ABSTRACT
The use of celebrities in advertisements is gaining popularity due to the belief of marketers that endorsement messages delivered by the celebrity will result in greater consumer attention and subsequently better recall, a higher degree of appeal, reinforce the image of the brand and increase the likelihood of purchase of the endorsed brand (Atkin & Block, 1983; Burnett & Menon, 1993). It is estimated that more than 15% of all television advertising include celebrity endorsements (Bradley, 1996; Sherman, 1985). In the endorsement process, celebrities may be used in four possible ways. First, in a testimonial, the celebrity has personally used the brand and attests to its quality. Second are endorsements wherein celebrities only lend their names to the brands. The celebrity can also be used as an actor, in which case the celebrity enacts a character rather than a personal testimonial or endorsement, as in the case of Pierce Brosnan who enacts James Bond in the endorsements for Omega watches, Reid and Taylor suitings, and Ericsson mobile phones. Finally, the celebrity can be a spokesperson or brand ambassador, in which case the celebrity represents a brand over an extended period of time (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2000).
