Are Celebrities Required to Endorse

7/31/2019 Are Celebrities Required to Endorse

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ARE CELEBRITIES REQUIRED TO ENDORSEPRODUCTS IN ADVERTISING

Aristotle quotes Any brand can get a celebrity. That is easy. But getting a

celebrity consistent with the right brand, to the right degree, at the right time, for the

right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy The crescendo of celebrities

endorsing brands has been steadily increasing over the past years. Marketers

overtly acknowledge the power of celebrities in influencing consumer-purchasing

decisions. It is a universally accepted fact that celebrity endorsement can bestowspecial attributes upon a product that it may have lacked otherwise. But everything

is not hunky-dory as it may seem. Not only can a endorsement plan backfire on the

brand itself but also have a negative impact on the celebrity status as well. And if a

celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he or she can also exacerbate the

image of a brand.

A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand,

but the celebrity needs to match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an

intrinsic link between the celebrity and the message are musts for a successful

campaign. Celebrities are no doubt good at generating attention, recall and positive

attitudes towards advertising provided that they are supporting a good idea and

there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the other hand, they are

rendered useless when it comes to the actual efficiency of the core product,

creating positive attitudes to brands, purchase intentions and actual sales.

I, on a personal level feel, that a celebrity is not required to endorse a

brand in advertisements and that the brand should sell itself on its own Unique

Selling Proposition rather than blinding the consumers with shiny images of

glamorous celebrities. Not only is it not necessary, there can be some negativeeffects on the brand and the celebrity as well. I think people today are savvier

consumers than ever before, and so the chasm between celebrity testimonials and

credibility is widening. I would like to elaborate my point with the following

examples.


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The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has

endorsed the product: Accenture suffered with the scandalous

celebrity/sportsman Tiger Woods. Since the behaviour of the

celebrities reflects on the brand, celebrity endorsers may at timesbecome liabilities to the brands they endorse.

Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor):

It is not always necessary that a celebrity uses the product he/she

endorses. If a celebrity endorses Pepsi and is seeing drinking Coke-a-

cola, the credibility of the brand as well as the celebrity goes down

and people thing that they are being lied to.

Celebrities are not experts but are believed to be: Since most

celebrities are actors or sports stars, they are seldom experts on theproducts or causes that they endorse. Sometimes the advertisers even

attempt to exploit confusion between fantasy and reality by selecting

actors to endorse products based on the fictional characters they play.

Eg: An actor playing the role of a doctor in Pepsodent commercial has

no credibility to sell the product as he is not really a doctor.

Celebrity disinterest in product: Most celebrities who endorse

products are paid to do so, and thus the endorsement is not a

disinterested one. Celebrities who endorse charities or political

candidates probably are not paid money, but they often benefit fromthe association with a good cause or the publicity that comes from

controversy.

Celebrities overshadowing the brand: People who watch

advertisements will remember the celebrity in the advertisement but

often fail to recall the brand or its USP. As a result, there is no use of

the advertisement as it is not able to send a clear message to the

consumer about the product.

Behaviour of the celebrity: The behaviour by a celebrity does affectthe brand. Negative or positive depends on the nature of behaviour. A

celebrity driving fast on a highway and getting a ticket for the same

could be good for an auto/fuel/tyre brand he/she endorses but at the

same time killing someone in the highway because of over speeding

can jeopardize the brand to a great extent. The issue at the end is not


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about the celebrity or their actions but is about the way those actions

are percieved and the extent of damage these actions would cause.

I would also like to show that the attitude of people (consumers) toward

a brand and its transfer of meaning on the celebrity endorsers attractiveness,

trustworthiness, expertise, and overall credibility while coming up with an

advertisement. Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed and separated into

hypotheses based on an overall poorly perceived brand and a positively

perceived brand.

Hypothesis 1a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived endorsed brandinfluences the perceived attractiveness of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 1b: The attitude toward a positively perceived endorsed brand

influences the perceived attractiveness of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 2a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived endorsed branded

product influences the perceived trustworthiness of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 2b: The attitude toward a positively perceived endorsed brand

influences the perceived trustworthiness of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 3a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived branded product

influences the perceived expertise of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 3b: The attitude toward a positively perceived branded product

influences the perceived expertise of the celebrity.

Additionally,

Hypothesis 4a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived branded product

influences the perceived overall credibility of the celebrity.

Hypothesis 4b: The attitude toward a positively perceived branded product

influences the perceived overall credibility of the celebrity.

In conclusion, I would like to say, Brands need to sell on their USP and the

uniqueness, quality, price quantity and usefulness. The advertisements need to be

put to the public focusing on these factors and inform the public about the product.


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Celebrities may add to the glamour of the advertisement but they may not be able

to relate to the product to sell. This not only blinds the public but also tarnishes the

brand name and goodwill and the name of the celebrity as well. A product with a

good Advertising campaign sells itself with or without celebrities.

Documents

Are Celebrities Required to Endorse