A celebrity is a well-known personality who enjoys public recognition by a large

share of a certain group of people (Schlecht, 2003).Celebrities (e.g. Models, actors,

television stars, artists and, sport athletes) are known to the public for their

accomplishments in areas other than the product class endorsed (Friedman and

Friedman, 1979).They usually enjoy high public recognition, and often have

powerful influence upon endorsing products. They appear on television as

spokespersons on behalf of the advertised brand, or ordinary users of such brand. In

either way they often deliver a convincing message. They help increase awareness

of advertised brands and create positive feelings towards them (Solomon,

2002).Eventually, this will positively affect customers 'brand choice behaviour. The

crescendo of celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing over the past

20 years or so. Marketers overtly acknowledge the power of celebrity in

influencing buyer's purchase decision. They have firm belief that likeability or a

favourable attitude towards a brand is created by the use of a celebrity. This

power is offered by the following elements, which also creates a 'Top of the

Mind Position'.

Instant awareness, knowledge about the brand and easy recall.

Values and image of the brand is defined, highlighted and refreshed by the

celebrity.

The celebrity adds new edge and dimension to the brand.

Credibility, trust, association, aspiration and connectivity to brand.

Belief in efficiency and new appearance that will result in at least trial usage.

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. They can also

help the company in reducing their expenditure on Media and other forms of

publicity. Celebrities also create positive feelings towards brands, connect user to

brand and are perceived by consumers as more entertaining. Using a celebrity in

advertising or for any, other type of communication for brand building is likely to

positively affect consumers' brand preference, brand attitude, brand association and

purchase intentions. To ensure positive results, however, it is critical for

advertisers to have a clear understanding of consumer's reactions and reinforcement

of celebrity endorsement. The impact of celebrity endorsement on any brand as well

as on consumer's purchase decision is very critical.

Celebrities need to have some special attributes because of which consumers would

relate to them and purchase the products endorsed by these celebrities. Once they

relate to the celebrities they become loyal towards the brands endorsed by them and

start patronizing them. Research has shown that effective

celebrities must be assessed against five essential attributes, usually referred to as

'TEARS' model (Shimp, 2003):

1. Trustworthiness: honesty, integrity, and believability of an endorser. It reflects

the extent to which audience members trust and believe what celebrities say

regarding the advertised brand.

2. Expertise: knowledge, experience, and skills of an endorser regarding the

advertised brand. For example, a sport athlete is considered to be an expert when

he/she endorses sport related products.

3. Attractiveness: all characteristics that make an endorser attractive to audience

members (e.g. physical look, personality properties, attractive lifestyle, etc.).

4. Respect: refers to the quality of being admired or esteemed due to endorser’s

overall accomplishments.

5. Similarity: represents the extent to which an endorser matches target

audience on characteristics related to the endorsement relationship (sex, age,

lifestyle, etc.).

The TEARS model describes the essential qualities of celebrities that are important

in determining their effectiveness in endorsement. Many studies described the

positive effects of celebrities on consumer buying behaviour, such as the adoption

of clothing styles, product choice, and health behaviours (Brown and Basil, 1995;

Hoffner and Cantor, 1991). Research evidence revealed that the perceived image of

celebrity endorsers had a positive impact on product buying behaviour (Goldsmith,

Lafferty, and Newell, 2000; Mathur, Mathur, and Rangan, 1997, Ohanian,

1990).One study indicated that people of all ages emulated the appearance and

behaviours of media celebrities they admired (Hoffner and Cantor, 1991). One

study by Howard (2002) showed that female respondents in the U.S.A. were more

responsive to celebrity endorsement (20%) than male respondents (16%). Frazer

and Brown examined how audience members identified with celebrities, and how

this affected their personal lives. They concluded that people selectively integrated

the perceived values and behaviours they saw in celebrities they admired and

adopted them into their own lives (Frazer and Brown, 2002). Pappas (1999), who

examined the value of star power in an endorsement, indicated how a well-designed

advertising helped celebrities convert their star power into brand equity. One study

stressed the advantage of celebrity endorsement in enhancing product recognition

and recall. The study maintained that consumers were likely to take more notice

of celebrity advertisements and improve their level of product recall (Bowman,

2002).

Contra

Despite the preceding potential benefits, there are still many potential hazards in

utilising celebrities as part of a marcoms campaign. Benefits of using celebrities

can reverse markedly if they, for example, suddenly change image, drop in

popularity, get into a situation of moral turpitude, lose credibility by over-

endorsing, or overshadow endorsed products (Cooper 1984; Kaikati 1987). It has

been found that negative information about a celebrity endorser not only influences

consumers' perception of the celebrity, but also the endorsed product (Klebba and

Unger 1982; Till and Shimp 1995). A common concern is that consumers will focus

their attention on the celebrity and fail to notice the brand being promoted (Rossiter

and Fercy 1987). As Cooper (1984) puts it "the product not the celebrity, must be

the star." Embarrassment has occurred for some companies when their

spokesperson or celebrity has become embroiled in controversy (Hertz

Corporation and OJ. Simpson). Another important issue is that of celebrity' greed

and subsequent over exposure when a celebrity becomes an endorser for many

diverse products. According to Pringle there is research to show that consumers

lose confidence in celebrities who do too many things. If a celebrity says lots of

things for lots of brands, this only reinforces the idea. Many studies were critical

about the use of celebrity endorsement. One study examined the potential risks of

overshadowing endorsed products. The study explored the common concern that

consumers would focus their attention on the celebrity and fail to note the endorsed

brand itself (Erdogan, Baker, and Tagg, 2001). Wells and Prensky (1996), who

examined the issue of credibility, indicated that many consumers were skeptical of

celebrities who were paid to provide positive information about endorsed brands.

Other studies explored the issue of negative publicity associated with celebrity

endorsers (Till and Shimp, 1998). To conclude, it is said that though there are

numerous benefits of celebrity endorsements and it is an effective marketing tool,

there are downsides to this tool as well. Most advertisers can't afford the

millions of dollars it takes to ink a celebrity endorser. Celebrity endorsers are not

only pricey, they're risky. Celebrity spokespeople are expensive and risky, and they

don't always pay off. If the brand is in need of additional equity, instead of

borrowing it from a celebrity, develop it independently.

*The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has endorsed the

product. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects on the brand, celebrity

endorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands they endorse.

*The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of a celebrity

overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency between the celebrity and the

brand, then the audience will remember the celebrity and not the brand.

*Inconsistency in the professional popularity of the celebrity. The celebrity may

lose his or her popularity due to some lapse in professional performances.

*Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would lead to overexposure.

The novelty of a celebrity endorsement gets diluted if he does too many

advertisements. This may be termed as commoditization of celebrities, who are

willing to endorse anything for money.

*Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor).

*Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the brand. Celebrities manifest a

certain persona for the audience. Each celebrity portrays a broad range of meanings,

involving a specific personality and lifestyle.

Researchers have used the identification process of social influence in order to

explain the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers (Basil, 1996). This theory suggests

that if an individual identifies with another individual, then he is more likely to

accept an attitude or behavior of that individual or a group. The internalization

process of social influence is occurred "when an individual accepts influence because

the induced behavior is congruent with his value system”. An individual accepts the

influence, since it provides a solution to a problem (Daneshvary and Schwer, 2000).

NEW

In the literature, two general models are often used to analyse celebrity

endorsement: the source credibility model and the source attractiveness model.

Both models will be described below. Furthermore, a description of the endorsed

brands and the match between the celebrity and the product is given.

Source credibility and source attractiveness model

Source credibility is used to imply a communicator’s positive characteristics to

affect the receiver’s acceptance of a message. The source credibility model of

Hovland et al.(1953) analyses the factors leading to the perceived credibility of the

communicator. Hovland et al. (1953) concluded that the two factors

trustworthiness and expertise underscore the concept of source credibility.

Trustworthiness is defined as the degree of confidence in the communicator’s

intent to communicate the assertions he considers most valid. Research shows that

when a communicator is perceived to be highly trustworthy; an opinionated

message is more effective than a non-opinionated communication in producing

attitude change (Ohanion, 1990). Expertise is defined as the extent to which a

communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions (Hovland, et al.1953).

Already in the early eighties, research results have indicated that in a selling

context, an expert sales person induced a significantly higher number of customers

to purchase than did a non-expert salesperson(Woodside and Davenport, 1974).

The source attractiveness model is a component of the source valence model of

McGuire (1985). The attractiveness model contends that the effectiveness of a

message depends on source familiarity, likeability, similarity and attractiveness to

the respondent. Attractiveness has become an important factor through the

increasing use of celebrities as endorsers for products, services and/or social causes

(Patzer, 1983; Ohanion, 1990). Most television and print ads use physically

attractive people. Already in the eighties, research has shown that psychically

attractive communicators are more successful in changing beliefs than unattractive

communicators (Chaiken, 1979). Likeability is referred to the positive or negative

feelings that consumers have towards a source of information. We can define

likeability as affection for the source because of its physical appearance and

behavior (Erdogan, 1999). Though some research results reveal effectiveness of

celebrities as endorsers (Freiden, 1984), but other researches suggest that celebrity

endorsement may have different degrees of effectiveness depending on other

factors like the "fit" between the celebrity and the advertised product (Till and

Shimp, 1998).

Endorsed brands

By analysing the influence of celebrity endorsement on the brands and or products

shown in the advertisements, it is important to make a classification between high

and low involvement of the advertisement. The Elaboration Likelihood theory

(Petty et al. 1981) shows that attitudes change through different routes. Under

conditions of high involvement, where elaboration is likely, the attitude change

travels through a central route in which a person exercises diligent consideration of

information that (s)he feels is central to the true merits of a particular attitudinal

position. For low involvement, low elaboration likelihood, the attitude change

travels through a peripheral route in which various simple cues associated with the

issue, object, or context exert optimal influence. This means that under conditions

of high involvement, arguments but not celebrities influence attitudes, whereas

under conditions of low involvement, celebrities but not arguments influence

attitudes. However, Kahle and Homer (1985) have shown that the involvement

effect is sensitive to variation and that the physical attractiveness of a celebrity

affects the attitude change process. A psychically of physically attractive model

exudes sensuality, can increase arousal which can affect information

processing. For example, in the case of a stunningly attractive person who claims

to use a beauty product the product in question may be assumed to be an element

of the person’s beauty formula. Information concerning attractiveness is conveyed

more quickly than other information, even if it is not highly probative.

The categorization of products into low and high involvement is based on the risk

perceptions consumers have when purchasing products (which is significantly

higher for high involvement products). Risk perceptions can be classified into four

categories (Friedman and Friedman, 1979): (1) Psychological risk, the fit between

product image and self image. (2) Financial risk is associated with the price of the

brands/products. (3) Social risk-The fear of not belonging or not taking part to/in a

reference group as a result of purchasing the wrong product/brand. (4) Operational

risk. The risk of buying a product that does not operate the way it should do.

Celebrity endorsers have been found to be more effective in promoting products

with high psychological and/or social risk than products with high financial and

performance risks (Mehulkumar, 2005).

In most celebrity endorsement research, the products which were investigated were

classified in different product categories (Kamins, 1990; Ohanian, 1990, Walker et

al. 1992), fictitious brands (Till and Busler 1998, 2000), or unknown brands (Atkin

and Block 1983; Kamins et al. 1989). In practice, celebrity endorsement is used for

existing brands, which means that it can influence the brand image.

Match between celebrity and brand / product

Research has shown that not only the classification of the product, source

credibility and source attractiveness can influence the effectiveness of the celebrity

endorser but also the match between the brand and or product with the

celebrity.There should be congruence between the celebrity and the product in

terms of characteristics such as image, expertise(Till and Busler, 1998, 2000) or

attractiveness (Baker and Churchill, 1977; Kahle and Homer, 1985).

The celebrity-product match model states that attractive endorsers are more

effective when promoting products used to enhance ones attractiveness (Kamins,

1990) and that the impact will be not significant in the case of a product that is

unrelated to “attractiveness”. Kahle and Homer (1985) found that in the case of

attractiveness related products the use of physically attractive celebrities increased

message recall; product attributes, and purchase intention. Till and Busler (1998,

2000) have examined attractiveness versus expertise as a match-up factor and

found a general attractiveness effect on brand attitude and purchase intention but

no match-up effect was found based on attractiveness. They proposed that

expertise is more appropriate for matching products with celebrity endorsers

than attractiveness.

McCracken (1989) has addressed the endorsement process from a cultural

perspective. In this “meaning transfer model” the symbolic properties of the

celebrity endorser serve the endorsement process by taking on the meanings that

they carry from ad to ad. The source models (attractive and credibility) do not

explain why a celebrity fails as an endorser for one brand while being successful

for another brand. In the meaning transfer model from McCracken (1986, 1989)

cultural meanings start as something inherent and resident in the culturally

constituted, psychical, and social world and then move through a conventional path

(advertising and fashion systems) to individual consumers where it is transferred

through the efforts of the consumer. In the meaning transfer model, the celebrity is

a persuasive communicator with a set of fictional roles and when consumers

respond to celebrity specific characteristics they are responding to the particular set

of meanings of the celebrity. The effectiveness of the celebrity depends upon the

meanings the celebrity brings to the endorsement process. The role of the celebrity

is not only being attractive or credible but also the celebrity has to make up certain

meanings the consumer finds compelling and useful (McCracken, 1989). In the

initial stage of the model of McCracken (1989), the meanings generated from

political campaigns, athletic achievements and performances and / or distant movie

performances, reside in celebrities themselves. In the second stage, meanings are

transferred to the product through advertisement and the endorsement process. In

the last stage, the meanings are transferred from the product to the consumer where

the properties of the product become the properties of the consumer. Walker et al

(1992) later concluded that meanings and images transfer from the celebrity

endorsers totheproduct.InFigure1the meaning transfer model of McCracken (1989)

is summarized.

(Please insert Figure 1 about here)

On the basis of this model, Mehulkumar (2005) proposes the CATLEF model. The

CATLEF model examines the interaction between celebrity characteristics and

product characteristics at a brand level for different countries. The perceived

celebrity endorser image has to be summarized in a multicultural setting with

an international celebrity measuring with the following variables: Credibility (C ),

Attractiveness (A), Trustworthiness (T), Likeability (L), Expertise (E) and

Familiarity (F). The product characteristics which have to be measured in this

model are: attractiveness related/unrelated product, expertise related/unrelated and

high low involvement product. On the basis of the literature one can conclude that

an attractive celebrity is more effective in endorsing attractiveness related products

and or brands. An attractive celebrity will be also more effective for low

involvement products (products low in financial and performance risk), than for

high involvement products (Baker and Churchill, 1977). For technical products the

expertise factor of the celebrity is a significantly more important factor (Till and

Busler, 1998, 2000). However, congruency between the celebrity and the product

in terms of characteristics such as image, expertise (Till and Busler, 1998, 2000) or

attractiveness (Baker and Churchill, 1977) plays an important role for the

effectiveness of the advertisement (Kahle and Homer, 1985) and an optimal match

between the celebrity endorser and the product is therefore crucial.

Previous research has suggested that the greater the congruity between the

human characteristics that consistently and distinctively describe an individual’s

actual or ideal self and those that describes a brand, the greater the preference for

the brand (Malhotra, 1988; Sirgy, 1982). The research of Aaker (1997) confirms

this by measuring the brand personality dimensions.

Alternatively, companies can create endorsers themselves using not so well

known individuals. This gives them great control over the process since they have

developed the public characters of the endorsers for specific brands and/or

products. The association between the created spokesperson and the brand is also

stronger since it is unique which can be a great advantage compared to celebrity

endorsers. However, research has shown that created spokespersons are often not

significantly more effective (Mehta, 1994; Atkin and Block, 1983; Petty et al.

1983). Other studies emphasise the effectiveness of the use of celebrity endorsers

(Agrawal and Kamakura, 1995; Mathur et al. 1997). Zafer Erdogan (1999)

concludes is that in the light of academic findings and company reports, celebrity

endorsers are more effective than non-celebrity endorsers for influencing attitudes

towards advertising, attitude towards the endorsed brand, intentions to purchase

and actual sales. However, companies have to use celebrities whose public

personae match with the brands and target audiences and who have not endorsed

products and or brands previously.

New

Today one of the most prevalent forms of retail advertising is through using of

celebrity endorsement (White et al, 2007). In fact celebrity endorsers are being

used in about 25 percent of all television advertisements in order to promote brands

(Erdoganetal, 2001).These endorsers are being paid by about10 percent of

advertiser's budgets (Agrawal and Kamakura, 1995).Marketers invest huge

amounts of money in contracts with celebrity endorsers each year, since they

believe that celebrities affect the process of selling of their brands or products

(Katyal, 2007). A celebrity endorser is a well known person (e.g., actors, sports

figures and artists) because of his successes in a special field other than the

endorsed product class (James, 2004). Celebrity endorsers are used by firms who

want to support a product or service (Amosetal, 2008). Since presence of celebrity

endorsers affects purchase decisions of consumers positively, producers and

retailers have always preferred to use celebrity endorsements in order to sell their

products (Stafford et al, 2003; Erdogan, 1999; Kamins, 1990).

Kaikati (1987) believes that using of celebrities in advertisements could have many

benefits and advantages including: 1) facilitating of brand identification 2)

changing or impressing the negative attitude towards a brand 3) repositioning an

existing brand 4) global marketing or positioning of a brand or product 5) affecting

purchase intentions of consumers. Although using of celebrity endorsers as brand

messengers is impressive, but it could have some risks. For instance, celebrities

who are known to be guilty because of negative events (e.g., accident) may have

harmful effects on the products that they endorse (Louie and Obermiller, 2002).

Studies reveal that using of attractive celebrity causes to increase attitude towards

advertisements. Such attitude towards advertisements is defined as "mental state

which is used by individuals to organize the way they perceive their environment

and control the way they respond to it" (Haghirian, 2004). There is a considerable

correlation between desirable attitudes with regard to advertising and rating of

certain advertisements by respondents as being likeable, irritating, delightful, etc

(Bauer and Greyser, 1968). Celebrity endorsers enhance awareness of a company's

advertising, create positive feelings towards brands and are perceived by

consumers as more amusing (Solomon, 2002).

Thus using of a celebrity in advertising causes to influence brand attitude and

purchase intentions of consumers in a positive way. Celebrity endorsement has a

strong effect on consumers' memory and learning approach too. Most consumers

are not in a purchasing situation when they are encounter with message of the

brand. Marketers use celebrity endorsement in order to help better storage of

information in consumers' minds which they can easily remember in purchasing

situations (Schultz and Brens, 1995). However, there are many studies about

celebrity endorser, but it seems that there are limited researches about the

relationship between celebrity endorser and attitudes. The purpose of this study is

to specify the impact of using celebrity endorsers in Iranian advertisements on

attitudes of students in University of Isfahan toward those ads and brands.

For more than fifty years the advertising industry has been using celebrity

endorsement, Marilyn Monroe and MarleneDiet rich are famous examples (Iddiols,

2002) Research has shown that the use of celebrities in advertisements can have a

positive influence on the credibility, message recall, memory and likeability of the

advertisements and finally on purchase intentions (Menon, 2000; Pornpitakpan,

2003; Pringle and Binet, 2005; Roy, 2006). Today-no doubt inspired by the

declining effectiveness of the different marketing communications (Blondé and

Roozen, 2006) - the advertising industry is willing to pay the increasing rewards

the celebrities are asking (the costs of the spot with Nicole Kidman for Chanel V

amount to 7.5 million Euro; David Beckham for Adidas $160million; Gilette

$68million and Pepsi $25.5 million; Tiger Woods for Nike’s golf advertisements

$18 million).