Celebrity ambassador/celebrity endorsement – takes a licking but keeps on ticking

The paper examines the use of advertising and celebrity endorsement in promoting wristwatches from the beginning of the 20th century up until today. It shows a progression from simple informational advertisements stressing the technical, aesthetic and social appeals of the watches to more complex ones appealing to self-image and the use of celebrity endorsement. However, some – albeit not all – luxury wristwatch manufacturers have abandoned their use of celebrity endorsers. We note the need for businesses to undertake advertising aimed at appealing to consumer self-image, often reinforced by celebrity endorsement. The paper explores why the celebrity endorsement of brands may be effective or otherwise. We question, however, the cost-effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, and whether methods such as parasocial advertising through social media sites may offer an alternative. Like the brands they promote, advertising theories also have life cycles and the need to find new theories and update or abandon existing ones continues apace.     

From caterpillar to butterfly: experiencing spirituality via body transformation

ABSTRACT

Consumers increasingly seek out the spiritual to enlighten their inner emptiness and find their inner selves. We add a physiological, embodied perspective, which has been commonly overlooked in extant research as a valuable opportunity for individual consumer spirituality. Interpretative investigation of body-transforming consumers uncovers a powerful reincarnation process that eventually leads to the self-renewal and reunion of body and mind. We find that the consumption of body-transforming substances initiates a mindful, spiritual consumer journey allowing consumers to actively develop and experience their inner spirituality through recurring cycles of reduction, reflection and release. These findings allow us to develop implications for a broader understanding of consumer spirituality where the active consumer seeks unity in the self and beyond.     

The impact of death on consumer responses to celebrity endorser misbehavior

A well‐established stream of research on celebrity misbehavior suggests that negative information may have an adverse effect on an endorsed brand because of its association with a celebrity considered as blameworthy. However, the present research calls into question the generalizability of these results to fatal misbehaviors (i.e., misbehaviors that lead to the celebrity's death). Indeed, after death, a celebrity may gain spiritual meanings, and consumers may find it more difficult to blame a sacred individual. As such, the current article investigates the impact of a celebrity's death on blame attribution and consumer attitudes in the context of celebrity endorser misbehavior. The results of three experiments uncover that death favors a partial blame attribution transfer from the celebrity endorser to the brand, but only when the misbehavior implies a product related to the brand. In addition, the findings reveal a positive effect of death through celebrity sacredness on brand attitude.     

Spiritual myths of consumption: puritanism,transcendentalism and the consubstantiation of the American consumer

ABSTRACT

Contemporary consumer trends in America are profoundly influenced by the enduring religious values of Puritanism and the more secular spiritual values of Transcendentalism. Both belief systems have deeply penetrated American collective memory. While they share common historical roots, the tensions that emerge from their differences describe a typology of three enduring collective myths of American culture – the Myth of the American Dream, the Myth of the American Adam and the Myth of American Exceptionalism. These myths, in turn, define three contemporary consumer movements – Voluntary Simplicity, Transformational Consumption and Radical Consumption.     

Culinary tourism: An exploratory reading of contemporary representations of cooking

In Levi‐Straussian terms cooking marks the “transition between nature and culture”. Yet the study of cookbooks as placed cultural artefacts is largely neglected by consumer researchers. This essay seeks to address this oversight, setting out to explore the potential contribution of a turn to cookbooks for enriching our understanding of the character of contemporary consumer culture. It weaves a line of argument that asserts the value of treating cookbooks as cultural products, as objectifications of culinary culture, as constructed social forms which are amenable to textual analysis. In this respect it declares that, rather than simply being understood as reflections of contemporary consumer culture, cookbooks should be understood as artefacts of cultural life in the making. That is, cookbooks contain not only recipes but inscribed cultural tales which can be understood as productive of the culinary culture that they pretend only to display, and performative in their attempt to do things with us. We reveal cookbooks to be sites of aestheticised consumption.     

Uncovering the power of natural endorsements: a comparison with celebrity-endorsed advertising and product placements

ABSTRACT

Despite the vast literature on celebrity endorsements in advertising, research to date has not assessed whether and how celebrity-brand associations created via traditional endorsements or product placements compare to more natural associations that emerge from real-life celebrity images through social media. This experiment systematically compares the impact of different brand-celebrity associations on consumer perceptions of the celebrity's credibility and their responses to a new brand associated with that celebrity. The results reveal that, unlike more commercial brand associations, natural brand-celebrity associations can yield strong brand effects without eroding the celebrity's credibility. The findings are especially insightful given increasing numbers of natural brand-celebrity associations in social media.     

Partly primitive: discursive constructions of the domestic surfer

Various studies highlight the importance of discourses in consumer culture, yet fewer explore the historical development of these phenomena. This paper examines a long-view of the meanings and uses of primitive discourse in consumer culture. An investigation of the changing representation of indigenous Hawaiian surfing within Euro-American culture between the late-eighteenth and mid-twentieth century illustrates the ambiguous and malleable articulations of marketplace discourses. We find that over the course of this period, primitive discourses are expressed differently by changing figurations of social actors in manners that serve colonial, celebratory, contemplative and countercultural intentions. Finally, we find that the construction of surfing as a partly primitive marketplace culture combines these discourses to offer consumers a distinct and domesticated theatre of liberatory othering. Illustrating the changing possibilities and potentials for otherness in consumer culture, this paper reaffirms that contemporary marketplace cultures have complex historical roots. These legacies justify extended contextual investigations. Implications concerning representation and the politics of marketplace primitivism are discussed.     

Being True to Oneself: Investigating Celebrity Brand Authenticity

Celebrity brand authenticity is introduced as a construct that represents consumer perceptions of celebrities being “true to oneself” in their behaviors and interactions with consumers. A scale is developed through two purification stages and the scale's predictive validity is assessed. First, the meaning of celebrity brand authenticity to consumers is explored. Second, the Authenticity Inventory from the psychology literature is adapted to develop a scale for consumer perceptions of celebrity brand authenticity. Celebrity brands are perceived as true to self when they appear genuine in their relationships with consumers and behave in accordance with their perceived held values. Evidence of the convergent and discriminant validity of the celebrity brand authenticity scale is provided, which confirms celebrity brand authenticity as distinct from celebrity attachment, despite containing relational items. Finally, the predictive power of celebrity brand authenticity is confirmed through positively influencing consumer intentions to purchase an endorsed brand. Brand managers can use celebrity brand authenticity to position or develop celebrity brands, as well as in the selection of celebrity endorsers.     

Celebrity Endorsements in Advertisements and Consumer Perceptions: A Cross-Cultural Study

ABSTRACT

We studied consumer perceptions of celebrity endorsements from a cross-cultural perspective. In empirically examining consumer perception of celebrity endorsement, we used Hofstede's cultural dimensions to develop research propositions and examined these propositions through focus group discussions involving consumers from India and the United States. Findings indicated that specific differences and similarities exist in how consumers across India and the United States perceive celebrity endorsements. There is a positive, although moderate, impact of celebrity endorsements on attention and exposure of consumers. Implications for marketers as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The cynicism of consumer morality

Based on an empirical analysis of a yearlong netnography of a Swedish online fashion community, and the explication of the concept of modern cynicism, this paper develops a novel perspective on consumer morality. The analysis suggests that modern cynicism informs consumers of the reasonableness in consciously stating one type of morality while acting out another, in order to handle the morally conflicting demands put on them by contemporary consumer culture. The contribution of the paper is mainly threefold: (i) it conceptualizes instances of consumer morality as a form of consumer cynicism; (ii) it advances our understanding of consumer morality by showing how instances of consumer morality are articulated through cynical discursive practices, steeped in an enlightened disbelief in: the market, the other consumer and the self; and (iii) it shows that consumer cynicism, as enlightened critique, does not necessarily constitute an effective form of resistance. It is concluded that we may observe yet another type of morality developing within contemporary consumption, markets and culture: a morality of cynicism where consumers, actors and organizations not only find something healthy, but also something right or good in a cynical reason.     

The Role of Country of Origin in Celebrity Endorsements: Integrating Effects of Brand Familiarity

ABSTRACT

With the advent of globalization and open economies in the developing nations, the consumers in the same are experiencing entry of more and more foreign products. The traditional practice of having country of origin (COO) cues to influence consumer attitudes is being juxtaposed with COO cues of celebrity endorsers to influence consumers. In that context, the present study investigates whether (a) a global celebrity would be more applicable for a brand regardless of its COO (local or global); (b) a global celebrity would have a more favorable impact on the consumer attitudes for a third country (TC) brand; and (c) brand familiarity would moderate the effects of celebrity endorsements on consumer attitudes. Based on a detailed literature review, four hypotheses were developed and tested through two experimental designs using nonstudent participants. The independent variables used in study were celebrity endorser COO and brand COO. Major findings indicate a celebrity–brand COO match to create favorable impact on consumer attitudes. Findings also supported the effectiveness of a global celebrity for a brand that does not share the same COO. Brand familiarity was found to moderate the effect of the endorser on consumer attitudes. The study has implications for academia and practitioners.     

Celebrities as human brands: An inquiry on stakeholder-actor co-creation of brand identities

This paper examines the co-creation of human brands exemplified by celebrities in a stakeholder-actor approach. Combining theoretical frameworks of brand identity co-creation and stakeholder paradigms, demonstrates how human brand identities co-create by multiple stakeholder-actors who have resources and incentives in the activities that make up an enterprise of a human brand, including the celebrities themselves, consumer-fans, and business entities. By utilizing observational, archival netnographic data from popular social media platforms, four exemplars of celebrity identities demonstrate the co-creation of human brands. Findings illustrate key stakeholder-actors' participation in the co-creation process as well as sociocultural codes, including social construction and negotiation of identities, parasocialization, influence projection, legitimization, and utilization of human brand identities. These human brand identity dynamics advance a stakeholder-actor paradigm of brand co-creation that adapts to the predominant consumer culture and human ideals that surround the celebrity. Results inform implications and future research on celebrity brand marketing management and co-creation.     

Seller honesty and product line pricing

We study upselling in markets where the seller observes consumer need but the consumer herself may not (e.g., medical care, durable repairs, financial and legal services). The seller may recommend excessive product features to uninformed consumers. In a monopoly with two types of consumer (one with a basic need and the other an advanced need) and two types of service (a basic service which fulfills only the basic need and an advanced service which fulfills both needs), we investigate the firm’s honesty and product-line pricing. We reach several results. First, the firm is honest if the basic service is superior (in that it generates higher per-capita social surplus than the advanced service under the efficient allocation) or if the consumers with the basic need are sufficiently many. Second, when there exist informed consumers who neglect seller recommendation, the presence of informed consumers may cause consumer welfare to decrease, and a larger informed population may cause firm profits and social welfare to increase or decrease. Lastly, when the informed consumers boycott a dishonest firm and withhold purchase, firm profits may increase because the threat of boycotting makes the firm more credible and allows a higher price of the advanced service.     

Donn,Vic and tiki bar authenticity

This study explores the social history of the tiki bar and associated phenomena, from its origins in the 1930s up to the present. In doing so, we aim to contribute to theory on consumer research about social categories and authenticity. Piecing together fragmented accounts and materials, we first sketch a brief socio-historical narrative of the tiki bar. The narrative describes several colorful, quirky and idiosyncratic individuals, but shows that the tiki bar nonetheless became established as a widely recognized part of American popular culture. At no point did the tiki bar represent an accurate manifestation of Polynesian culture or food, despite its popularity, growth and cultural embeddedness; the tiki bar thus fails any kind of basic test of objective or nominal authenticity, which concerns the provenance of an object. The tiki bar does eventually generate its own institutionalized social category, and many tiki bars fit the category and thereby possess type authenticity. The case is interesting theoretically because the tiki bar’s authenticity status changes across its history and because its growth and institutionalization as a category occurred without explicit endorsement by the state or any professional body or regulator. We speculate that evolution of the tiki bar was driven by a peculiar set of conditions and status dynamics.     

Doing sensory ethnography in consumer research

This paper is a contribution to sensory‐aware cultural consumer research. It suggests that while the audio‐visual domain is unquestionably a crucial ingredient of contemporary consumer culture, there is a pressing need to explore the role of the other senses as well. The study works towards a practice‐based culturalist approach to sensory ethnography, a perspective that allows consumer scholars to empirically account for the cultural aspects of the senses. Through an empirical case study on sport fishing, the paper scrutinizes the challenges and opportunities related to conducting sensory ethnography. In addition, it discusses the benefits of this approach in consumer research.     

品牌组合代言溢出效应研究——名人崇拜的调节作用

文章采用心理学实验法,基于拟社会互动关系视角的研究发现：不同水平的名人崇拜对名人多品牌组合代言的消费者评价有正向影响;名人崇拜对品牌代言组合的消费者影响有调节作用,即高崇拜消费者对品牌代言组合的消费者影响不敏感,且保持在一个相对稳定的较高水平;而低崇拜消费者对品牌代言组合的消费者影响大致成倒“U”型曲线结构。文章开拓性地将“名人崇拜”这一社会心理现象与市场中的消费者行为联系起来,揭示了名人崇拜对多品牌组合代言效应的调节作用,为名人多品牌组合代言活动提供了理论依据与实践指导。     

Celebrity Endorsements

Abstract

Advertising professionals rely on the assumption that using a celebrity to endorse a brand will result in an increase in consumer recall of the brand. Advertisers believe that using a celebrity endorser will foster, in the mind of the consumer, a match or connection between the celebrity endorser and the endorsed brand. The results presented in this study, however, found that a celebrity recognized in a magazine advertisement did not increase consumer recall of the brand endorsed by the celebrity for both professional athlete celebrities and other entertainment celebrities who are not professional athletes. Furthermore, subjects in this study did not correctly identify the brand when previously exposed to the full magazine advertisement, even when the celebrity's face cued the subject for recall. The results of this study raise questions relative to using celebrity endorsements to enhance brand recall.     

Beyond endorsements: The effect of celebrity Creative Directors on consumers’ attitudes toward the advertisement

Marketers are beginning to expand the roles that celebrities play in support of brands. Connections now go beyond the typical endorsement relationship to employing celebrities as Creative Directors. Study 1 demonstrates celebrity Creative Directors, as opposed to merely endorsers, result in increased attitudes toward the advertisement; an effect mediated by consumer perceptions of celebrity expertize and attenuated by skepticism toward advertising. Study 2 further investigates this phenomenon by considering whether it is the title of Creative Director that results in increased attitudes toward the advertisement or if consumers need to be made aware of the responsibilities associated with such a role. Results from Study 2 suggest that merely bestowing a celebrity with the title of Creative Director is not sufficient to enhance attitudes, the duties performed by the celebrity Creative Director must be made explicit.     

Public Information and Consumer Skepticism Effects on Celebrity Endorsements: Studies among Young Consumers

This article reports on a survey and an experimental study that were conducted to determine the extent to which public information about celebrity endorsers influences consumers' attitudes and perceptions, and whether this was moderated by an individual difference factor, consumer skepticism. Participants in the survey were more likely to recall and discuss negative events involving male sports celebrities; thought that these negative events had little or no effect on their perceptions of brands or companies associated with embattled celebrities; and focused discussion on the case of Kobe Bryant, when they were asked to discuss a specific case of a controversy involving a celebrity endorser. The experimental study revealed significant main and interaction effects of nature of information about a celebrity and consumer skepticism. It revealed that consumer skepticism has its greatest impact when information is neutral. The experimental study established that advertisers have to take into account the level of consumer skepticism when they use celebrities in their advertisements to target different groups of consumers.     

Practising gender: The role of banter in young men’s improvisations of masculine consumer identities

Abstract

Although consumer researchers have explored the social, cultural and consumption-related tensions involved in being and becoming masculine, prior research has tended to focus on individual men’s experiences. This paper reviews literature in this area together with theories of gender as performed, performative and social practice. Our ethnographic study of male friendship groups in central Scotland explores the gender processes involved in improvising their masculine consumer identities within and across various social settings and interactions. In particular, through consumption-related banter, they played for and played with their ideas of masculinity, thereby engaging in the practising of gender. The boundaries between ‘safe’ and ‘danger’ zones of consumption varied across social groups and contexts, highlighting the complexity and contingency of contemporary masculinities.