold loves the restaurant? I can't imagine this happening - especially since Olive Garden isn't paying a penny for the endorsement. But, surely a lot of young women who aspire to be models or guys who admire centerfolds might look at Olive Garden in a completely different and favorable way knowing that Wilkinson loves the restaurant.
Growing up, many of us learned that the best way to deal with compliment is simply to say thank you. If Olive Garden simply took this approach Wilkinson's praise would likely continue generating positive buzz for the restaurant. However, by failing to to express gratitude for her praise, Olive Garden is giving Wilkinson good reason to stop being the company's most visible booster and throwing away an opportunity to continue making introads into a demographic group that hasn't exactly flocked to the chain.
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