Celebrities’ Impact on Branding

Center on Global Brand Leadership

Columbia Business School

January 15, 2003

Christina Schlecht 527 Riverside Dr., Apt. 4K

New York, NY 10027 (212) 280 5447

cschlecht02@gsb.columbia.edu

2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. A Definition of ‘Celebrity’

3. Celebrities as Spokespersons

4. Source Credibility and Attractiveness

5. The Match-up Hypothesis

6. The Meaning Transfer Model

7. Multiple Brand and Celebrity Endorsement

8. Conclusion

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Catherine Zeta-Jones endorsing the brand ‘Elizabeth Arden’

Figure 2: Successful and unsuccessful celebrity endorsements

Figure 3: Meaning transfer in the endorsement process

Figure 4: Brands endorsed by top model and actress Milla Jovovich

Figure 5: Celebrities endorsing the luxury brand ‘Omega’

3

Introduction

The billions of dollars spent per year on celebrity endorsement contracts show that

celebrities, like Liz Hurley, Britney Spears and Tiger Woods, play an important role for

the advertising industry (Daneshvary and Schwer 2000, Kambitsis et al. 2002). Female

athlete Venus Williams, tennis player and Wimbledon championship winner in 2002, for

example, has signed a five-year $40 million contract with sportswear manufacturer

Reebok International Inc.1 Theory and practice prove that the use of super stars in

advertising generates a lot of publicity and attention from the public (Ohanian 1991).

The underlying question is, if and how the lively interest of the public in ‘the rich and

famous’ can be effectively used by companies to promote their brands and consequently

increase revenues.

As a first step to answer this question, this paper will examine the relationship

between celebrity endorsements and brands, by applying a selection of widely accepted

principles of how consumers’ brand attitudes and preferences can be positively

influenced. Thereby the concepts of source credibility and attractiveness, the match-up

hypothesis, the meaning transfer model and the principles of multiple product and

celebrity endorsement will be used. The following paragraph will give a brief

introduction into the topic of celebrity endorsement, to provide a common framework for

the later discussion of the above listed concepts.

A Definition of ‘Celebrity’

Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain

group of people. Whereas attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or special

skills are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observed, it can be

said that within a corresponding social group celebrities generally differ from the social

norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness. This is true for classic forms of

celebrities, like actors (e.g. Meg Ryan, Pierce Brosnan), models (e.g. Naomi Campbell,

Gisele Buendchen), sports athletes (e.g. Anna Kournikova, Michael Schumacher),

entertainers (e.g. Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’Brien) and pop stars (e.g. Madonna, David 1 View Forbes.com (2002).

4

Bowie) – but also for less obvious groups like businessmen (e.g. Donald Trump, Bill

Gates) or politicians (e.g. Rudy Giuliani, Lee Kuan Yew).

Celebrities appear in public in different ways. First, they appear in public when

fulfilling their profession, e.g. Pete Sampras, who plays tennis in front of an audience in

Wimbledon. Furthermore, celebrities appear in public by attending special celebrity

events, e.g. the Academy Awards, or world premieres of movies. In addition, they are

present in news, fashion magazines, and tabloids, which provide second source

information on events and the ‘private life’ of celebrities through mass-media channels

(e.g. Fox 5 news covering Winona Ryder’s trial on shoplifting, InStyle). Last but not

least, celebrities act as spokespeople in advertising to promote products and services

(Kambitsis et al. 2002, Tom et al. 1992).

Celebrities as Spokespersons

Companies frequently use spokespersons to deliver their advertising message and

convince consumers of their brands. A widely used and very popular type of

spokesperson is the celebrity endorser (Tom et al. 1992)2. According to Friedman and

Friedman (1979, p. 63) a “celebrity endorser is an individual who is known by the public

(…) for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product class endorsed.”

The cosmetics manufacturer Elizabeth Arden, for example, uses the actress Catherine

Zeta-Jones to endorse its perfume (view Figure 1).

The reason for using celebrities as spokespersons goes back to their huge potential

influence. Compared to other endorser types, famous people achieve a higher degree of

attention and recall. They increase awareness of a company’s advertising, create positive

feelings towards brands and are perceived by consumers as more entertaining (Solomon

2002). Using a celebrity in advertising is therefore likely to positively affect consumers’

brand attitudes and purchase intentions. To ensure positive results, however, it is critical

for advertisers to have a clear understanding of the ‘black box’ of celebrity endorsement.

In the following section, selected concepts that have to be considered when using

celebrities as spokespersons are discussed.

2 Other types of endorsers include the professional expert and the typical consumer (Friedman and

Friedman 1979).

5

Figure 1: Catherine Zeta-Jones endorsing the brand ‘Elizabeth Arden’ (Source: elizabetharden.com)

Source Credibility and Attractiveness

A central goal of advertising is the persuasion of customers, i.e., the active attempt to

change or modify consumers’ attitude towards brands (Solomon 2002). In this respect,

the credibility of an advertisement plays an important role in convincing the target

audience of the attractiveness of the company’s brand. Pursuing a celebrity endorsement

strategy enables advertisers to project a credible image in terms of expertise,

persuasiveness, trustworthiness, and objectiveness (Till and Shimp 1998).

To create effective messages, celebrity advertisers also have to consider the

attractiveness of the spokesperson (McCracken 1989). Source attractiveness refers to the

endorser’s physical appearance, personality, likeability, and similarity to the receiver,

thus to the perceived social value of the source (Solomon 2002). The use of (by

corresponding standards) attractive people is common practice in television and print

advertising, with physically attractive communicators having proved to be more

successful in influencing customers’ attitudes and beliefs than unattractive spokespersons

(Ohanian 1991). This behavior mainly goes back to a halo effect, whereby persons who

perform well on one dimension, e.g. physical attractiveness, are assumed to excel on

others as well, e.g. happiness and coolness (Solomon 2002).

6

By proving in her study that each source has different effects on consumers’ brand

perceptions, Ohanian (1991) however warns, that these source dimensions of the

celebrity endorser could be treated indistinctive. She therefore urges to pursue a

systematic strategy of celebrity-spokesperson-selection. This raises the question which

famous person to select to promote a company’s brand. The next paragraph examines

whether, and under what conditions celebrities are appropriate in endorsing products.

The Match-up Hypothesis

Literature reveals that a spokesperson interacts with the type of brand being

advertised. According to Friedman and Friedman (1979), a famous relative to a ‘normal’

spokesperson is more effective for products high in psychological or social risk,

involving such elements as good taste, self-image, and opinion of others. Several

research studies have examined the congruency between celebrity endorsers and brands

to explain the effectiveness of using famous persons to promote brands (e.g. Till and

Busler 1998, Martin 1996, Till and Shimp 1998). Results show that a number of

celebrity endorsements proved very successful, whereas others completely failed,

resulting in the ‘termination’ of the respective celebrity communicator (Walker et al.

1992). Figure 2 shows some examples for successes and failures.

Celebrity Endorser Company/Product Success (Yes/No) Liz Hurley Estée Lauder Yes

Cindy Crawford Revlon PepsiCo

Yes Yes

Bruce Willis Seagrams No

Michael Jordan Nike WorldCom

Yes No

Whitney Houston AT&T No Jerry Seinfeld American Express Yes Milla Jovovich L’Oréal Yes

Figure 2: Successful and unsuccessful celebrity endorsements (Source: Till and Busler 1998, Walker et al. 1992, Till 1998)

Simply assuming that a person just has to be famous to represent a successful

spokesperson, however, would be incorrect, with a considerable number of failures

proving the opposite (Solomon 2002). Very well accepted and attractive super stars like

7

Bruce Willis and Whitney Houston failed in turning their endorsements into success.

Among the possible reasons identified by several authors (e.g. Tom et al. 1992,

Daneshvary and Schwer 2000), including overexposure and identification, the ‘match-up

hypothesis’ specifically suggests that the effectiveness depends on the existence of a ‘fit’

between the celebrity spokesperson and endorsed brand (Till and Busler 1998).

Empirical work on the congruency theory often has concentrated on the physical

attractiveness of the endorser (e.g. Kahle and Homer 1985). According to Kahle and

Homer (1985) attractive spokespersons are more effective in terms of attitude change

when promoting brands that enhance one’s attractiveness. Though Ohanian (1991)

acknowledges a popular person’s ability to create awareness and initial interest for an

advertisement, she concludes that this may not necessarily change consumer’s attitude

toward the endorsed brand. The author rather states, that “for celebrity spokespersons to

be truly effective, they should be knowledgeable, experienced, and qualified to talk about

the product.”3 A deeper insight in the complex process of celebrity endorsement is

provided by the meaning transfer model, that will be explained in the next paragraph.

The Meaning Transfer Model

McCracken (1989) explains the effectiveness of celebrity spokespersons by assessing

the meanings consumers associate with the endorser and eventually transfer to the brand.

This perspective is shared by Kambitsis et al. (2002, p. 160), who found the athletes’

personality as being an important factor in influencing “specific target groups, to which

such personalities are easily recognizable and much admired.” McCracken suggests a

meaning transfer model, that is composed of three subsequent stages. First, the meaning

associated with the famous person moves from the endorser to the product or brand.

Thus, meanings attributed to the celebrity become associated with the brand in the

consumer’s mind. Finally, in the consumption process, the brand’s meaning is acquired

by the customer. The third stage of the model explicitly shows the importance of the

consumer’s role in the process of endorsing brands with famous persons. The meaning

transfer process is shown in Figure 3.

3 Ohanian (1991), p. 52.

8

Figure 3: Meaning transfer in the endorsement process (Adapted from McCracken 1989)

McCracken’s model is based on the concept of meanings. Celebrities contain a broad

range of meanings, involving demographic categories (e.g. age, gender, status),

personality and lifestyle types. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a tough, intense

and modern women, and is associated with the lower middle class (Walker et al. 1992).

The personality of Pierce Brosnan is best characterized as the perfect gentlemen, whereas

Jennifer Aniston has the image of the ‘good girl from next door’. McCracken (1989)

emphasizes that a famous person represents not one single meaning, but expresses a

number and variety of different meanings. According to Martin (1996, p.29), celebrity

spokespersons are useful in marketing because they provide a “set of characteristics” that

supports consumers in evaluating the presented brand. In contrast to anonymous

endorsers, celebrities add value to the image transfer process by offering meanings of

extra depth and power, what is complemented by their lifestyles and personalities

(McCracken 1989).4

Having determined the brand’s symbolic features by considering consumers’ needs,

the advertising company has to select the celebrity who contains the appropriate set of

characteristics, and “who will best be able to produce the most favorable response from

consumers.”5 L’Oréal decided to promote its lip color brand ‘Shine Délice’ as “sheer,

sumptuous, sensual” with “juicy shades…for luscious lips.” (L’Oréal USA 2002) French

model and actress Laetitia Casta with her fresh and sexy look best matched the cosmetic 4 McCracken (1989, p. 315) further explains, that “celebrities draw these powerful meanings from the

roles they assume in their television, movie, (…), athletic, and other careers.” 5 Martin (1996), p. 28. However, besides such constraints as availability or budget, there are further limits

in finding the ‘perfect’ match, with no data collection of celebrities (and their meanings) available at present (McCracken 1989).

9

brand’s properties and was therefore selected to portray this brand line of L’Oréal.

Pairing the model and the beauty product in an advertisement allows the transfer of

Casta’s meanings to the consumer good, thus her meanings (e.g. youthful, fresh,

appealing) become associated with the L’Oréal brand ‘Shine Délice’ in the mind of the

female consumer.

Using a different character, for example the actress Andie McDowell, to endorse

‘Shine Délice’, would affect the meaning of the brand in the minds of consumers (Walker

et al. 1992). The meanings associated with her, like sophisticated, moral, mature woman,

and family-type, are completely different to those of Casta, thus, when transferred,

resulting in different associations with L’Oréal’s lip color brand, for example, less

youthful, more introverted, and safe. These findings prove, that it is crucial to select the

appropriate celebrity endorser, i.e. a spokesperson that is able to promote the desired

attributes of the brand.6

Multiple Brand and Celebrity Endorsement

Studying TV and print advertisements, one will realize that either some celebrities are

endorsing several brands or a specific brand is endorsed by different spokespersons.

These concepts are called multiple brand endorsement and multiple celebrity

endorsement respectively.

Some spokespersons are “shared” by different advertising firms, i.e. they are

promoting more than one brand (Tripp et al. 1994, p. 535). Golf champion Tiger Woods

has endorsed American Express, Rolex, and Nike. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is used

by T-Mobile and Elizabeth Arden. James Bond character Pierce Brosnan promotes

Omega, BMW, and Noreico. Top model and actress Milla Jovovich is a spokesperson

for a broad range of brands, including L’Oréal, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Calvin

Klein, and Donna Karan. (View Figure 4).

The question is, does this special form of celebrity endorsement does affect

consumers’ brand attitudes? Following Tripp et al. (1994), the endorsement of as many

as four products negatively influences the celebrity spokesperson’s credibility (i.e.

6 In fact, Andie McDowell is also a spokesperson for L’Oréal. However, she is used to endorse products

for women of her age group, e.g. the hair color brand ‘Excellence’.

10

expertise and trustworthiness) and likeability. They further add, that these effects are

independent of the celebrity, i.e. the perceptions of even well-liked stars can be

influenced. Reasons may be found in the lack of distinctiveness, with one famous person

endorsing several products instead of concentrating on and representing one specific

brand. Though these findings may be valid, it does not automatically mean that the

concept of multiple product endorsement is useless. Further research is suggested on

potential positive effects, like transfer of positive brand images, and on the shape of

consumers’ response when more than four products are endorsed.

Figure 4: Brands endorsed by top model and actress Milla Jovovich (Source: millaj.com)

More satisfying results have been achieved on the concept of multiple celebrity

endorsement. Hsu and McDonald (2002, p.21), studying the effectiveness of the ‘milk

mustache campaign’ on consumer perceptions, found that endorsing a product with

multiple celebrities “can be beneficial for appealing to various audiences to which the

product is aimed.” The watch manufacturer Omega, for example, promotes its brand by

matching selected celebrities with the company’s product lines. (View Figure 5).7

With celebrity spokespersons representing a diverse mix of type, gender, and age,

they can effectively be used to endorse specific brand lines of a company as shown by the

cosmetic manufacturer L’Oréal, which matches its diverse product lines in accordance

with the celebrity’s meanings.

7 Another example represents L’Oréal, which has used this concept for several years. The cosmetics

company’s brands are endorsed by stars like Andie McDowell, Laetitia Casta, Milla Jovovich, Heather Locklear, Vanessa Williams, and Virginie Ledoyen (lorealparisusa.com 2002).

11

Figure 5: Celebrities endorsing the luxury brand ‘Omega’ (Source: http://www.omega.ch/omega/wo_star_ambass_entry)

Conclusion

This article addressed a popular method of marketing communication: the use of

celebrity spokespersons in advertising to endorse brands. A brief assessment of the

current market situation indicates, that celebrity endorsement advertising strategies can

under the right circumstances indeed justify the high costs associated with this form of

advertising. However, as several failures show, it is essential for advertisers to be aware

of the complex processes underlying celebrity endorsement, by gaining an understanding

of the described concepts of source credibility and attractiveness, match-up hypothesis,

meaning transfer model, multiple product and celebrity endorsement. While these

concepts can help to answer the question if and when celebrity advertising investments

pay off, it has to be the goal of further research efforts to develop an extensive, consistent

and user-friendly tool to avoid arbitrary decisions and enhance the strategic character of

celebrity sponsorship decisions.

12

References

Daneshvary, Rennae and R. Keith Schwer (2000), “The Association Endorsement and Consumers’ Intention to Purchase,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 17 (3), 203-213.

Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (2002), ardenbeauty, URL: http://www.elizabetharden.com/ ardenbeauty/inspiration.asp , [12/20/2002].

Friedman, Hershey H. and Linda Friedman (1979), “Endorser Effectiveness by Product Type,” Journal of Advertising Research, 19 (5), 63-71.

Forbes.com (2002), “Stock Focus: Companies Plugged by Celebrities”, URL: http://www.forbes.com/2001/07/02/0702sf.html, [11/5/2002].

Hsu, Chung-Kue and Daniella McDonald (2002), “An Examination on Multiple Celebrity Endorsers in Advertising,” Journal of Product & Brand Management, 11 (1), 19-29.

Kahle, Lynn R. and Pamela M. Homer (1985), “Physical Attractiveness of the Celebrity Endorser: A Social Adaptation Perspective,” Journal of Consumer Research, 11 (4), 954-961.

Kambitsis, Chris, Yvonne Harahousou, Nicholas Theodorakis, and Giannis Chatzibeis (2002), “Sports Advertising in Print Media: The Case of 2000 Olympic Games,” Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 7 (3), 155-161.

L’Oréal USA (2002), “Lips – Lip Color”, URL: http://www.lorealparisusa.com/ frames.asp#cosmetics/MatchFoundation/expert/expert.asp [12/20/2002].

Lorealparisusa.com (2002), “About L’Oreal – What we represent”, URL: http://www.lorealparisusa.com/cosmetics, [11/21/2002].

Martin, James H. (1996), “Is the Athlete’s Sport Important when Picking an Athlete to Endorse a Nonsport Product?,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 13 (6), 28-43.

McCracken, Grant (1989), “Who Is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process,” Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (3), 310-321.

MillaJ.com (2002), „The Official Milla Jovovich Website”, URL: www.millaj.com, [11/21/2002].

Ohanian, Roobina (1991), “The Impact of Celebrity Spokespersons’ Perceived Image on Consumers’ Intention to Purchase,” Journal of Advertising Research, 31 (1), 46-53.

Solomon, Michael R. (2002), Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 5th ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Till, Brian D. and Michael Busler (1998), “Matching Products with Endorsers: Attractiveness versus Expertise,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 15 (6), 576-586.

13

Till, Brian D. and Terence A. Shimp (1998), “Endorsers in Advertising: The Case of Negative Celebrity Information,” Journal of Advertising, 27 (1), 67-82.

Tom, Gail, Rebecca Clark, Laura Elmer, Edward Grech, Joseph Masetti, Jr., and Harmona Sandhar (1992), “The Use of Created versus Celebrity Spokespersons in Advertisements,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 9 (4), 45-51.

Tripp, Carolyn, Thomas D. Jensen, and Les Carlson (1994), “The Effects of Multiple Product Endorsements by Celebrities on Consumers’ Attitudes and Intentions,” Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (4), 535-547.

Walker, Mary, Lynn Langmeyer, and Daniel Langmeyer (1992),“ Celebrity Endorsers: Do You Get What You Pay for?,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 9 (2), 69-76.