ARE CELEBRITIES REQUIRED TO ENDORSE PRODUCTS IN ADVERTISING

Aristotle quotes Any brand can get a celebrity. That is easy. But getting a celebrity consistent with the right brand, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy The crescendo of celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing over the past years. Marketers overtly acknowledge the power of celebrities in influencing consumer-purchasing decisions. It is a universally accepted fact that celebrity endorsement can bestow special attributes upon a product that it may have lacked otherwise. But everything is not hunky-dory as it may seem. Not only can a endorsement plan backfire on the brand itself but also have a negative impact on the celebrity status as well. And if a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he or she can also exacerbate the image of a brand. A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand, but the celebrity needs to match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link between the celebrity and the message are musts for a successful campaign. Celebrities are no doubt good at generating attention, recall and positive attitudes towards advertising provided that they are supporting a good idea and there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the other hand, they are rendered useless when it comes to the actual efficiency of the core product, creating positive attitudes to brands, purchase intentions and actual sales. I, on a personal level feel, that a celebrity is not required to endorse a brand in advertisements and that the brand should sell itself on its own Unique Selling Proposition rather than blinding the consumers with shiny images of glamorous celebrities. Not only is it not necessary, there can be some negative effects on the brand and the celebrity as well. I think people today are savvier consumers than ever before, and so the chasm between celebrity testimonials and credibility is widening. I would like to elaborate my point with the following examples.

The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has endorsed the product: Accenture suffered with the scandalous celebrity/sportsman Tiger Woods. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects on the brand, celebrity endorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands they endorse. Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor): It is not always necessary that a celebrity uses the product he/she endorses. If a celebrity endorses Pepsi and is seeing drinking Coke-acola, the credibility of the brand as well as the celebrity goes down and people thing that they are being lied to. Celebrities are not experts but are believed to be: Since most celebrities are actors or sports stars, they are seldom experts on the products or causes that they endorse. Sometimes the advertisers even attempt to exploit confusion between fantasy and reality by selecting actors to endorse products based on the fictional characters they play. Eg: An actor playing the role of a doctor in Pepsodent commercial has no credibility to sell the product as he is not really a doctor. Celebrity disinterest in product: Most celebrities who endorse products are paid to do so, and thus the endorsement is not a disinterested one. Celebrities who endorse charities or political candidates probably are not paid money, but they often benefit from the association with a good cause or the publicity that comes from controversy. Celebrities overshadowing the brand: People who watch advertisements will remember the celebrity in the advertisement but often fail to recall the brand or its USP. As a result, there is no use of the advertisement as it is not able to send a clear message to the consumer about the product. Behaviour of the celebrity: The behaviour by a celebrity does affect the brand. Negative or positive depends on the nature of behaviour. A celebrity driving fast on a highway and getting a ticket for the same could be good for an auto/fuel/tyre brand he/she endorses but at the same time killing someone in the highway because of over speeding can jeopardize the brand to a great extent. The issue at the end is not

about the celebrity or their actions but is about the way those actions are percieved and the extent of damage these actions would cause.

I would also like to show that the attitude of people (consumers) toward a brand and its transfer of meaning on the celebrity endorsers attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, and overall credibility while coming up with an advertisement. Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed and separated into hypotheses based on an overall poorly perceived brand and a positively perceived brand. Hypothesis 1a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived endorsed brand influences the perceived attractiveness of the celebrity. Hypothesis 1b: The attitude toward a positively perceived endorsed brand influences the perceived attractiveness of the celebrity. Hypothesis 2a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived endorsed branded product influences the perceived trustworthiness of the celebrity. Hypothesis 2b: The attitude toward a positively perceived endorsed brand influences the perceived trustworthiness of the celebrity. Hypothesis 3a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived branded product influences the perceived expertise of the celebrity. Hypothesis 3b: The attitude toward a positively perceived branded product influences the perceived expertise of the celebrity. Additionally, Hypothesis 4a: The attitude toward a poorly perceived branded product influences the perceived overall credibility of the celebrity. Hypothesis 4b: The attitude toward a positively perceived branded product influences the perceived overall credibility of the celebrity. In conclusion, I would like to say, Brands need to sell on their USP and the uniqueness, quality, price quantity and usefulness. The advertisements need to be put to the public focusing on these factors and inform the public about the product.

Celebrities may add to the glamour of the advertisement but they may not be able to relate to the product to sell. This not only blinds the public but also tarnishes the brand name and goodwill and the name of the celebrity as well. A product with a good Advertising campaign sells itself with or without celebrities.