Julia Vorbeck and Isabella Kostik
The Southern Editor and Staff Writer
Celebrity marketing collabs have been taking over recently. Everywhere you look, there’s another “unexpected” pairing: Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle, KATSEYE x Gap, Benson Boone x Google Maps (yes, I’m shocked too), Taylor Swift’s engagement conveniently lining up with the NFL season and her album rollout and even e.l.f. cosmetics teaming up with comedian Matt Rife.
Let’s start with the obvious: celebrity collabs get attention. According to Forbes Magazine, Sydney Sweeney’s campaign with American Eagle literally sent their stocks soaring after the ad campaign dropped and then shortly after plummeted. She wore the brand’s clothing, read a questionable script that somehow involved genetics and brought attention to American Eagle in a way they hadn’t received in years.
And then there’s Benson Boone with Google Maps. On paper, it makes zero sense that the “Moonbeam Icecream Man” is now telling me where my exit is. Yeah, no thanks. But it isn’t really about maps; it’s about making a boring product “cool” by attaching a rising star to it. Google knows Boone’s fans will repost and share this collab, even if they never actually use the service. It’s less about selling something new and more about keeping the brand in conversation.
The connection between a celeb and a brand really matters. When it feels authentic, it works. When it doesn’t, it can flop hard. An example of a successful celebrity marketing campaign is the collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan. With Jordan looking to have a signature product to help expand his name out of the sports world and Nike wanting to enter the basketball market, the two parties were able to help each other out by collaborating on the Air Jordan.
While having Jordan’s name attached to the product definitely helped with sales, the shoe was able to make an even bigger name for itself by playing off of an NBA controversy. After Jordan wore the black and red Air Jordan 1’s to a preseason game, the NBA sent a letter to Nike stating that the shoes violated league policy and that it would result in a $5000 fine per game. Nike chose to use this to their advantage by agreeing to pay the fines and incorporating the shoe’s controversial nature into its marketing.
In one commercial appropriately titled “Banned,” the voice over stated: “On Sept. 15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On Oct. 18, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t keep you from wearing them. Air Jordans. From Nike.” This campaign was a contributing factor that allowed the shoes to bring in $70 million in sales within the first two months of release. By the end of its first year, the Air Jordan 1’s had earned $126 million in sales, far exceeding Nike’s $3 million three-year projection.
The e.l.f. x Matt Rife collaboration, on the other hand, is a campaign that left many fans confused. Rife is a comedian that oftentimes uses women as the punchline of his jokes alongside other questionable jokes that only get laughs from misogynistic men.
So why would a makeup company whose consumers are predominantly women hire him as a spokesperson? Instead of generating a boost in sales and attention for both parties, all this partnership led to was awkward headlines and mixed reactions online.
The bigger picture here is that celebrity collabs aren’t really about the product. They’re about cultural relevance. Brands know that in a world where everyone scrolls past ads in half a second, the only way to stand out is to create a moment. Whether it’s a shocking image, a weird pairing or piggybacking off a celebrity’s personal life (like the whole Swifty debacle with Travis Kelce and the NFL), the goal is to spark conversation. If people are talking, reposting, or arguing about it online, the brand wins.
At the end of the day, celebrity-brand tie-ins are here to stay. They create buzz, they spike short-term sales and they give brands cultural clout. But this isn’t a guaranteed formula for success. Some collaborations are strategic and fun, while others are forgettable, or worse, awkward mismatches that leave everyone wondering, “Why did this even happen?”
In the age of social media noise and savvy consumers, authenticity wins. Brands must be more creative than celebrity-powered. They need campaigns built on meaningful narrative and shared values in order to promote real and genuine audience engagement.
