Consumers' Attitude towards Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising - Assignment Example

Consumers Attitude towards Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising Marshal Mcluhan’s famous tongue-in-cheek ment “Advertising is the greatest artform of the 20th Century” certainly garnered a lot of controversy as the increasing prevalence of the said industry has precipitated may studies that look into the role of advertising in society (Whyte, n.d.). However, whether advertising is truly an art form does not matter now as it cannot be denied that it is a booming industry and a force to be reckoned with when it comes to consumerism—as can be seen in its considerable contribution to the economic growth of 57 countries worldwide (EconomyWatch, 2008). Its significance can be seen in the fact that in the UK alone, companies spent almost 19.4 billion in 2007 on advertising (UK Advertising Statistics, 2008). Furthermore, the total advertising expenditure in the US for the same year was a whopping $279.6 billion (U.S. Annual Advertising Spending Since 1919, 2008). Also in the UK, the advertising industry provides almost thirteen thousand jobs, which shows how it has helped the British economy (Whyte, n.d.). This is because capitalism has engendered an emphasis on consumerism wherein economies rely mostly on consumption expenditure (Busler, 2002). For instance, consumption expenditure accounted for an estimated 68% of US GDP (Busler, 2002). Consequently, companies have to rely on—aside from product and service quality and other strategies needed to produce what consumers will buy—advertising in order to attract consumers (Busler, 2002). Hence, based on these facts, it cannot be denied that advertising plays a major role in today’s cutthroat world of business. The competition is so fierce that a supermarket in the US is known to carry an estimated twelve thousand brands in their store—and that is just a supermarket, it does not even include department stores and other industries where brand names are important (Kulkarni and Gaulkar, 2005). Because of this, numerous advertising strategies—where the avenues used are the different types of media: TV, film, print and radio—have been developed throughout the years to make sure that the billions spent on it is worthwhile. Moreover, because of the proven significance of advertising to various businesses, whether big or small, innumerable studies have been conducted in order to ascertain its effects on consumer behavior and attitudes—as the end goal of advertising is, of course, to sell products and increase revenues for companies. Due to the vast range of resources on advertising principles and its impacts on consumer attitude, there is a need for a closer examination of the data as to how it actually affects consumer behavior and, as a consequence of the oversaturation of the media by different types of advertisements, what are consumer attitudes towards advertising. The different stategies employed in the effective advertising of products are numerous. However, at the backdrop of the rising popularity of celebrities and the public’s fixation on their private lives, the use of celebrity endorsement as a form of advertising strategy stands out (Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006; Choi, 2005). Today, celebrities’ income comes from being endorsers as much as from their professions—whether they be athletes, actors or musicians and singers. Due to the increasing pervasiveness of celebrity endorsements, it is important to take a look at what consumers’ attitudes are towards them. This paper will closely examine and analyze the literature available in order to arrive at a concrete conclusion of whether there is a consensus on what consumers think about celebrity endorsements—whether positve, negative, or a combination of both; and what particular attitudes do they have on certain types of celebrity endorsements. In order to cohesively present this analysis, the celebrity endorsement phenomenon must first be examined in its context. Also, to prevent confusion, important terms will be defined throughout the course of the discussion. Endorsement Advertising Billions of dollars have been spent by companies on a variety of endorsers in order to popularize their brands, attract consumers, and consequently, establish their products at a solid position in the market. Many organizations also use endorsers to gain more widespread support for their objectives and causes. What really is an endorser? An endorser is “is a person, character or organization that speaks or appears in an ad in support of the advertiser or its claim” (Gupta, 2007). The reputation of the brand relies on the credibility and popularity of endorsers. Famous persons, like celebrities and experts, are carefully chosen to give their approval for products and services. “The endorsement process is the identification, selection and use of endorsers to communicate with a target segment” (Gupta, 2007). Endorsement as an advertising strategy is not simply picking a popular figure and creating an advertising campaign around that person. “Matching the image of the celebrity with the personality of the product and the actual or desired serf concept of the target market” is needed in order to maximize the exposure of the product, as well as the effectiveness of the advertising campaign—which is measured through consumer attitudes as much as product revenues (Gupta, 2007). The endorsement process involves meticulous planning as there is a lot of money involved. That is why endorsement contracts are also very specific. In fairness to the endorsers, a big responsibility lies on their shoulders and their actions are also restricted as the terms of endorsement most of the time include a guideline on the way they act. For instance, a shampoo endorser may not be allowed to cut their hair, dye it or curl/straighten it for a certain period of time and without the permission of the company. In order to fully understand the significant role of celebrity endorsers in advertising, it is also important to take a look at the other types of endorsers. Their description will be provided as “each has special characteristics and roles in the communication process” in order to also provide a contrast as to how consumers react to these different types of endorsers and which among them is the most successful (Gupta, 2007). Experts Many companies whose products require validation in an industry wherein numerous brands have already permeated the market choose to lay their products’ reputation experts who are not necessarily famous. Companies instead concentrate on the expert’s credentials and qualifications in order to present the product’s strength and the authenticity of its claims (Biswas, Biswas and Das, 2006). Experts are “individuals or organization that the target population perceives as having substantial knowledge in a particular area” (Gupta, 2007). Existing literature shows that an expert endorser increases the believability of an advertising campaign; this is principally due to augmented source credibility (Biswas, Biswas and Das, 2006). Its effectiveness and the prevalence of its use can be seen in the case of Crest overtaking Colgate’s position in the toothpaste market through the use of an expert endorser (Gupta, 2007). In 1960, Crest started to become a market leader in toothpastes when the company “won an endorsement by the American Dental Association as the only toothpaste that prevented dental cavities and one of only three means of fighting dental cavities” (Gupta, 2007). Lay Endorsers Because consumers are the target of advertisements, the use of ordinary people has been popularized in advertisements so that end users will be able to identify with them as they exemplify the status and aspirations of the public (Gupta, 2007). In fact, lay endorsers are carefully chosen “to closely resemble the target segment, enabling the target segment to identify with the endorser and the message” (Gupta, 2007). A very good example of this is the Harry and Louise ad sponsored by the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) that aimed to show its resistance against then President Bill Clinton’s health care plan. Celebrities Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer for Nike, David Beckham for Adidas, Lee Locacca for Chrysler, Catherine Zeta-Jones for T-Mobile, Brad Pitt for Heineken, Britney Spears and The Spice Girls for Pepsi, and Madonna for Sunsilk and H&M. These are just a few of the most well-known and highest-paid celebrity endorsers. Celebrities are “individuals or characters who are known to a large portion of the general population, primarily because of the publicity associated with their lives” (Gupta, 2007). Whether they be athletes, businessmen, politicians, supermodels, actors and actresses, or music artists, as long as they are famous and have a solid reputation—depending on the product being endorsed—rest assured that they will be offered some form of advertising contract in order to endorse a company or organization’s product, service or objective. Because celebrities are highly exposed in all types of media, they attain a high profile status that heightens their idiosyncratic qualities and glamorous images to the public (Choi, 2005). Thus, they have become so popular that companies and organizations bank on their fame and large fan base in order to successfully market their products. Studies have shown that celebrities make advertisements more convincing, heighten message recall, engender a positive approach towards the brand, and create a distinctive and unique personality for the brand name (Bailey and Cole, 2004). Also, Amos, Holmes and Strutton (2008) found that there are key factors that can maximize the positive response of consumers towards celebrity endorsements: (1) celebrity performance, (2) negative information, (3) celebrity credibility, (4) celebrity expertise, (5) celebrity trustworthiness, (6) celebrity attractiveness, (7) celebrity familiarity, (8) celebrity likeability, and (9) celebrity/product fit. With these nine predictors as a guide in choosing a celebrity endorser, the positive effects that can be seen through the optimistic attitudes of the consumers towards the celebrity and the product are capitalized on. This has further made celebrity endorsement a valuable advertising and marketing strategy (Choi, 2005). Furthermore, it can be seen here how the advantages of using celebrities to endorse products have been widely documented and so when a celebrity gives his or her stamp of approval on a product, there is a wide consensus, based on reliable research and practice, that it will benefit the image and sales of the product positively. Because companies generally believe that “a strong celebrity can quickly heighten awareness for a brand,” they spend millions of dollars on endorsement contracts (Christ, 2007). For instance, Nike was reported to have spent an estimated $500 million on celebrity endorsement deals (Christ, 2007). With the escalating barrage of advertisements in all forms of media—wherein they can be seen anywhere: on the bodies of buses, on billboards on almost every road, in bathroom doors and walls, and even on the shirts that people wear—consumers have become anesthetized to ordinary advertisements (Swerdlow and Swerdlow, 2003). This media saturation and the ubiquitous characteristic of advertisements in general have precipitated the need for advertisements that can capture the attention of the target market. Thus, the ability of celebrity endorsements to win consumers’ attention has become very useful. Recognition and even adoration of celebrities primarily make the people look and take notice. What celebrities say and do—and even just the way they are and the way they look—commands a certain kind of attention from the audience (Swerdlow and Swerdlow, 2003). This is why advertisements who use celebrities stand out from the rest and their products are differentiated from the others (Swerdlow and Swerdlow, 2003). Of course, like any other form of endorsement, the brand and message must fit the celebrity and vice versa (Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006). Because of the said positive effects of using celebrities in advertisements, celebrity endorsement has become a popular advertising strategy used by innumerable companies in that it constitutes 20% of all commercials (Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006). The prevalence and what one may say saturation of the media with celebrity endorsements, the need for a closer examination of its actual effects on consumer behavior has been well addressed. However, there is also a call for a more in-depth look at how consumers view celebrity endorsement in order to ascertain whether celebrity endorsement as an advertising strategy is still effective—given that it has been overused. The Consumer Foremost in every advertiser’s mind is the consumer—“the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of product, services, [and] experiences”—as increased consumption of a product and a solid reputation for the brand in the long run are their ultimate goals when they seek to advertise their products and services (Gupta, 2007). Companies use celebrities because of the aforementioned advantages and also because they generally believe that people will buy products that celebrities—the people they admire the most—use and advocate (Wright, 2000). That is why there is a recurring need to investigate consumer attitudes towards celebrity endorsements—especially now that mass media is permeated by them. A consumer is anyone that buys products and avails of service offered by different companies in the many different industries either for personal or business use. McCracken (1989 cited in Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006; Amos, Holmes and Strutton, 2008) defines a major characteristic of a consumer pertinent to this discussion as being constantly adapting the symbolic properties of products into their own lives. “The endorsement will infuse the product with the charisma and success of the celebrity, inciting the target audience to purchase the product to equate them with the celebrity” (Swerdlow and Swerdlow, 2003). This means that as a celebrity endorses a product, the consumer buying and using that product associates the qualities of both the product and the celebrity endorser into his or her life. As the celebrity encapsulates the concept of dreams coming true in that they were once ordinary people who have succeeded in realizing their dreams—consumers, when they buy and use the endorsed product, are given some sort of hope that their dreams will also come true (Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006; Amos, Holmes and Strutton, 2008). However, this does not mean that all consumers think and react this way to celebrity endorsers. Consumer Attitude Consumer attitude refers to whether they feel positively or negatively towards an advertisement (Van der Waldt, Schleritzko and Van Zyl, 2007). In this case, the attitude that will be examined is that which indicates consumer feelings towards celebrity endorsers. Because the celebrity endorser is closely associated with the product and supporting that product is akin to supporting the celebrity endorser, the positive attitude of a consumer towards a product is dependent on the credibility and reputation of the said endorser (Van der Waldt, Schleritzko and Van Zyl, 2007). Again, it must be reiterated that the product and message should match the profile of the celebrity for a celebrity endorsement to induce a positive effect. For instance, it would be unwise to use Britney Spears for an advertisement of Gerber as the target market is mothers and Spears have had a bad reputation being a mother. If this kind of advertisement was made, then it can be predicted that Gerber sales will drop as its endorser is known to be an inadequate mother, so much so that custody of her sons was taken from her. Consequently, consumers will feel that they are like Britney whenever they buy Gerber products. It is widely known, and sometimes even the specifics of the endorsement contract is publicized, that celebrity endorsers are paid a great deal of money so that they may lend their name, image and reputation to a particular product. Some may view this negatively in that celebrity endorsers are not that credible because they are being paid to endorse a product—being paid constitutes an invalidation of the claims they make regarding the product. However, despite this supposed negative attitude towards celebrity endorsements, Van der Waldt, Schleritzko and Van Zyl (2007) state that studies show that this attitude is not extensive and has not considerably contributed to a negative attitude of consumers towards the product. Hence, there is still a widely positive outlook of consumers towards celebrity endorsements; no matter if the public knows that they are being paid to give their stamp of approval on the product because the public generally believes that the celebrity likes the product he or she is endorsing (Cronley and Kardes, et al., 1999 cited in Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006). Of course, in order for consumers to have a positive attitude towards celebrity endorsements, the celebrities themselves must protect their reputations and keep their image clean and wholesome—depending on the product being endorsed as some products, like deodorants and cars, rely on the rogue image of their endorsers. This, again, is where the concept of an extremely detailed contract comes in as companies need to place specific restrictions on the actions of their celebrity endorsers in order to keep the positive attitude of consumers towards that celebrity; and consequently, towards their product and brand. This is necessary because when a celebrity is involved in a scandal or garners extremely negative publicity due to their actions, consumers will understandably become unenthusiastic and disapproving—not only towards the celebrity, but also towards the products they are endorsing as the target market is known to identify with the celebrity endorsers (Cronley and Kardes, et al., 1999 cited in Rajazaki and Simonsson, 2006; Schecht, 2003). Also, the product must encapsulate the celebrity’s success (Ohanian, 1991 cited in Swerdlow and Swerdlow, 2003). For instance, Michael Jordan has been a successful endorser of Nike rubber shoes; the effectiveness of Jordan as a celebrity endorser lies mostly in the fact that durable and innovative rubber shoes are important tools towards the success of a basketball player. if, for example, Jordan started out his career as a celebrity endorser by endorsing a washing detergent, then he would not have been as effective as it is general idea that men are not that knowledgeable in laundry products—more so professional basketball players who are viewed as not having the time to do mundane tasks such as washing the laundry. Conclusion Through the exploration of the extant literature on celebrity endorsements and consumer attitudes towards them, as well as their effectiveness as advertising tools, it was shown that consumers generally have positive attitudes towards celebrity endorsements as the latter acts as a representation of the hopes and dreams of the former. And as the success attained and the rich lifestyle enjoyed by these celebrities become more pronounced, the more that consumer attitudes will become positive towards the celebrity and also towards the products they are endorsing. Likewise, when negative publicity surrounds the celebrity, consumer attitudes will become negative towards both the celebrity and the product. Thus, it can be said that, although generally consumers respond positively towards celebrity endorsements, consumer attitudes are still largely determined by the image, reputation, performance and credibility of the celebrity. Also, it must not be forgotten that a celebrity’s personae must fit the product image in order for the endorsement to become effective. References Amos, C., Holmes, D. and Strutton, G. (2008). Exploring the relationship between celebrity endorser effects and advertising effectiveness: A quantitative synthesis of effect size. International Journal of Advertising, 27(2), pp. 209–234. Bailey, A. 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