Hertz and OJ Simpson
Not long after OJ Simpson broke the NFL rushing record, he had gained popularity in not only football but also as a celebrity in advertising. Hertz believed OJ Simpson would be the ideal star for their 1978 commercial, and they were right about the effects it would have on their company– in the year that the Rent-A-Car advertisement aired, utilizing Simpson as a figure who epitomized speed, the net profits of Hertz rose 50%.
Simpson’s appearance in this advertisement was a significant moment regarding race in the American advertising industry. A source from Ted Bates & Co., which was the advertising agency used by Hertz at the time of the OJ Simpson partnership, states that Frank Olson, chairman and chief executive of Hertz “is a cautious businessman and this was a big deal at the time to make a black man the corporate symbol for what was essentially a white company,” but he “knew that people thought of O.J. Simpson as O.J. Simpson, not O.J. Simpson, the black athlete." Further, UC Berkeley professor Harry Edwards explains the impact, stating, "O.J. was the first to demonstrate that white folks would buy stuff based on a black endorsement -- as long as it was not pressed as a black endorsement.”
The success of the Hertz advertisement starring OJ Simpson emphasized the idea, held by many people, that OJ transcended race. One component of the appeal of the commercial to white people was that the company made sure the other actors in the commercial, exclaiming their support for Simpson as he ran through the airport, were white.
Hertz benefited greatly from the partnership with OJ Simpson, becoming 35% more favorable among customers and gaining $42.2 million in profits. Simpson was initially paid $175,000 for his involvement in the first commercials he filmed with Hertz, over nine days in 1975, and he eventually signed a deal to continue the partnership with Hertz, in which he would be paid $200,000 a year for three years. Simpson has also associated Hertz with boosting his acting career.
I for some reason liked these commercials haha. OJ's popularity and hero image also helped the success of other businesses such as (ironically) the Bruno Magli "ugly ass shoes" that cost OJ Simpson millions and millions of dollars in the civil trial. After the shoes were brought up in the trial and he was convicted. The sales of Bruno Magli's shot up 30% in the next year. It is quite unfortunate that such a superstar and role model for kids had to commit these murders. It seemed he was clearly portraying a positive role on society.
ReplyDeleteThe tactics used in the Hertz commercial were very smart, when putting the company's success into perspective. The fact that there was not one African american person in sight aside from OJ was very interesting when watching it today, because the goal of the sellers was to appeal to the white race and the white race only. Also, the interactions between OJ and a few of the white people gave the illusion that OJ was not in fact black, but transcended race. Which blinded the people from the reality of his skin color.
ReplyDeleteit's really crazy how fast OJ got fame in a short amount of time and he got offered to be in so many commercials and he was loved by many white people and they didn't see the color of his skin but they saw hoe great of a person he was and so many people idolized him. Hertz commercial was a great commercial and they made the right chice to use him in the commercial and we can see that Hertz gained so much after that because they saw OJ in the commercial.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that OJ was so successful with this commercial and was offered the part in the first place shows the tremendous amount of respect and love the public had for him. Although Hertz clearly tried their best to separate him from being African American as best as possible in the commercials, he still got the job and made a significant impact on their sales. This helps give us an image of why he had so many supporters during the trial because he already had so much love and respect that people believed there was no way he did it, or the people who thought there was a possibility suppressed these thoughts. The reason behind this was explained by one of the jurors which was that it was easier to believe that a killer came and murdered Nicole and Goldman instead of their hero OJ, having committed the heinous crime.
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