Everyone knows Liam Neeson is a hunk. Turns out, he’s a hunk of product-pushing celebrity endorsement power, too.
Ratings form Nielsen discovered this fact when it recently studied celebrities who have made commercials during the first three months of the year. Nielsen rated them using a specially designed calculation accounting for a variety of factors including likability, public awareness, and influence.
The rankings, called “N-Scores,” indicate Neeson and Pierce Brosnan have identical scores of 94. Neeson, however, was judged to exert a greater influence in actually moving products.
It’s a new sideline for the company historically known for its market-influencing ratings for television.
“Besides attaching scores to celebrity endorsers, Nielsen intends to offer marketers detailed information about the personalities and habits of people who respond well to each celebrity so they can better match pitchmen and products,” according to a story in the Bennington Banner.
“Neeson, who has been featured in an ad for Supercell Games, is viewed positively by 78 percent of Americans who know him, Nielsen said. Brosnan and Matthew McConaughey, both featured in car commercials recently, also scored well in Nielsens’ measurement.”
Other star-powered pitchmen singled out by the rankings? Jeff Bridges was a stand-out, as were Jennifer Garner, Natalie Portman, Sofia Vergara, Jim Parsons, Dennis Haysbert, and J.K. Simmons.
