Understanding the Appeal of Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity endorsement deals extend a celebrity’s brand and earn them money. They also draw attention to a company or product and increase sales. But what do these deals do for us?

Are you more of a Harry or a Niall?

We’ve discussed how we identify with certain celebrities: We make them role models. We think of them in terms of inspiration and aspiration. More specifically, we identify certain qualities in some celebrities that encourage us to think or behave in certain ways. Lady Gaga fans might be inspired to embrace their individuality and “let their freak flag fly”. We also identify certain qualities in some celebrities that encourage us to work towards achieving something. This can be something aesthetic: maybe you want to master Lana Del Ray’s makeup style or maybe you want to mimic the fashion style of the band fun. This aspiration can be something more significant: maybe you want to be able to play guitar like Keith Richards or the drums like Travis Barker, maybe you want to skateboard like Danny Way, or maybe you want to write a book like J.K. Rowling.

But we live in a consumer society – meaning we’re always encouraged to buy buy buy; consumption is understood as a means to satisfaction and happiness. We know this isn’t really true, but it’s what we’re told. And media coverage of celebrities seizes on this consumerism and our identification with celebrities and presents the lifestyle of the rich and famous “as a model of consumption practice and aspiration for the reader”. More specifically, these articles and advertisements emphasise both the celebrities’ spectacular lifestyle and their similarities to us so we both identify with celebrities and aspire to be like them. Celebrity-endorsed products are the most efficient means to get one step closer to both the celebrity and the celebrity lifestyle

Getting Closer to the Celebrity
Some social psychologists argue that we all want a piece of our idols. According to these studies, mass media and the Internet have brought celebrities and fans closer and closer over the years. We’ve talked about this: how we get a constant stream of information and have all different ways of communicating with celebrities today. The consequence of this is that old forms of collecting – news articles and press photos and autographs – aren’t enough anymore. We want something more intimate from our stars. If we can’t personally get an autograph or a photo, we can buy a piece of celebrity by buying a product they endorse or a product they had a hand in creating.

For example, Kate Moss created a collection for TopShop. According to marketing expert Claire Beale, fans will buy a skirt or a jacket from this collection because they believe in buying these items, they are getting a piece of Kate herself. She says, “Somewhere within the DNA of the Kate Moss collection is the spirit of Kate herself…Buy the denim hot pants, buy a piece of Kate.”





Or, if Kanye is more your inspiration, connect with him by wearing shoes he personally designed for Nike.


What products have you bought in order to own some celebrity DNA?

Choosing A Celebrity Spokesperson

Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan for Samsung

A celebrity can have a huge impact on a brand – and the company hopes they will – but this means that when a company decides to use a celebrity as a spokesperson or “brand ambassador”, they have to carefully consider who they select to be the “face” of their product.

Evaluating A Spokesperson

1. Recognisability: A celebrity spokesperson has to be someone who is immediately recognisable. Traditional advertisements don’t have time to explain who the person is and indirect marketing especially requires the public to know who the person is (otherwise they're just any other person on the street!
2. Demographic appropriateness: Who is it the company is marketing to and which celebrities do those people like
3. Consider level of exposure: too many endorsement deals confusing and too strong of a personal brand might overshadow rather than compliment the product
4. Consider the celebrity’s social risk: Drug and alcohol use, aggressive behaviour, eating disorders, sexual exploits, strong political or religious ideas - any one of these factors can negatively affect the public’s perception of the product the celebrity is promoting. However, some companies want a celebrity who is a little rebellious. It just depends on the type of product and the target audience.
5. Overall effectiveness: Is the celebrity attractive, likable, popular, and honest?

Think about some current celebrity spokespeople. Why do you think they were hired by these companies? 

Different Ways Celebrities Sell To Us

Celebrity endorsements can take several different forms. The celebrity may simply appear in advertisements for a product, place, service or charity. The celebrity might provide a voiceover for a television or radio ad. The celebrity might attend PR events. Or the celebrity could participate in promotional stunts.

But endorsement deals are not always so clearly identifiable. To understand the extent of celebrity endorsements, we need to look at different types of marketing campaigns. 

Here's a quick summary of four different ways celebrities endorse (intentionally or not) products, places, services, charities, or even ideas.

Direct Marketing: the celebrity is hired by a company to promote their product through mass media advertising

Indirect/Stealth Marketing: the celebrity is hired by a company to promote their product through private life; Celebrities spotted wearing/using some product; another type of indirect marketing is product placement in television shows and movies. Usually the products are incorporated into the scene, but not mentioned specifically by name.

Accidental Marketing: the celebrity becomes associated with a particular brand based on their personal preferences; As Morin writes, “a star’s way of life is in itself merchandise.” In other words, the private-public life of the stars always functions as a kind of commercial. The challenge is knowing when a celebrity is using a certain product or wearing a specific designer in their private life because they want to or because they have been paid to. Often don’t ever know for sure.

Collaborative/Independent Marketing: celebrity creates their own line of products or services, and uses their own name/image as a brand

Choose a celebrity you're familiar with and think about the different types of endorsements associated with this person. How do these endorsements reflect this person's identity (their personality, interests, preferences, and values)? How does this connection affect the social value of the product?

A Piece of Celebrity: Celebrity Endorsement Deals

Lady Gaga's fake nail (recovered by a stage crew member) was auctioned off for $13 000 in May 2013

If you don’t have thousands of dollars to buy a celebrity’s chewed gum or if you don’t live in Los Angeles or New York City and can't get a photo or an autograph…how do you get a piece of celebrity?

Well, what do Beyoncé, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bieber, and Mr. T all have in common? They’re all celebrity spokespeople who endorse certain products.

When we talked about the star system, we talked about how “stars” were created to attract audiences to movies. Actually, the entire studio system and star system were (and are) entirely focused on production: the production of movies, the production of stars, the production of fan magazines, the production of merchandise. When a celebrity’s image is constructed (or developed) by a studio or management team, the celebrity essentially becomes merchandise: every part of the star can be used to sell some product or idea.

In his book ‘Stars’, Morin writes “There is not an inch of her body, not a shred of her soul, not a memory of her life that cannot be thrown on the market”. However, to effectively sell merchandise – whether a car or a lip gloss or a shoe or a celebrity – there needs to be a clear brand. We can say that the celebrity identity created by studios and reinforced by mass media is the celebrity’s brand.

What words comes to mind when we think of Marilyn Monroe as the Blonde Bombshell? Beautiful. Sexy. Smart. Determined. Shy. Insecure. Tragic. These words have all become associated with Marilyn’s image and story. These words make up her brand.

So, if we think of celebrities as merchandise and brands, we’re thinking about them as a combination of an image and a narrative (a set of beliefs/values/behaviours/preferences). It is this image and narrative – the celebrity brand – that are at the root of celebrity endorsements.

But what exactly is a celebrity endorsement?

A celebrity endorsement is when an actor, singer, athlete or other public figure lends their image – and the ideas or values associated with it – to some type of product or service that is not directly connected to their own work. Companies want celebrities involved with their products or services because they believe a celebrity-product connection will:

• attract consumers to their product by drawing attention to it
• persuade consumers to buy their product by infusing it with social value 

(Most products have both a use value and a social value. The use value is the practical function of the product – what it allows you to do. The social value is the intangible function of the product – what it communicates to others about you. Think about the newest iPhone. Its use value includes allowing you to make phone calls, send texts, take photos, etc. Its social value, however, is how it makes you look: cool, current, tech savvy.)

So, when a celebrity endorses a product, they are adding to its social value. The same way a film producer will use the reputation of the star of their movie to attract investors and attract audiences, companies use a celebrity endorser to brand their products and attract consumers.

Some scholars say Audrey Hepburn was the first celebrity to endorse a product. In 1957, Hubert de Givenchy (who dressed Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Charade) convinced her to pose for the advertising campaign for his perfume, L’Interdit. Other scholars argue celebrity endorsements began with Lily Langtry. In 1890, soap manufacturer Pears hired actress Lily Langtry to do a testimonial for their product. Her message? “Since using Pears soap, I have discarded all others.”


   

What other celebrity spokespeople can you think of? Do they influence your shopping habits?