All About Movie Stars

November 24, 2009

Filed under: Advertising — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:54 am
Abdullah Nazir asked:


The field of the consumer behavior is the study of the individuals, groups/organization and the processes. Although, numerous factors affect the buying decision process but the use of right Celebrity has the great influence on the consumers.

Marketers pay millions to celebrities hoping that they will bring magic to their brands they endorse and make them more appealing and successful. The effectiveness of using a celebrity to endorse a firm’s product can generally be improved by matching the image of the celebrity with the personality of the product and the actual or desired concept of the target market. There is a high correlation between the appearance, knowledge, liking, credibility, and advertising believability and purchase intentions.

The theory behind the use of celebrity is that featuring stars in advertising has special cultural significance, born from the unique way they have constructed an image through various forms of media. In associating the celebrities with the product, these special meanings are passed on the products or brands. In a competitive market, a famous face can give a brand an added appeal and helps it to stand out. Celebrities have particular configurations of meanings that cannot found elsewhere.

Sports celebrities are often popular, picks to endorsers of everything from apparel to vehicles. For example Nike used basketball star Michael Jordan as spoke person since 1985 and the Air Jordan line was still selling. In December of 2000, Venus Williams signed the most lucrative endorsement deal ever for a female athlete when she agreed to a three-year deal with the Reebok international reportedly worth $40 million.

Another popular industry from which to draw celebrity endorsers is the music industry. One of the famous singer Britney Spears was singing her way through Pepsi commercials in 2005. Adnan Sami performed the same process in Asian market for the Pepsi Ad. Along the same lines, companies often use actors, actresses and supermodels to endorse their products.

However, in addition to the exorbitant costs, there are risks and danger associated with the use of celebrities in advertising. The best laid plan can still backfire. Pepsi signed up Madonna for several million dollars in order to feature her in Pepsi campaign. Then controversy over the religious imagery in Madonna’s “Prayer” video led to the threat of a consumer boycott and Pepsi lost $10 million. Cybill shepherd’s Ad for the beef industry flopped when she publicly admitted she rarely ate red meat. These examples are only a few of the problems with celebrity endorsement. Unfortunately, there are hidden dangers when using celebrities. A Celebrity’s consumer appeal may fade if the celebrity disappears from the media spot light before the end of his or her contract.

If so many dangers abound, why use celebrities? Many advertisers feel that celebrities make an advertisement more effective. The use of celebrity has demonstrated to lead to higher recall of an advertisement. For example in early 2001, Revlon ceased using celebrity models and hired relative unknowns for their Ad campaigns, thinking women wanted models to whom they could relate more easily. In November 2001, they reversed this decision and started hiring celebrities such as Julianne Moore and Halle Berry, after losing 10.6 percent of the cosmetics market share over the previous year.

The above examples reflect the importance of the celebrities in the product association and their effects. Marketers must be comprehended before the selection of the celebrities. For example, a make-up company may target both young and old women, and the aspirational celebrity chosen for younger women may be non-aspirational for the older women.

Consumers who have used brand associations to construct their self-identities may be more brands loyal and less likely to switch to competitors’ brands in response to price cuts, special displays, bundling tactics and coupons.

To assess the effectiveness of a celebrity endorsement, all three elements must be taken into consideration celebrity image, brand image and consumer aspirations.

The celebrities can be used to reduce the conflict between the nations or a country. Adnan Sami live in India and Annie in Pakistan; both were appeared together in the Pepsi commercial. Pepsi introduced this Ad in both of the markets of Pakistan and India. Such type of Ads shows the good relation between the countries or nations.

Right use of Celebrity plays a vital role for the success of the brand along its advertising over the target market. Selection of Celebrity requires a detailed study to predict its affects on the target market. Companies must have to conduct the complete research process before the selection of the Celebrity for their desired association with the product, especially in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) celebrities’ selection which becomes more critical.

[Article by Abdullah Nazir and Zafar-uz-Zaman]



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March 1, 2009

Celebrity Endorsements

Filed under: Advertising — Tags: , , — admin @ 3:43 am
Tim Bryce asked:


Endorsements by celebrities have been a powerful way of selling products for a long time. Early movie stars and popular athletes helped sell a wide variety of consumer goods, such as cigarettes, beverages, candy bars, automobiles, even Jello. And it seemed to work well as people clamored for the latest product endorsed by their heroes. Today, athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan have kicked it up a big notch to sell such things as automobiles, underwear and athletic equipment. Following this, companies like Nike and Adidas cut deals with Colleges and High Schools so the athletes will wear their logos in order to impress young people. For women, Hollywood actresses help sell tons of beauty products and clothing. Bottom-line, celebrity endorsements are an important part of marketing products to the general public.

But would you really buy a product simply because a celebrity endorses it? Well, for low-ticket items, maybe, but for high-ticket items like automobiles, hopefully not. Celebrities may be good for drawing attention to such products, but I would like to check it out more closely before slapping down a huge chunk of change. It’s interesting that advertisers find it more important to sell image as opposed to a product’s features and benefits. For example, how many times have you watched a television commercial and you weren’t exactly sure what they were selling?

This is also why celebrities have to cultivate their image. If their appearance and actions send the wrong signals, however slight, advertisers will avoid them like the plague. It also means they are under considerable pressure to be successful in their chosen field. The gravy train will inevitably run out if they fail. It kind of makes you wonder what these people are like when the cameras are turned off and they can act like human beings.

Celebrities are also useful for drawing attention to charities. I think just about everyone on the planet has seen Sally Struthers support the “Save the Children Fund.” Such efforts are greatly appreciated by nonprofit organizations. As for the celebrities, you have to wonder though if they passionately believe in the charity they endorse or are they doing it simply because it is politically correct and can help their careers.

Celebrities have also become an integral part of politics since the 1960’s. Prior to this, movie stars used to stay out of the political arena as studio moguls considered it bad business. Sure, they had their opinions but they basically kept them to themselves as they didn’t want to offend anyone which might effect ticket sales at the box office.

Today we have a wide array of actors and actresses stumping for their politician du jour. One has to wonder though if celebrity endorsements really helps in this regards. For example, actor George Clooney stumped for his Dad, Nick Clooney, when he ran for Congress in Kentucky a few years ago, but this didn’t appear to help and may have actually hurt the campaign. Now we have the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Chuck Norris, Barbra Streisand, etc, who have all weighed in on their political favorites. But does their endorsements impact voters? Well, according to a recent CNN poll, 11% responded they would vote for a politician based on a celebrity endorsement. This may be a small number, but it is still significant and growing.

It used to be politicians would solicit endorsements from newspapers, labor unions, and other civic organizations. But the tide is starting to turn as they are now actively recruiting celebrity endorsements. Any endorsement might be nice, but I have to question whether the individual or group is really qualified to render an opinion. As for me, I still want to check under the hood and kick the tires a few times before I invest in a high-ticket item.

For a listing of Tim’s Pet Peeves, click HERE.



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