For a new, global television ad to celebrate its 60th birthday, Adidas has hired a host of stars to pretend to meet at a house party. It’s no surprise that the guest list includes David Beckham, now as famous for his endorsements as his football. Nor, considering the sportswear maker’s long relationship with rappers, hip-hop royalty Missy Elliott and Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels. You can even understand how the USA-based Brit Estelle blagged an invite. But who are those scruffy scamps smearing paint on the walls? Despite their music being featured on an iPod ad last year, few outside Britain will recognise the Ting Tings. Even to those who do, the Manchester duo have the air of gatecrashers.

Yet the Ting Tings’ appearance alongside established A-listers is the tip of an advertising trend. For the past decade, big brands have turned to big stars to endorse them. From the pop world, the favourites were Beyoncé, Britney, Madonna and Shakira. While all remain high-earners from commercials, younger, hipper artists are increasingly of interest to advertisers. Next month, Duffy becomes the new face of Diet Coke. Nintendo DS has turned to Ronan Keating and Girls Aloud, who also flog KitKat bars. In Germany, Sugababes are nearing the end of a year promoting Deichmann shoes. Fresh from her success on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007, Alesha Dixon shot a cheesy commercial for Ford before even releasing a single and, as a face of Rimmel, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is now better known for the make-up she wears than the music she makes.

“Celebrity endorsement has been around since the year dot, but there are cycles in which high- or lower-level stars are in fashion,” says Jeremy Paterson of FRUKT, the music marketing agency. “People remember Michael Jackson’s Pepsi campaigns in the 1980s and Shakira’s ads for the brand in the early Noughties. There will always be a demand for global stars by global brands, but what we’re seeing at the moment is a move towards more niche endorsements. Rather than hire a really famous face, brands are turning to lower-profile stars with more cultural resonance. Bacardi pairing with Groove Armada is a good example. They are not an A-list act, but they have a high standing in the club scene and that’s what Bacardi want to be associated with.”

When Sara Tate, a senior planner at the London advertising agency Mother, was asked to find a new face for Diet Coke, she knew what she didn’t want. “Definitely no rent-a-face,” says Tate, whose ad with Duffy will launch on British television, before rolling out across Europe. “We steered clear of yet another glamorous star with a six-figure fee who will promote anything if the price is right. The public is getting smart to that. We wanted someone who is well known, but not hugely famous. Someone who is on the rise, for whom fame is recent enough that they remember what it is like to have a regular life. Duffy was a perfect fit because, although she is extremely successful, she’s still incredibly down to earth.”

The theme of the ad, in which Duffy sings, is taking time out from a busy schedule. “The commercial deals with a modern concern for most women — feeling overburdened with work and family,” says Tate. “It was vital we chose someone viewers believe shares those pressures. Someone in control of her career, who makes her own decisions, but knows when she needs time to herself. Duffy had a tough background, she talks about her family. People love her because she still feels real, which the stratospherically famous don’t.”

With A-listers demanding millions of dollars for a day’s work, is the appeal of lower-level stars linked to the credit crunch? “The economic climate is playing a part, but not because of fees,” says Paterson. “If a global brand wants a certain star, they’ll still pay what it takes. But this is not a time for overly ostentatious advertising. What will change in a recession is the aspirational appeal of huge stars. The reason for booking, say, Beyoncé was so consumers could feel they were buying into her lifestyle. People are wising up to the fact that Beyoncé’s life is unattainable.”

The reason advertisers are turning to lower-level pop stars, says Paterson, is both the diminishing stigma of selling out and their willingness to interact with a brand beyond the film shoot. “Fifteen years ago, bands and brands were very uneasy bedfellows. You had car companies hang their logo over a concert stage. Brands are much cleverer now. They prefer to strike up a mutually beneficial relationship with artists. A smart celebrity endorsement today would be part of a platform of projects and events that consumers can take part in.”

When Converse signed the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, the producer Pharrell Williams and the singer Santogold last year, the trio agreed to record a track together and appear on a special website. When Coca-Cola asked the French dance act Justice to design a new bottle, it was launched with a party in Paris at which the group DJ’ed. After the Brits last week, Adidas threw a bash intended to re-create their house party ad. Both Estelle and the Ting Tings put in an appearance. Beckham, no doubt, was busy.

Having been approached to appear in several commercials since their breakthrough last year, the Ting Tings signed up with Adidas partly because the brand allowed them to write their own role in the ad, while Katie White, the singer, was invited to customise a clothing range. “A good partnership with any brand has to enhance the perception of both parties,” says the Ting Tings manager, Steve Taverner. “Adidas explained that they wanted everyone in the ad to feel they could bring whatever they liked to the party — so to speak. We thought it was a great way for the band to express themselves, in a nonpretentious way. We shot our segment in LA, at night, on a film set. The band said what they planned to do with the paint and it was shot in one take. Adidas had insisted they didn’t want to hijack the band’s image or integrity. Being a cynical manager, I didn’t believe them at first and was quite restrictive in our negotiations. I was wrong.”

Are the Ting Tings now required to wear Adidas? “Ha ha! No, though of course they would love them to wear something from the new line in everything they do,” insists Taverner. “You have to be careful not to look like you are tied to the brand, but, that said, the clothes they have been given look really good. Had they not, we would never have agreed to the ad.”

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