Exploring celebrity endorsements beyond vanilla marketing

Abstract

Advertising is all about creativity. Some think of it as a science as well. However, more often it is perceived to be more of an art than science. It is about reaching the target audience and meeting intended objectives. There is no fixed or right way to do it. Marketers keep on using different advertising strategies to make it more creative and appealing. Use of celebrity endorser is one of them. Celebrity endorsement is a technique where a well-known face, public figure or respected individual from the specific field or even a subject expert speaks on behalf of the brand. Celebrity endorses a product or brand or company or even a cause and may be some of them or all of them. For years, such celebrity inclusion in the advertisements are helping the consumers to feel safe or assured and connected with the brand. This age-old practice is going stronger even today. However, the way celebrities get associated with the brand has undergone significant changes in the recent years. Appearance of celebrity in the brand campaigns is very common. However to get the most out of this celebrity association, marketers should use it in a more innovative and integrative manner. Hence, many marketers are expanding the celebrity association beyond plain vanilla brand endorsements.

This review paper discusses broader concept of celebrity endorsement and some innovative ideas of going beyond mere inclusion of celebrities in the advertisements.