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Meg Ryan and Logan Paul discuss how celebrity-brand collaborations have evolved over the years

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By Minda Smiley | Reporter

September 28, 2016 | 4 min read

During a panel at Advertising Week New York, actress Meg Ryan and social media star Logan Paul discussed how celebrity-brand tie-ups have evolved over the years and what the implications are for marketers.

Meg Ryan and Logan Paul

Meg Ryan and Logan Paul

Paul, whose wacky videos have garnered him more than 9m followers on Vine, millions of YouTube views and 6.5m Instagram followers, has worked with a number of big brands since entering the spotlight roughly three years ago. He starred in a campaign for Hanes in 2014, and last year fronted a social campaign for Dunkin’ Donuts to promote the coffee chain’s app. Recently, he partnered with Bic Razors for the brand’s ‘#SmoothUp’ campaign.

He also submitted a video called ‘Paranormal Snacktivity’ to Doritos’ ‘Crash The Super Bowl’ contest last year, and while the video didn’t end up winning, the ad has more than one million views on YouTube.

During the panel, Paul told the audience that every single piece of branded content he has done has “demolished,” which he joked has led him to employ a “hard to get” strategy when it comes to working with brands since so many have reached out to him.

“They’ve got to align with my goals as an entertainer and also my voice,” he said. “As long as brands just trust me and let me do my thing, [they] will get the views and the exposure. If I’m organic and I can grow as a creator because of my branded content, that’s amazing.”

Commenting on today’s frenzied ad landscape where brands are employing everyone from A-list celebrities to up-and-coming influencers to star in campaigns, Ryan said that the deals of today are a far cry from what she experienced when she first became famous in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“When I first started out, you wouldn’t be caught dead doing a commercial in America. So it’s a radical difference. This is such a new world for me,” she said, adding that in the ‘90s, actors were accused of being sell-outs if they went to a country like Japan to star in a commercial.

While Paul said that having to include things like ‘#ad’ in sponsored posts can be a red flag for some of his fans, he said the awkwardness surrounding that issue can be overcome if followers feel as though the videos are still authentic despite being branded.

"It's rough cause it is sort of a turn-off," he said. "But you can get over that. If your content is good, then you’re fine."

Influencers Youtube Advertising

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