CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AFFECTING

CONSUMERS ATTITUDE TOWARD THE

ADVERTISEMENT AND PURCHASE
INTENTION
DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN

MARKETING MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED BY
AMIR MASOOD
(09-DMM-15)

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

DR.BILAL MUSTAFA KHAN

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
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CONTENTS
Certificate
Acknowledgement
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10

Consumer Behavior
Buying Behavior
Decision Process
Advertising
Celebrity Endorsement
Successful Endorsements/ Endorsers
Forms of Celebrity Endorsements
Perspectives to Endorsement
Risks Involved in Celebrity Endorsement
Methods to Reduce Risk in Celebrity Endorsement

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5

Need of the study

Objectives of the study
Research Methodology
Managerial Implications
Limitations

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
Bibliography
Annexure

Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
A challenge faced by companies is how to influence the purchasing behavior of
consumers through celebrity endorsement. For more than fifty years the advertising
industry has been using celebrity endorsement, Marilyn Monroe and Marlne Dietrich
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, 2001; Pornpitakpan, 2003; Pringle and Binet, 2005; Roy, 2006). Today no
doubt inspired by the declining effectiveness of the different marketing
communications (Blond 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 Channel V amount to 7.5 million Euro; David Beckham for Adidas $160
million; Gilette $68 million and Pepsi $25.5 million; Tiger Woods for Nikes golf
advertisements $18 million).
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 ubiquitously accepted fact that celebrity
endorsement can bestow special attributes upon a product that it may have lacked
otherwise. But everything is not hunky-dory; celebrities are after all mere mortals
made of flesh and blood like us. If a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he
or she can also exacerbate the image of a brand.
Any brand can get a celebrity. That is easy. But getting a celebrity matching 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 health of a brand can definitely be improved up to some extent by celebrity
endorsement. But one has to remember that endorsing a celebrity is a means to an end
and not an end in itself.

1.1 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

It can be defined as the process and activities people engage in when searching for,
selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product and services so as to
satisfy their needs and desires. Company's success in influencing purchase behavior
depends in large part on how well they understand consumer behavior. Companies
need to know the specific need customers are attempting to satisfy and how they
translate into purchase criteria. They need to understand how customers make
purchase decision.
1.2 BUYING BEHAVIOR
Consumer decision-making varies with the type of buying decision they make.
Companies need to understand how customers make purchase decisions. The decision
to buy toothpaste, a tennis racquet, a personal computer and a new car are al]different. Complex and big-ticket item products are likely to take more time as
compared to impulse product. Consumer buying behavior depends upon the degree of
differences along the brands.
1. Complex Buying Behavior:
Consumers engage in complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in
purchase and are aware of significant differences among brands. This is usually the
case when the product is expensive, bought in frequently, risky and highly selfexpressive. Typically the consumer does not know much about the product category
and has much to learn. For example person buying a personal computer knows what
attributes he is looking for. Consumer buying behavior involves a three-step process.
First, the buyer develops beliefs about the product. Second, he/she develops attitudes
about the product. Third, he/she makes a thoughtful purchase choice.
2. Dissonance: Reducing Buyer Behavior:
Sometimes the consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little difference in
the brands. The high involvement is based on the facet that the purchase is expensive,
infrequent and risky. In this case the buyer will shop around to learn what is available
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but fail quickly, perhaps responding primarily to good price or to purchase

convenience. For example carpet buying is a high-involvement decision because
carpeting is expensive and self-expressive yet the buyer may consider most carpet in a
given price range to be the same. After the purchase, the consumer might experience
dissonance that stems from noticing certain dissatisfying features of the carpet or
hearing favorable thing about other carpets. The consumer will be alert to information
that justifies his/her decision.
3. Habitual Buying Behavior:
Many products are bought under conditions of low consumer involvement and in the
absence of significant brand differences. Consider salt, consumer has little
involvement in this product category. They go to the store and reach for the brand. If
they keep reaching for the same brand it is out of habit not out of strong brand loyalty.
There is good evidence that consumers have low involvement with most low cost,
frequently purchased products. With low involvement products, consumer behavior
does not pass through the normal belief, attitude and behavior sequence. Consumers
do not search extensively about the brands.
4. Variety -Seeking Buying Behavior:
Some buying situations are characterized by low consumer involvement but
significant brand differences. The consumers often do a lot of brand switching. Think
about cookies, consumers have some beliefs about cookies; they choose a brand of
cookies without much evaluation, while the evaluation about the product is made
during consumption. Next time the consumer may reach for another brand out of
boredom or for a different taste. Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety rather
than out of dissatisfaction.
1.3 DECISION PROCESS
Smart companies always research the buying decision involved in the product
category. They ask the consumers their consumers that how they make their brand
choices and how satisfied they are at purchase. The consumer passes through five
stages as following:

Problem Recognition.
5

Information Search.
Evaluation Alternative.
Purchase Decision.
Post Purchase Behavior.

Clearly the buying process starts long before the actual purchase and has
consequences afterwards. The model implies that consumer passes sequentially
through five stages in buying a product. But this is not the case, especially with low
involvement purchase. Consumer may skip or reverse some stages. Thus women
buying her regular brand of toothpaste go directly from the need for toothpaste to the
purchase decision, skipping information search and evaluation. But a consumer
interested in buying laptop will pass through all the stages stated above.
1.4 ADVERTISING
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which
half" - John Wanamaker. father of modern advertising.
Advertising is an important social phenomenon which both stimulates consumption
and economic activity and models lifestyles and a- certain value orientation.
Consumers are confronted with substantial daily doses of advertising in multimedia.
Every one seems to hold an opinion about various aspects of advertising ranging from
amusement and admiration to cynism and condemnation. On one hand advertising is
appreciated enough to be the subject of TV talk shows and comedy skits, to have reels
of award winning commercial play in theatres to have its art and slogans to worn
proudly on clothing and to hear advertising phrases become the idiom of everyday
speech. On the other hand, consumers fear covert manipulation and subliminal
techniques and often complain about advertising clutter, banality, sexism, predation of
children and continuing proliferation into newer media and venues.
Advertising is defined according to Kotler as:"any paid form of non-personal
presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor". The
paid aspect of the definition means that space -or tome for an advertising message
must be bought, while the non-personal aspect means that advertising involves mass
media such as TV, radio, magazines, newspapers and billboards that can transmit a
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message to a large number of individuals often at the same time. Advertising is the
best-known form of promotion because it can be a very cost-effective method of
communicating with large audiences and it can be used to create brand images,
enabling the seller to repeat a message many times. Also it is quite pervasive (Belch
and Belch, 2001).
Advertising plays a critical role in capitalist economies in creating demand for
industrial output. Thus, advertising clients are predominantly profit-seeking
corporations. In 1997, in the U.S. alone, over $175 billion USD was spent on
advertising. Non-profits are not typical advertising clients, and rely upon free
channels, such as public service announcements. While advertising can be seen as
necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited Commercial
Email and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major
nuisance of users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet
service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools,
which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. One scholar has argued that
advertising is a toxic by-product of industrial society which may bring about the end
of life on earth.
Main features of advertising are:

It can be very cost -effective method for communicating with large audience.
Advertising can be used to create brand image and symbolic appeals for a
company or a brand, a very important capability for companies selling

products and services that are difficult to differentiate on functional attributes.

Advertising is ability to strike a responsive chord with the consumer when
differentiation across other elements of marketing mix is difficult to achieve.
The nature and purpose of advertising differ from one industry to another
and/or across situations. The targets of organisations advertising efforts often
vary, as do advertising's role and function in the marketing program. One
advertiser may seek to generate immediate response or action from the
customer; another may want to develop awareness or a positive image for its
product or services over a period of time.

1.4.1 Advertising Objectives

Advertising objectives can be classified according to whether their aim is to inform,
persuade or remind. These advertising objectives are of three types:
l. Informative Advertising:
This type of advertising is basically in the pioneering stages of the product category.
Its objective is to build primary demand. For example, the yoghurt industry initially
had to confirm consumers of yoghurt's nutritional benefits. E.g. telling the market
about a new product or suggesting new uses for a product.
2. Persuasive Advertising:
This type of advertising is used in the competitive stage. Here the objective is to build
selective demand of a particular brand. For example, Chivas Regal attempts to
persuade its customers that it provides better taste and status than other brands of
scotch whiskey. E.g. telling the market about a new product or suggesting new uses
for a product.
3. Reminder Advertising:
This type of advertising is important for mature products i.e. the products that have an
established market already. The objective of advertising here is to remind people to
purchase a particular brand. For example, expensive four colour ads of Coca Cola in
magazines are intended to remind people to purchase Coca Cola,
Another example: reminding customers of the product should it be needed in the near
future. Volkswagen often remind consumers of the reliability of their product. Now
the 5M's of advertising are:

Mission- What is the advertising objective?

Money-How much amount could be spent?
Message-What message would it convey?
Media-What media should be used?
Measurement-How are the results going to be evaluated?

1.4.2 Advertising and Consumer Behavior

Through researches various models have come up that describe the various facts of
consumer behavior. These models suggest how the consumers behave in response to a
particular marketing communication and why do they behave so. The market
researchers tried to understand the response process and the manner in which these
communications work (especially advertising). There are three critical intermediate
effects between advertising and the desired effect of advertising (purchases) these
include cognition, the thinking dimensions of a person's response: affect the feeling
dimension; and experience which is a feedback dimension based on the outcomes of
product purchasing and usage. They conclude that individual responses to advertising
are mediated by factors such as motivation and ability to process information, which
can radically alter the individual's response to advertising. It is suggested that the
effects of advertising should be evaluated using these dimensions, with some
intermediate variables more important than other depending factors such as product
category, stage of the product life cycle, target audience, competition and the impact
on other marketing-mix components.
1.4.3 Application of the reference group concept
Some advertisers to communicate with their markets use Reference group appeals
very effectively. People or group situations with a target audience are used to promote
goods and services by subtly inducing the prospective consumer to identify with the
pictured user of the product or service. This identification may be based on admiration
(an athlete), on aspiration (a celebrity or way of life), on empathy (with a person or a
situation), or on recognition (a person real or stereotypical or of a situation). Five
major types of reference group appeals are:

Celebrity Appeals.
Expert Appeals.
Common Man Appeals.
Executive Appeals.
Trade or Spokes-character Appeals.

These appeals as well as less frequently employed appeals are often pperationalized in
the form of testimonials or endorsements. In the case of common man they may be
presented as slice-of-life commercials.

Celebrities particularly movie stars, TV personalities, popular entertainers, sports

icons provide a very common type of reference group appeal. Reference group
appeals to the loyal followers and too much of the general public, celebrities represent
an idealization of life that most people imagine they would love to live. Advertisers
spend enormous sums of money to have celebrities promote their products, with the
expectation that the reading or viewing audience will react positively to the celebrities
association with the product.
Those advertisements featuring celebrities are rated more positively. This is especially
true among teenagers, who are more likely to project the celebrities' credibility to the
advertising message and the endorsed product.
1.5 CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
Celebrity endorsements pull in hundreds of crores every year, and are widely
preferred by companies to promote their products. Using celebrities for endorsing
brands has become a trend for building the brands as well as the company's image.
Who are these celebrities? And what does celebrity endorsement mean? A celebrity is
a person who is well recognized by the public, and has a reputation for his/her
expertise in his/her chosen silos. Sports persons and film stars fit the bill perfectly.
Promotion of a company's products through these celebrities is termed as celebrity
endorsement. The company makes use of the celebrity's characteristics and qualities
to establish an analogy with the products specialties with an aim to position them in
the minds of the target consumers. Celebrity endorsement, thus, is one of the powerful
tools adopted by companies/companies to consolidate their brand(s) in the crowded
marketplace. Consumers prefer to own a brand that has a good reputation, and when
someone like a famous film star or a sport star is associated with that particular brand,
it is obvious that the consumers will get attracted to it, because the consumer wants to
maintain some status, and feels that using a brand promoted by a star can satisfy that
longing.
1.5.1 Why Celebrities?

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There is a myth that celebrity endorsement is used to give a brand advantage over its
competitors. However, choosing a celebrity for this purpose requires considerable
amount of calculations. There should be something common between the brand and
the celebrity promoting it. Let us come to the main question as to why companies use
celebrities to promote their brands. Is there a real need to associate a celebrity with the
product? Yes seems to be the resounding answer. This is because a company needs to
create awareness and interest in the consumers mind when it unveils a new brand or
product. To be successful, brands need to convince consumers that they carry a
different image and value from other competing products. In other words, brands have
to show their true personality to the potential consumer(s).
An effective way to do this is through celebrity endorsements. As MG Parmeswaran,
executive director of FCB Ulka says, "As advertising professionals, we recommend
celebrity endorsements when the case is justified. There are many cases where you
need to use the celebrity to break out of a category clutter. At times, celebrity
endorsement is used to build credibility to the brand offer." People always wish to see
their favorite stars and companies, and advertisers are quick to capitalize on such
ideas. Endorsement of a product/service by a celebrity gives out the message that it is
as authentic and credible as the celebrity is. The urge that people have of enjoying the
same recognition and status like their favorite stars is often the main reason for the
increasing use of celebrities for products/services endorsement. Celebrities increase
brand awareness and define values and new dimensions of the brand. Companies use
this approach to capture mind and market spaces for their brands. The underlying
reason for any celebrity endorsement has to be more sales, with more consumers
using the brand. The more effective the process is in raking up more and more
moolah, the more successful the celebrity is that is the bottom line.
There is a flurry of ads on the television, the radio, and even in theatres these days,
and most of these ads feature either film stars or cricketers, or both. As a result, it is
becoming increasingly tough to ensure that one's share of voice is heard. Using a
celebrity in an ad is, therefore, doubly effective, in that it captures a definite mind
share of the prospective consumer, and if the features and attributes of the brand
match with those of the celebrity, the brand will surely hit gold. Rahul Dravid is
considered the most dependable batsman in the Indian team, and he transfers this
11

characteristic of reliability and dependability to the brand(s) he endorses. The reason

why Castrol uses Dravid to promote its engine oil seems to be logical, as the company
wants to convey to the target customers that Castrol is dependable, and gives the
vehicle a long life.
1.5.2 History of Celebrity Endorsement
Celebrities are involved in endorsing activities since late nineteenth century. The
advent of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India began when Hindi film and
TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then,
the exclusive domain of models. One of the first sports endorsements in India was
when Farokh Engineer became the first Indian cricketer to model for Bryl cream. The
Indian cricket team now earns roughly Rs. 100 cr. through endorsements. There was a
spurt of advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige Pressure Cookers), Jalal
Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar
(Dinesh Suitings).
1.5.3 Is it smart to use Celebrity Endorsements?
Stars, who are known to shape destinies, cast an enormous influence. No, we're not
talking about astrology here. We're referring to the powerful effect of celebrities on
destinies of brands. One approving nod from a famous face can translate into millions
in brand sales. Perhaps that's why the world over, companies have been using stars to
endorse everything, from food to food chains, from soft and hard drinks to health
drinks, from clothes and accessories to cars (and the tyres on which they run). Even
political parties are awestruck by the charisma of stars.
Such is the magnetism of celebrities in this country that in the recent general
elections, major political parties fielded a record number of film stars and cricketers to
contest from important constituencies around the country.
Celebrity endorsements are very expensive. Therefore their use in an ad should be
justified. In other words, the message strategy for a brand should strongly warrant the

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use a known face in an idea. Sadly, very often the celebrity is hired first and an idea is
then weaved around his or her presence.
A celebrity's presence in the ad should be contextual. When cricket player Sachin
Tendulkar declares, "Boost is the secret of my energy," it doesn't seem out of context.
Internationally, Nike's association with Michael Jordan is legendary and also logical.
Celebrity endorsements work best when the celebrity is not introducing the brand.
When the product already has a strong identity and a USP that is well established,
then a celebrity can come in and give the brand an added fillip and generate some
more interest value. However, what is of paramount importance is to find a complete
fit between the values of the brand and the values of the celebrity. One needs to create
a unique situation or story that links the celebrity to the product.
Celebrity Endorsements as a strategy signing up stars for endorsements is a timetested strategy and has been effectively used by some of the top brands in the world
including Nike and Pepsi, In India too, HLL has used Hindi film stars to endorse their
beauty soap Lux since the fifties. Vimal, Thrums Up, Gwalior and Dinesh are some of
the other brands that used star-appeal in the early days of mass advertising. And who
can forget Kapil 'Palmolive' Dev?
Star endorsements have several benefits, key among them being building credibility,
fostering trust and drawing attention... any or all of which can translate into higher
brand sales. So how does one decide whether to put a celebrity in an ad? Ideally, this
should be dictated by the communication idea. Celebrity endorsements should be used
when the case is justified. There are many cases where you need to use the celebrity to
break out of a category clutter. At times celebrity endorsement is used to build
credibility to the brand offer.
Most experts concur that, when used judiciously, celebrity endorsements can be an
effective strategy. And there are many examples of good and bad use of celebrities.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who has been used by some companies like Parker Pens
and ICICI Home Loans remarkably well while some others have been unable to
exploit his Big B status too well. Shah Rukh Khan's endorsement of Hyundai Santro
too seems to have worked well.
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In a test of the match up hypothesis, Kamins (1990) demonstrated that the positive
impact of a celebrity endorser depends in part on proper fit between the celebrity and
the product. Some evidence even suggests that Wall Street values the use of celebrity
endorsers - Agrawal and Kamakura's (1995) analysis of stock price movements
showed that press releases announcing celebrity endorsement contracts resulted, on
average, in a .44% excess return (Journal of Advertising, July 1997). Yet, there are
some who don't have much conviction in star endorsements. Some people think that
to be really successful, a brand needs to have a strong identity of its own. It should
ideally not piggyback on the identity of a celebrity and hope to achieve success.
Celebrity endorsements are capable of manifesting both favorable and adverse effects
for the brands with which they associate.
1.5.4 Six uses of Celebrity Endorsements

Establishes Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust

for that brand among the target audience- this is especially true in case of new

products
Attracts Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by
breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more

noticeable.
Associative Benefit: A celebrity's preference for a brand gives out a
persuasive message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the

consumer will also benefit.

Psychographic Connect: Stars are loved and adored by their fans and
advertisers use stars to capitalize on these feelings to sway the fans towards

their brand
Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various

demographic segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.).

Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a
good bet to generate interest among the masses.

1.5.5 Mechanism and Theories of Celebrity Endorsement

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Celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of glamour and the hope that a famous
face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. In the
battle for the mind, you get the customer excited by showing him a known face, and
an effective demand is created. In short it helps increase the recall value of the brand.
A piece of research states that the target audience age group of 15-30 gets influenced
first by cricketers, then Bollywood stars and only then music, festivals and food.
According to Source Credibility Theory, acceptance of the message depends on
'Bxpertness' and Trustworthiness' of the source. Expertness is defined as the perceived
ability of the source to make valid assertions. Trustworthiness is defined as the
perceived -willingness of the source to make valid assertions. Audience acceptance
increases with the expertness of the source and the ability of the audience to evaluate
the product.
According to Source Attractiveness Theory, which is based on social psychological
research, the acceptance of the message depends on familiarity, likeability and
similarity, familiarity is the audience's knowledge of the source through exposure;
likeability is the affection for the source's physical appearance and behavior while
similarity is the resemblance between source and receiver. This theory explains the
message acceptance in two ways: Identification and Conditioning. Identification is
when the receiver or the target audience of the communication begins to identity with
the source's attractiveness, and hence tends to accept his opinions, beliefs, habits,
attitudes etc. On identification, a quote from Bijou Kurien, COO, Titan, "We decided
on Aamir because we wanted someone who is a bit iconic, who is style-conscious
himself, and somebody who cuts across both sex and age group, between urban and
rural India. A celebrity is one who is moldable and who is not over-exposed".
Conditioning is when the attractiveness of the source is supposed to pass on to the
brand after regular association of the source with the brand.
Grant McCracken has criticized the previous two theories and proposed the Meaning
Transfer Theory, The theory explains that a celebrity encodes a unique set of
meanings which if well used can be transferred to the endorsed product. Such a
transfer takes place in three stages - encoding meanings, meaning transfer, meaning
capture (Figure 1).
15

I.

Encoding Meanings: Each celebrity has a unique set of meanings, which

can be listed by age, gender, race, wealth, personality or lifestyle. In this
way, the celebrities encode a set of meanings in their image. For example
Preity Zinta can be seen as a lively, charming, bubbly, witty and

II.

enthusiastic.
Meaning Transfer: This stage transfers those meanings to the product.
When skillfully portrayed, celebrities can communicate this image more

III.

powerfully than lay endorsers.

Meaning Capture: This assumes that consumers purchase products not
merely for their functional value but also for their cultural and symbolic
value. The theory says that consumers buy the endorsed product with the
intention of capturing some of the desirable meanings with which
celebrities have passed on to the product. This is more eminent in lifestyle
products like clothes, perfumes, cell phones etc.

Does celebrity endorsement really work? Theoretically yes, because the qualities
associated with the endorser are associated with the brand and the brand therefore
remains at the top of the consumer's mind. However one needs to realize that the
impact of an endorser cannot be sustainable in all product categories and in all the
stages of brand life cycles. It really depends upon the type of product. If it is a
'functional brand', then the product itself is the hero. Here any celebrity association
with the brand without corresponding performance of the product will not be
sustainable. While increase of' image brands', like the categories of soaps, soft drinks,
cigarettes etc., where it is difficult to distinguish between the products, celebrity
endorsements help to distinguish between the brands at an emotional level. A research
conducted by Synovate, a global market research firm, revealed that 47% people
would be more likely to buy a brand that was endorsed by their favorite celebrity.
Pepsi Co. has used a variety of celebrities including Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan,
Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Fardeen Khan, Sachin Tendulkar
etc. Amongst advertisements featuring celebrities, Pepsi tops the heap with the highest
recall of 70%, while archrival Coke is lower across all markets with 52% recall. This
proves that Pepsi has really exploited the use of celebrities in their advertisements and
has worked.

16

Hindustan Lever's 'Lux' soap in India has been using popular film actresses to endorse
the soap since its launch four decades ago implying that they owe their stunning looks
to the brand. This consistent message hence reinforces the brand values and has been
successfully able to position the soap rightly as the 'beauty soap".
It would be difficult to judge the direct effect of celebrity endorsement on the sales or
profits of the company. On Amitabh Bachchan endorsing RIN, an HLL spokesperson
says that it was too early to gauge the success of 'Rin 1 in terms of sales and that
though Dabur healthcare products' sales had improved, the increase could not be
solely attributed to him. Similarly, there are also cases wherein there was a dramatic
change in the sales figure after the endorsements. For example Rahul Malhotra,
Associate Director Marketing, P&G India quotes "Certainly, it has helped us promote
our brand 'Head & Shoulders'. Last year, we were ranked as No. 2 and this year we
are market leaders in this segment with over 45% market share".
D. Garg, Vice-President (Marketing), Dabur India Ltd quotes, "A celebrity does help
in increasing brand sales, but only if he/she is selected carefully and used effectively.
The personality of the brand and the celebrity have to complement each other and the
selection of the celebrity is, therefore, very important."
1.5.6 SCOPE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT:
The use of testimonials by advertisers dates back to the 19th century when medicines
were patented. Firms have been juxtaposing their brands and themselves with
celebrity endorsers (e.g., athletes, actors) in the hope that celebrities may boost
effectiveness of their marketing. The increasing number of endorsements throws a
valid question to the consumers. Is there a science behind the choice of these
endorsers or is it just by the popularity measurement? What are the reasons which
lead to impact of celebrity endorsement on brands? The success of a brand through
celebrity endorsement is a cumulative of the following 14 attributes. Greater the score
of the below parameters, greater are the chances of getting close to the desired impact.

17

Figure: 1

1.5.7 Positive Impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the Brand

Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the target
audience. This is especially true in case of new product. Celebrities ensure attention of
the target group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the
advertisement and the brand more noticeable. A celebrity's preference for a brand
gives out a persuasive message and hence, because the celebrity is benefiting from the
brand, the consumer will also benefit. There is a demographic and psycho graphic
connection between the stars and their fans. Demographic connection establishes that
different stars appeal differently to various demographic segments i.e. age, gender,
class, geography etc., while psycho graphic connection establishes that stars are loved
and adored by their fans. Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be
18

a good bet to generate interest among the masses. Another invaluable benefit from
celebrity endorsements is the public relation opportunities.
Dwane Hal Dean studied the effects of three extrinsic advertisement cues viz. third
party endorsement, event sponsorship and brand popularity on brand / manufacturer
evaluation. It was observed that endorsement significantly affected only product
variables (quality and uniqueness) and one image variable (esteem). The third party
endorsement hence may be perceived as a signal of product quality.
Goldsmith et al. assessed the impact of endorser and corporate credibility on attitudetoward the-ad, attiiude-toward-the-brand, and purchase intentions. 152 adult
consumers were surveyed who viewed a fictitious advertisement for Mobil Oil
Company. They rated the credibility of the ad's endorser, the credibility of the
company, and attitude-toward-the-ad (Aad), attitude-to ward-the-brand (AB), and
purchase intentions. It was observed that endorser credibility had its strongest impact
on Aad while corporate credibility had its strongest impact on AB. The findings
suggest that corporate credibility plays an important role in consumers' reactions to
advertisements and brands, independent of the equally important role of endorser
credibility.
Looking at the effect of celebrity endorsement on the wealth of a company a classic
example of Michael Jordan can be used. At the time of rumors of Michael Jordan
returning to NBA in 1995, he was endorsing products of General Mills (Wheaties),
McDonalds (Quarter Pounders, Value Meals). Nike (Air Jordan) and Quaker Oats
(Gatorade). Study conducted by Mathur et al. associated with Jordan's endorsements
shows that the anticipation of Jordan's return to NBA. And the related increased
visibility for him resulted in increase in the market adjusted values of his client firms
of almost 2 percent, or more than $1 bn in stock market value. From this study one
can observe that the major celebrity endorser with rumors or otherwise has a
tremendous potential to influence the profitability of endorsed products.
Semi-partial endorsement indicates that when a company uses famous characters from
any TV soaps for brand endorsements, consumers tend to relate to the character that
he or she plays in the soap and hence can attract more credibility. For example, Smriti
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Irani who plays Tulsi' in a famous soap has garnered a lot of support from the middleclass housewife today. If she would endorse a brand, there would be more relativity
and credibility. It can be said about Priya Tendulkar who used to play the character of
Rajani.
1.5.8 Negative impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the brand
More often talked about is the extreme usage of a celebrity called 'lazy advertising',
that is inadequate content masked by usage of a celebrity. A good example is the use
of Boris Becker by Siyaram and Steve Waugh by ANP Sanmar. Also as said earlier,
associating with a star, in itself does not guarantee sales. There is also the fear of
Brand-celebrity disconnect which points out that if the celebrity used represents
values that conflict with the brand values, the advertising would create conflict in the
minds of the target audience.
Clutter in brand endorsements is very prominent these days and such kind of overexposure can be bad for the brand as the recall value drops by a huge margin. A
popular drawback of celebrity endorsement is the 'Vampire Effect' or the celebrity
overshadowing the brand. Some viewers forget the brand that a celebrity is approving.
Others are so spellbound by the personality of the celebrity that they completely fail
to notice the brand being advertised. Two new drawbacks can be seen these days what
companies call Celebrity Trap and Celebrity Credibility. Celebrity trap is when the
celebrity becomes an addiction for the marketing team and the task to find substitutes
becomes more and more difficult, leading to surfeit of celebrities. Celebrity credibility
refers to skepticism by the consumers regarding the celebrities, especially when there
is anything negative regarding the celebrity associated with the brand in the news,
then brand is bound to be affected. For example, Air Jordan's generated revenue sales
of $130 million in the first year. The sales dropped miserably in the second year when
Jordan missed 62 games due to a broken foot. Another main worry of the advertisers
is that their celebrity endorser would get caught in a scandal or an embarrassing
situation.
Multiple product endorsement also has a negative impact on customers' purchasing
intentions. Tripp et al. investigated the effects of multiple product endorsement by
celebrities on customers' attitudes and intentions. They found that the number of
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products a celebrity endorses negatively influences consumer perception of the

endorser and the advertising itself. It was suggested that when as many as four
products are endorsed, celebrity credibility and likeability, as well as attitude towards
the ad, may attenuate.
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan endorses multiple brands like Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI,
BPL, Parker pens, Nerolac, Dabur, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Hajmola, Tide,
Cadbury and a few social messages. It has worked in some cases, while in some cases
it has not. D. K.
Jain, Chairman and President, Luxor Writing Instruments Pvt. Ltd, the company of the
Parker brand said. "Using Amitabh Bachchan as our brand ambassador has helped in
strengthening our brand image and recall within the target audience". Tarun Joshi,
Communications Custodian, Reid & Taylor said, "Amitabh Bachchan is an icon with
universal appeal and has helped us to reach out to the real 'Bharat.' In fact, agents and
retailers have told us that already customers have started asking about the 'Amitabh
wali suiting.1" Increase of Nerolac Paints, which was endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan,
around 80% of the respondents when asked to associate Bachchan with any paint, did
so with Asian Paints, which is the biggest competitor of Nerolac.
The budget or cost is an important factor for celebrity endorsement. Depending on the
status of the celebrity, remuneration could run into millions of rupees for several years
or may also include a profit sharing plan. For example when S. Kumar's used Hrithik
Roshan for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50
per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Sachin's endorsements
got him $18 million over five years. When Aamir first endorsed Pepsi in 1995, he
received Rs 17 lakh for it; his Coke commercials in 1999 got him Rs 2 crore. Hrithik
Roshan in his highflying days reportedly made over Rs. 20 crore in endorsements and
events by 2001.
However, a number of brands have been built without celebrity endorsement. For
some of their brands, Hindustan Lever and Procter & Gamble do not believe in
celebrity endorsement because they think that consumers, especially housewives, are
more likely to identify with a layperson on screen than a celebrity. Procter & Gamble
21

launched its 'Rejoice' brand in India with testimonials from ordinary women in their
TV advertising. Few more examples of this will be Lifebuoy, Wheel, Dettol, Close
Up, and Fevicol etc.
1.5.9 Choosing the Right Celebrity
Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav
Ganguly figure among a handful of celebrities who have been endorsing brands.
Companies have gone a step further to localize their endorsements, so as to have a
stronger impact by roping in the regional stars, who command a good following
among the local consumers. It is, nevertheless, high time companies rethink their
strategies of using celebrities for endorsing their brands, as this trend is fast becoming
a clich, what with every other promotion featuring one or another, and the trick
losing its charm. The question is whether the celebrity can spread his/her values over
such a wide portfolio of brands that are endorsed, and what kind of impression would
the consumer have for the endorsed brand? The other aspect which sees companies
fork out huge (sometimes astronomical) sums of money for getting their products
endorsed by celebrities has to be looked at from the return on investment point of
view, and also the marketing angle, which preaches uniqueness and differentiability of
the products.
Can celebrities make brands reach the heights the companies aspire for? It is difficult
to answer this question. Celebrities can build brands, and at the same time, companies
may have to fold up if the endorsement does not click with the target audience.
Companies need to be careful before choosing a celebrity for endorsing their brand, as
they spend huge amounts on their brands and also on the celebrity. The use of a
celebrity should help in building the brand's image. The pros and cons of using a
particular celebrity have to be considered before using them for endorsements; and
credibility of the celebrity is often one of the basic factors in determining his/her
suitability for the endorsement. Companies have to check if there exists a match
between the brand and the celebrity, and whether the deal is worth the investment.
There are some basic criteria for selecting the right kind of celebrity for a brand. They
are: The celebrity's image has to fit with the advertising idea and match the target
audience and the product; values, popularity, credibility and the availability of the

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celebrity; cost of acquiring the celebrity; previous endorsement (if any), and the
celebrity's profession. There should be a synergy between the celebrity, the ad
message and the product. This helps in the customers developing an interest towards
the brand.
According to Ramesh J Thomas, principal executive officer, Equitor Management
Consulting, "The greatest danger is that because celebrities already carry a strong
brand character, a mismatch could be counterproductive to the brand. It is very
tempting to be carried away by the short-term exposure and interest that an
endorsement could generate". As all brands cannot make it big in the consumers mind
through celebrity endorsements of their products, the use of the celebrities for
endorsements has to be justified. The brand can only fare well in the market if it can
generate some bonding or relationship with the endorser. If this fails, the consumer
may get confused, and that could hamper the future prospects of the brand. Experts
opine that companies have to be careful in choosing the right celebrity for promoting
their brands, which could otherwise land them in trouble.
1.6 SUCCESSFUL ENDORSEMENTS/ ENDORSERS
Celebrity endorsements have found good acceptance among the customers as an
effective way of promoting brands. In a survey, it was found that in 20% of TV ads in
the US feature celebrities, most of them from the sports arena, and these are done to
gain ground in the consumers' minds with their interest for sports and sport stars. Nike
has benefited from using Michael Jordon, the famous basketball player by getting him
endorse its shoes. Things have worked Nike's way, as basketball is a highly popular
sport in the US and when someone like Michael Jordan says he uses Nike; it indeed
creates a huge impact on the minds of the consumers. Nike has, in a way, justified its
use of Jordan through the profits it made. David Beckham, the soccer player from the
UK, is an icon both as a footballer and as an individual. His gaming skills, stylish
looks and lifestyle, have got him good recognition and a great fan following all over
the world.
When it comes to endorsements, analysts consider Beckham next only to Michael
Jordan. He has been associated with quite a few brands like Pepsi, Vodafone, Adidas,

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Gillette, Police, Brylcream, etc. His lifetime deal with Adidas alone earns him $160
mn, with many of his other endorsements being successful. Tiger Woods, the top
golfer, has been associated with Nike and Accenture3. The first 5-year deal he signed
with Nike was worth $40 mn, and the company later extended that. According to an
estimate by Forbes magazine, Tiger Woods had made as much as $78 mn between
June 2002 and June 2003, of which a meager $7 mn (9% of total) was from his
tournaments.
In the Indian context also, there have been quite a few examples of brands, which
have been successful after being endorsed by famous personalities. The trend kicked
off with movie and television stars being used for the endorsements. HLL has been
using film actresses to endorse its beauty soap Lux. Amitabh Bachchan has been
endorsing many brands for quite some time now. Companies have been in a mad rush
to include Bachchan in their promotions to attract customers, because of the following
and respect the senior and talented star carries. It is a sort of belief for every company
and company that he can endorse any brand or any product and that the association
will win customer attention. This kind of reputation has often led companies to spend
huge amounts on signing film stars. Shahrukh khan also has been in the endorsing
business, and his endorsements include Pepsi, Hyundai Santro and Videocon to name
a few.
In India, cricket is followed like a religion and has, thus, turned to be a breeding
ground for stars that can be used by companies. Companies have been very quick in
identifying this, and started using cricket stars to endorse their brands/products. Kapil
Dev, the great Indian cricketer and "Wisdom Indian Cricketer of the Century", used to
endorse Palmolive and Boost during his tenure in the Indian cricket team. Now, the
list of cricketers endorsing brands will be a long one. The best and most widely
regarded of them has to be Sachin Tendulkar, also referred to as the little master, who
carries a nation's hope on his shoulders in every game that he plays. Tendulkar has
been associated with nearly a dozen brands, and companies have been paying him
some hundreds of crores of rupees to vouch for their brands. The little master has
given his charismatic touch to brands like MRP, Pepsi, Boost, TVS, Airtel, etc.
1.7 Forms of Celebrity Endorsements

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A celebrity can endorse brands in different ways based on the purpose, the
advertisement media and the appeal to be generated. The product could be
commercial ones or noncommercial ones (social advertising). Following types of
endorsement forms have been identified to be heavily in use at present:

As spokesperson, e.g. Amitabh Bachchan in KBC.

In print and electronic advertisements, e.g. Shah Rukh Khan in Omega and

Pepsi.
In outdoor media like hoarding, e.g. Aishwarya Rai in Lux advertisement in

some parts of North India.

As brand ambassadors: e.g. Fardeen Khan in Provogue
The use of Brands by celebrities in movies: e.g. Hero Cycles, Pass Pass and
Coke in Yaadein.

1.7.1 Factors to choose endorser

Companies must consider many factors when choosing a celebrity to serve as an
advertising spokesperson for the company or a particular brand. Studies have shown
that advertising and marketing managers take these various factors into account when
choosing a particular celebrity endorser.
Figure: 2

These most important factors are:

Celebrities match with the target audience and the product or brand.
The overall image of the celebrity.
Cost of acquiring the celebrity.
Trustworthiness.
Risk of controversy.
Celebrity's familiarity and likeability among the target audience.

25

Advertisers often draw attention to the ads featuring a physically attractive person
who serves as a passive or decorative model rather than as an active communicator.
This is most common with the cosmetic industries. Research suggests that physically
attractive communicators generally have a positive impact and generate a more
favorable evaluation of both ads and products than the less attractive models. For
example, Revlon use super-model Cindy Crawford in advertising for various cosmetic
products. Advertisers must ensure that the consumer's attention should go beyond the
model to the product and advertising message. Companies must also consider whether
this might negatively impact advertising impact.
1.8 PERSPECTIVES TO ENDORSEMENT
Perspective to celebrity endorsement can be studied under the following heads:
1.8.1 Company's Perspective to Endorsement

A celebrity helps short hand a brand; in other words makes a brand stand

out.
Celebrities facilitate instant awareness and immediate attention.
Celebrity values define and refresh the brand image and a celebrity adds

dimension to it.
A celebrity adds new dimension to the brand image.
A celebrity lends instant credibility or aspiration to the brand. Celebrities save

time in creating the credibility a company has to build into the brands.
PR coverage is another reason for using a celebrity. Managers perceive
celebrities as topical, which creates high PR coverage. Indeed, celebritycompany marriages are covered by most media, from television to
newspapers.

Gestalt Perception means using a celebrity as a remedy. When a person is famous

people forget about what he looks like. As everyone knows the face, it is hard to judge
whether the person is pretty or ugly. The celebrity is a remedy to managers who run
out of ideas.

1.8.2 Celebrity's perspective to endorsement:

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The first reason that most celebrities would endorse a product for is the huge
compensation involved with it. Second reason why celebrities wish to endorse is to
get an enhanced level of acknowledgement based on the success of the product they
are associated with. KBC and Movers and shakers helped stabilize the fast declining
career of their hosts by providing strong audience recognition. Finally, endorsement
breeds endorsement. Not only does the subject end up getting better offers but the
avenues in related and unrelated fields also open up. Most of the cricketers for
example have already been made to walk the ramp and a lot of models have already
made their way into movies.
Many American celebrities make huge sums of money endorsing products. Some big
stars won't appear in ads because they want fans to .think they have sold out. But
many celebrities who don't endorse in their native country endorse for the Japanese
advertisers. Mega stars like Meg Ryan, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore and Harrison Ford are
paid in between Shnn to $3mn for a few hours' work to make 15 to 30 sec
commercials. While many celebrities are cashing on these Japanese deals, they still
try to protect their image at home, for which they have non-disclosure contracts. The
reasons why Japanese companies are willing to shell out huge sums of money for
these stars are as follows:

The American culture and its celebrities fascinate many Japanese.

Japanese advertising emphasizes style and mood rather than substance.
Consumers expect to be entertained.
It boosts the endorsers' visibility and helps the marketing of their firms in
Japan and other Asian countries.

1.8.3 Consumer's perspective to endorsement

Messages delivered by well-known celebrities achieve a high degree of

attention and recall for consumers.

Celebrity Expertise perceived relevant image. Expertise is the knowledge
that the communicator seems to possess to support the claims made in the
advertisements. A well-known face would obviously speak for more expertise
than an ordinary one. For example, Sachin Tendulkar would always better
advertise Reebok.

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Celebrities are perceived Trustworthy. Trustworthiness refers to the

consumer's confidence in the source for providing information in an objective

and
honest manner. People are more likely to trust the quality of a trustworthy

celebrity endorsed brand over a non-endorsed one.

Ambitious psyche. People ape the celebrities in their day-to-day activities and
many even dreams to become like a celebrity some day. Some know they
wouldn't become as good as the celebrities but sharing common belongings

makes them feel better.

Physical Attraction. Consumers tend to perform positive stereotypes about
such people. Physically attractive people are more successful in changing
beliefs than non-attractive people.

But the personalities that the companies use for endorsing its product may not always
be "good guys". Sometimes some companies try to go off the traditional path and use
the "bad boys" for endorsement. This is mostly prevalent with the athletic-shoe
companies who are hiring the personalities engaged in misdeeds off the court or field.
The earliest used "bad boys" was former basketball star Charles Barkley to appear in
the ad of Nike in the mid-90s. Another basketball player Dennis Rodman was also
used to endorse Nike. These were also known for their rebellious nature. But what are
the reasons behind these off the route endorsements? There may be one explanation
for this. These companies are targeting young trend setting males who often identify
themselves with the scandalous and rebellious image of these "bad boys". Through
this the companies try to reach the actual mindset of these types of audiences, thus
being close to reality. In the current athletic shoe market, it appears that the "bad
boys" are boosting up the consumers more than the "good guys".
1.9 Risks involved in celebrity endorsement
There are a number of risks that a company takes into account when deciding to use a
celebrity to endorse a brand. These are as follow:

The overshadowing of product: According to Belch and Belch (2001)

overshadowing is a risk that companies must be aware of when using celebrity
endorser in marketing campaigns. According to Till (1998) this often occur

28

when companies try to establish a link between a celebrity and company when
the endorser are already sponsoring several other brands. The overshadowing
effect will result in that the consumer just sees the celebrity instead of the
product. Since the endorsers that Sknemejerier is using as said before dont
do any other major sponsorship they dont see this as a threat. The consumers
might focus their attention to the celebrity only and do not notice the product.
So the company must use the celebrity who enhances the brand image and also
conveys the message to the target audience.

Overexposure: According to Tripp et al (1994) overexposure and overuse is

an important risk to consider when using celebrity endorsers. There is a risk
that consumers do not see the connection between the brand and endorser if he
or she is endorsing too many products. Ronny Mnsson says that when it
comes to Sknemejeriers use of celebrity endorsers for Proviva Active they do
not see any risks concerning overexposure and overuse. Since the celebrities
they are using are not endorsing other brands that could interfere with the
image they are trying to establish between themselves and Proviva Active.
And when the endorser is not endorsing any other products there is neither any
risk for overuse of the celebrity. Consumers are sometimes skeptical of the
celebrities because they think they are paid for endorsing. This problem is
prevalent when a celebrity endorses too many brands. So the company must
take care that the endorser is not overexposed. For instance Amitabh Bachchan
is endorsing too many brands. This may prove to be the risk of overexposure.

Negative celebrity information: According to Till and Shimp (1998) there is

a risk that the celebrity endorser can receive negative information and
publicity which can be transferred to the brand through the endorser.
Sknemejerier fits into theory and agrees that this is a risk they are aware of.
The main risk is that one of their endorser would use some illegal drugs to
enhance their performance. They do not see any other risk when it comes to
negative information because they feel that their endorsers live a healthy life
and wont do anything to risk that.

Investment risk: Walker et al (1992) says that celebrity endorsement is huge

financial risk for companies due to the fact that companies dont have control

29

over the behavioural of the endorsers and therefore companies may invest
money in something that can be a huge set down for their company. Till
(1998) agrees with Walker et al (1992) and says that it is important to see how
many products the celebrities are endorsing. Sknemejerier has in their
marketing budget a specific post for their investments in celebrity
endorsement and they now that if they invest a given amount of money to hire
a celebrity endorser they now that it will cost them up to the double amount to
actually launch a marketing campaign with the endorser. Ronny Mnsson says
that there is larger risk to use a famous athlete but they are still willing to take
this risk because they want to transfer the image of their celebrities to their
brand. Therefore Sknemejerier fits into theory regarding investment risks.

Extinction: According to Ziegel (1983) there are many celebrities that

disappear from the media flashlight during their contract with a company. This
is something that companies should be aware of and think about when using
celebrity endorsers. When dealing with extinction we can see that
Sknemejerier fits into theory. This is a risk that Sknemejerier is aware of and
says that there are chances that their endorser may do weak performances
when they are competing and therefore they will not be in the media flashlight.
Ronny Mnsson also say that the season for athletes is fairly short so they are
not interesting for the media all year round which is a negative side of the
endorsement. There are also chances that the endorser might injure himself,
which makes him disappear from the media circus for a long time, because if
they dont compete they wont be shown in the media.

A celebrity behavior may also pose a risk to the company if the celebrity gets
involved in controversies e.g. when Salman Khan got involved into a hit and run case
his endorsement contract with Thumbs Up was cancelled.
To avoid these problems, companies, prior to using a celebrity, researches his or her
personal life and background. Many endorsement contracts include a morals clause
where the company indicates the termination of the contract if the celebrity gets
involved in any controversy, which may harm the company's image.

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1.10 Methods to reduce risk in celebrity endorsement

This section deals with theories concerning how using models to match celebrities to
products and services can prevent risks within celebrity endorsement.

Reducing risk
According to Tellis (1998) there are several ways in which companies can
ensure against some surprises that can occur when using celebrity endorsers.
Companies should start with a properly screening of candidates to ensure that
they are buying the right image, and that the risk with the celebrity contract is
worth the potential risk for damage. Companies can also set up contracts that
have a moral clause. A moral clause is a legal statement that gives companies
the option to terminate a contract with a partial fee or no fee at all. These
clauses often state that if the celebrity becomes involved in any situation or
occurrence, which in the companys reasonable opinion, subjects Talent or
Company to ridicule, contempt or scandal (ibid.).

Managing celebrity endorsers

According to Till (1998) companies must establish a link between the endorser
and the brand or product. When an associative link is built between the
celebrity and the brand each is then part of the other association set, a group of
concepts, which are meaningfully related to a target brand. One good example
of this is consumers thinking of Michael Jordan when thinking about Nike and
consumer thinking about Nike when thinking of Michael Jordan. Repeated
pairing of the two stimuli is a key to associative learning process, because
repeated repetition of the pairing of two stimuli increases confidence that the
presence of one stimulus predicts the presence of the other stimulus. Within a
celebrity endorser context, repeated pairings of the endorser, increases
consumers recognition that the brand is a good predictor of the presence of
the celebrity, strengthening the link between the brand and the celebrity

31

(Ibid.).According to Till (1998) companies often use a celebrity endorser

sporadically or opportunistically either at the whim of the client or the agency.
Payback on the investment in celebrity endorsement comes from using the
celebrity regularly over time. Such repetition both strengthens the associative
link for those consumers already aware of the of the celebrity endorsement as
well increase the pool of consumers who begin to become aware of the link
between the brand and the celebrity. If companies dont use the chosen
celebrity consistently it will weaken the benefit from using the endorser
(ibid.).

The source attractiveness model

The source attractiveness is a model that has been explained by several authors
through the years. The source attractiveness model posits that the acceptance
of a message depends on the attractiveness of the source, which in turn
depends on three central attributes: familiarity, likeability, and similarity.
Familiarity is the audiences knowledge of the source because of prior
exposure to it. Likeability is the audiences positive regard for the source
because of its physical appearance and behaviour and similarity is the
resemblance between the source and the receiver. The higher a source rates on
each of these attributes, the more acceptable and attractive it will be. There are
two explanations to how attractiveness affects the message acceptance:
Identification and conditioning. Identification means that the receiver off the
message begins to see himself or herself as similar to the source because of the
latters attractiveness. Because of that the receiver becomes willing to accept
the opinions, beliefs, attitudes or behaviour of the source. Conditioning means
that the endorser is an unconditioned stimulus, and the brand or product would
be the conditioned stimulus. When the endorser is repeatedly associated with
the brand, the attractiveness of the endorser is supposed to pass to the brand
(Tellis, 1998; Kamins et al, 2001; Kahle and Homer, 1985).

Match up
According to Till (1998) to create an effective endorsement between a
celebrity and a brand it is important that there is brandcelebrity congruency

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when it comes to facilitate the development of an associative link. When there

is a perceived fit between the brand and celebrity, there is a greater probability
of building an associative link. Because a poor fit between celebrity and brand
is suggested the primary cause of failed celebrity endorsement. The greater the
perceived fit between the celebrity and the brand the more quickly the
associated link between the two can be expected to develop. The choice of
celebrity should fit with the association the brand either currently has or
plausible could have. When the choice of celebrity fits current associations,
then the celebrity serves to reinforce existing associations. If the
associations/image of the celebrity fit the desired associations that the brand
could plausibly have, then the celebrity serves to create association for the
brand. However there is not only important that the celebrity has a fit towards
the brand and image, companies must also consider that the celebrity has a fit
towards the target audience. It is important that the associations the company
believes the celebrity has are associations that the brands target audience
actually has of the celebrity. Different groups of people may have different
associations for any given celebrity. It is therefore necessary, to test the
possible use of any celebrity with the brands target group to ensure that the
image/associations the celebrity has in the minds of the target audience are
meaningful, positive and consistent with the companys expectations (Till,
1998).

Overshadowing
According to Till (1998) the way to decrease the chances of overshadowing
the advertising executions should be single-minded in communicating the
brand-celebrity pairing. The brand and the celebrity should be the two
strongest elements in the ad. Ad executions which are cluttered with
superfluous executional devices, distract from the brand celebrity pairing is
weakening the potency of the celebrity endorser. The like hood of forming an
associative link between the celebrity and the brand increases when there are
few other competing elements in the advertisement (ibid.).

Overexposure

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According to Till (1998), when celebrities are endorsing several products

blocking can occur which refers to the reluctance of a favourable stimulus
(celebrity endorser) to form a strong link with another stimulus when the
favourable stimulus (celebrity endorser) already has a strong association with
a previous stimulus. When a celebrity already is strongly associated with a
brand they will not form associative links with other brands. Therefore
companies should avoid using celebrities that are already endorsing several
other brands to which they have a strong connection (ibid.).

Extinction
To reduce the risk of extinction companies should expand their use of celebrity
endorsement. Because it is unrealistic to expect that every time a consumer
encounters a brand the celebrity endorser image also will be present. Therefore
companies should work to get endorsers more integrated into the marketing
mix. Although most commonly used in advertising, celebrity endorsers can be
effective in promotion activities, such as giving away related items or trips,
which tie into the celebrity. The celebrity could also be used at large trade
shows, national sales meetings and other significant publicity events (Till,
1998 Ziegel 1983).

Financial risk
Companies must decide how cost effective their choice of celebrity is. The
celebrity with the highest potential is often also the most expensive one.
Companies should therefore look for a lesser-known person that fits into the
message of the brand and appeals to the target audience (Tellis, 1998).

Q-ratings
According to Miciak and Shanklin (1994) it is important that consumers sees
the celebrity as person with credibility and attractiveness and that the celebrity
is an effective media person. For celebrity to be credible, consumers must
perceive them to be trustworthy and have the expertise to speak about a
product or service. The reasoning is that the more credible and attractive a
34

celebrity is the more persuasive he or she will be as endorser. Therefore

companies are starting to use the Q- value to estimate how good their brand is
together with a specific celebrity endorser. According to Shimp (1997) to find
out how effective an endorser might be questionnaires are sent out to
individuals that are asked to answer two simple questions: Have you heard of
this person? The second question is: If you have, do you rate him or her; poor,
fair, good, very good or one of your favourites? The Q rating is then calculated
by dividing the percentage of the total sample rating the celebrity as one of
your favourites by the percentage of sample who knows the celebrity (Shimp,
1997). A celebrity may not be widely recognised but he or she can still attain a
high Q rating as individuals who do recognise the celebrity also likes the
celebrity. On the other hand a celebrity may be widely recognised but still
have low Q rating since the respondents may not like them. The Q rating
answers the question of popularity among those familiar with him or her
(ibid.). According to Rossiter and Percy (1987) Q ratings are a good way for
companies to avoid hiring big celebrities that arent popular among their target
audience. This also makes Q ratings a good method to filter celebrities for a
company (ibid.).
The possible discrepancies in the present system of endorsement could be as follows:

Owing to unavailability of dates, long-term contracts have to be signed

whereas the life of the celebrity may not always be long term.
The celebrities start becoming bigger than the brand.
The celebrity is at best company chosen but never customer chosen.
The celebrity may begin to lose value due to inappropriate choice of endorsed
product or failure of product.

35

Chapter two
Review of Literature
2.1 Celebrity Endorser
The term celebrity refers to an individual who is known to the public (actor figure,
entertainer, etc.) for his or her achievements the areas other than that of the product
class endorsed (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). According to McCracken's (1989)
definition, a celebrity endorser is an individual who enjoys public recognition and
who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an
advertisement (marketing communication).
Celebrities, live and in person, get most folks' pulses pounding, their palms sweating,
their minds racing to calculate whether it would be cool or gauche to approach them,
to mention the obvious fact that we recognize them, that we know far more about
them than they know about us, and that this makes them seem infinitely superior to us
(Ferris 2004).
2.2 Impact of Celebrity Endorsement
Several studies have examined consumers response to celebrity endorsements in
advertising. Findings show that celebrities make advertisements believable and
enhance message recall (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). Ultimately celebrity
endorsers are believed to generate a greater likelihood of customers choosing the
endorsed brands (Kahle and Homer, 1985). Thus, the use of celebrity endorsements is
an advertising strategy that should enhance the marginal value of advertisement
expenditures and create brand equity by means of the secondary association of a
celebrity with a brand (Keller, 1993).
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

36

products which were investigated were classified in different product categories 1998,
2000), or unknown brands (Atkin and Block 1983; Kamins et al. 1989). In (Kamins,
1990; Ohanian, 1990, Walker et al. 1992), fictitious brands practice, celebrity
endorsement is used for existing brands, which means that it can influence the brand
image. A celebrity endorser used in an advertisement can be interpreted as a reference
group. Shiffman and Kanuk (2006) define reference group as any person or group of
persons that serves as a point of comparison for an individual by communicating
values, attitudes and providing a specific guide for behavior. An aspiration group is a
derivative of the reference group: in this case, the consumer does not belong to the
group but is willing to be associated with it. To become 'associated' with this group,
consumers are willing to behave like members of the aspiration group. This means
that consumers are trying to behave in the same manner, e.g. try to use the same
symbolic meanings of the aspiration group. This means that a celebrity endorser can
be interpreted as the 'personality' of the reference group. The reference group 'rich and
famous', which often correspond with the way the celebrities live, is frequently
indicated as an aspiration group of which consumers like to be part (De Pelsmacker et
al., 2004).
Erdogen (1999) says when global campaigns are organized celebrities who are
appropriate for a global target audience are used. General celebrity endorsement
influences the feelings of the consumers and can also influence the attitude consumers
have towards the advertisement and attitude towards the brands, which can increase
the purchase intentions and, consequently, increase sales. Potential advantages of
utilizing celebrity endorsers are that it can increase attention, polish the image of the
brand, especially when a brand will be introduced in the market or are positioning of a
brand will take place (De Pelsmacker, 2004).

Companies invest large sums of money to align their brands and themselves with
celebrity endorsers. Research has shown that because of the fame of celebrities, they
do not only create and maintain attention of the consumers but they also achieve high
message recall (Ohanian, 1991; O'Mahony and Meenaghan, 1997). However,
companies have limited control over the celebrity's persona which can also result in
high risk and no gain situations (e.g. the scandals surrounding celebrities like

37

Michael Jackson, Kate Moss, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton). As a result,
companies build characters (using people who are not celebrities) which are
congruent with their brands and target-audiences, and ensure hat these characters is
endorsing only one particular product. Tom et al. (1992) found that created endorsers
were more effective in creating a link to the product than celebrity endorsers. Agrawal
and Kamakura (1995) assess the impact of celebrity endorsement contracts on the
expected profitability of a firm by using event study methodology. Their approach
assumes that the announcement of a celebrity endorsement contract, usually widely
publicized in the business press, is used as information by market analysts to evaluate
potential profitability of endorsement expenditures, thereby affecting the firms
expected return. The result of analysis of 110 announcements of celebrity
endorsement contracts showed on average the impact of these announcements on
return is positive and suggest that celebrity endorsement contracts are generally
viewed as a worthwhile investment in advertising.
The primary interpersonal privilege of celebrity is attention. Celebrities matter to the
rest of us, even if we would have no interest in them were they not celebrities. The
most mundane experiences of celebrities' lives attract attention, not just by fans but
also by anyone who happens to recognize their fame. Players on a successful college
basketball team, for instance, develop a "glorified self" through the attention that they
receive on and off campus. Without this attention, they would just be everyday college
students, only taller (Adler and Adler 1989). A study of students' relationships with
celebrities found that ordinary people "seek out further information about celebrities'
lives for vicarious pleasure" (Leets et al. 1995). All this attention and information
turns celebrities into "intimate strangers" (Schickel 1985), persons with whom we
have unilateral "parasocial" relationships (Giles, 2000; Horton and Wohl, 1956). A
neurological study found that celebrities both their image and their printed name
trigger dedicated fast-access memory cells in the brain, at least among a sample of
eight epileptics in Los Angeles who had sensors implanted in their brains to track
seizures (Quian Quiroga et al. 2005).
In The Relative Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement for Beauty, High- and Low
Involvement Product Print Advertisements, Irene Roozen (YEAR) professor in
University of Antwerp, Brussels states two research projects. In the first research
38

project, the matches between the products concerned and a number of celebrities were
analyzed. In the second research project advertisements with the best and worst
product-celebrity matches, respectively, are compared with advertisements with a
picture of an anonymous person and advertisements without a celebrity or picture.
The research results do not indicate that celebrity endorsement is effective. This result
was also found for the advertisements with the endorsement of celebrities who were
found to match best with the products at hand. These results, therefore, suggest that
the considerable amounts invested in celebrity endorsement could better be allocated
to other advertisement ends.
By analyzing 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 trough 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 persons 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)
39

Financial risk: associated with the price of the brands/products, (3) Social risk: 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: risk of buying a product that does not
operate the way it should do. Another study by Dean (1999) tested the effects of three
advertising cues- third- party product endorsements, brand popularity and event
sponsorship to affect the consumer perceptions with regards to product quality,
uniqueness, manufacturer esteem and corporate citizenship. Mehta (1994) has found
that there were no significant differences for the concepts attitudes towards the
advertisement, attitude towards the brand and intentions to purchase endorsed
brands between celebrity and non-celebrity endorsement advertisements. When
confronted with non celebrity endorsers, consumers were significantly more focused
on the brand and its features, whereas with celebrity endorsers the subjects were
significantly more concentrated on the celebrity in the advertisement. However, Atkin
and Block (1983) and Petty et al. (1983) have found the opposite results of Mehta
(1994).

2.3 Models to analyze Celebrity Endorsement

Two general models are often used to analyze celebrity endorsement: the source
credibility model and the source attractiveness model. Furthermore, a description of
the endorsed brands and the match between the celebrity and the product is presented.

2.3.1 Source Credibility 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

40

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 haveindicated
that in a selling context, an expert salesperson induced a significantly higher number
of customers to purchase than did a non-expert salesperson (Woodside and Davenport,
1974).
2.3.2 Source Attractiveness Model
The source attractiveness model is a component of the 'source valence' model
presented by McGuire (1985). The attractiveness model contends that the
effectiveness of a message depends on source's '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).
2.4 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
one's 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. In
1998, Till and Busler have examined attractiveness versus expertise as a match-up
factor and found a general attractiveness effect on brand attitude and purchase
41

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. Walker et al. (1992) concluded that meanings and images are
transferred from the celebrity endorsers to the product.
McCracken (1989) has addressed the endorsement process from a cultural
perspective. According to meaning transfer model, the symbolic properties of the
celebrity endorser serve the endorsement process by taking on the meanings that then
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.
McCracken (1986) explains cultural meanings as something inherent and resident in
the culturally constituted, psychical, and social world and then move through a
conventional path to individual consumers where it is transferred through the efforts
of the consumer. This model conveys 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. He also suggests that 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.

Figure 1: The Meaning Transfer Model

42

Source: McCracken, 1989.

In the initial stage of this model, the meanings generated through 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.

Sandhir Sharma, professor at Punjab College of Technical Education, Ludhania

carried out a survey in Ludhiana, taking sample size of 100 viewers. The study
contained the sample size of 100, all the people of the age of 18 years and above. The
demographic profile of the respondent included 23 Businessmen, 35 service class
people, 30 students, 6 professionals, 4 housewives and 2 retired persons. Out of 100
respondents, 56 were males and 44 were females. The results showed that 54% of the
respondents feel that celebrities cast an impact through the advertisements while 46%
do not feel any impact of celebrities. Out of 54 respondents, 42 feel that celebrities
attract attention towards an ad, 15 of them feel that they arouse interest in the product.

43

12 respondents are of the view that celebrities build a desire to have the product and
only 6 respondents only feel that celebrities initiate an action to buy that product. The
study also revealed that majority of the respondents i.e. 63% get attracted more
towards Film Stars than any other celebrity. Majority of the respondents felt they
would continue buying same goods from the market irrespective of the act of
advertising the same product through any specific celebrity. The study found that very
few respondents (37%) have bought product(s) under the influence of any celebrity
which means that a consumer wants something more in an advertisement than a
celebrity to be influenced enough to buy the product.
Celebrity endorsement is always a two-edged sword and it has a number of positives
if properly matched it can do wonders for the company, and if not it may produce a
bad image of the company and its brand. Mukherjee (2009) has evaluated associated
factors that contribute to the success or failure of the endorsement. Celebrity
endorsement has been established as one of the most popular tools of advertising in
recent time. It has become a trend and perceived as a winning formula for product
marketing and brand building. It is easy to choose a celebrity but it is tough to
establish a strong association between the product and the endorser. While the
magnitude of the impact of celebrity endorsement remains under the purview of gray
spectacles, this paper is an effort to analyze the Impact of celebrity endorsements on
brands. The study aimed at examining the relationship between celebrity
endorsements and brands, and the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer's
buying behaviour as well as how consumer makes brand preferences. The author
proposes a 20 point model which can be used as blue-print criteria and can be used by
brand managers for selecting celebrities and capitalizing the celebrity resource
through 360 degree brand communication which, which he considers the foundation
of the impact of celebrity endorsement. The major factors that are having maximum
impacts of successful endorsement are a) Consistency and long-term commitment, b)
Prerequisites to selecting celebrities, c) Celebritybrand match, d) Constant
monitoring, e) Selecting unique endorsers, f) Timing, g) Myopic endorsement
strategy, h) Brand over endorser i) Celebrity endorsement is just a channel, j) Over
dependency on celebrity, k) The celebrity trap, l) Trademark and legal contracts, m)
Overall Management, n) Investment, o) The Brand endorsement team, p) Feel
Cultural Sensitivity and q) Celebrity ROI.

44

Chapter Three

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Need for Study

The organizations are using the celebrity endorsers for promoting their products. They
choose a person a face who may best- fit with the image of their product and brand as
well. At the same time, there is need to know the perceptions of the viewers and
consumers. This helps in estimating the impact of particular celebrity endorser on the
consumer buying behavior and final purchase decision. The importance of appropriate
celebrity endorser for the brand or product resulted in the need for the study.

3.2 Objectives of the study

This study had the following objectives1. To study the significance of celebrity endorsement.
2. To analyze the use and effectiveness of celebrity endorsers.
3. To measure the effectiveness, attractiveness and credibility of certain
celebrities.
4. To study the various dimensions of celebrity endorsers.
5. To establish a relationship between consumer behavior and celebrity
endorsement.
6. To view the companies and endorsers perspectives towards celebrity.

3.3 Research Methodology

3.3.1 Data Collection
Two kinds of data which has been gathered and used for carrying out this research are
1. Secondary Data

45

2. Primary Data
Secondary Data has been gathered to gain better understanding of the topic. It has
been collected from journals, magazines, text books and online resources. Primary
Data has been collected through a questionnaire.
3.3.2 Research Design
The research is descriptive in nature. It is based on survey technique.
3.3.3 Sampling Technique
Respondents were selected randomly. They have been categorized in three categories:
18- 24, 25- 34 and 35 or above. Data has been collected from various age groups so
that view of general public could be obtained.
3.3.4 Sampling Unit
The sampling unit consists of graduate students of different departments of Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh. The Faculty of Management Studies and Research, Zakir
Hussain College of Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Faculty of commerce were
visited collecting data.
3.3.5 Sample Size
The questionnaires were distributed to 150 people. But since few of the targeted
respondents did not respond, total responses received were 127.
3.3.5 Research Instrument
A questionnaire has been used to see the effect of celebrity on consumer purchasing
decisions. It also helps in generating the view of respondents regarding the few
celebrities which are used for certain products. To assess the ratings for particular
celebrities, categorical scale has been used. The responses of the respondents were
recorded as per following scale- Excellent, Good, Average, Poor and Unsure.

46

Steps in Data Collection

Literature Review/ Secondary Data Analysis

Sampling and Questionnaire Adaptation

Distribution of questionnaires

Collection of questionnaires

Compilation and Computation of responses

3.4 Managerial Implications

The study will have certain managerial implications such as:
1. The study will be useful to scholars, executives and managers interested in the
area of celebrity endorsement and advertising.
2. It highlights the perception of the targeted respondents towards the celebrities
used for various products.
3. It may provide an insight to the studied brands regarding the perception of
viewers.
4. The study may prove helpful to the organizations who are planning to choose
a celebrity for their brands or products.

47

3.5 Limitations
1. The response could not be obtained from all the respondents targeted.
2. Some respondents were not forthcoming and were reluctant in giving
responses.
3. Paucity of time to conduct the study is another limitation.
4. The study has been conducted in one city. So the findings cannot be
generalized.

48

Chapter Four

DATA ANALYSIS

This chapter deals with the analysis of the responses collected by means of questionnaire. The
analysis been done on the basis of age and gender. Mean values of the respondents are
calculated.
1. What are the most motivating factors when you plan to buy mobiles or cars?
Table 1
Discounts and
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

offers
28
4
32

Latest models and

Fewer prices
11
2
13

trends
74
7
81

Total
113
13
126

Table 1 show 28 respondents belonging to age group 18- 24 consider discounts and offers as
motivating factors where as latest models and trends motivates an average of 74 respondents
from the same age group. 7 respondents of age group 25- 34 agree with latest models and
trends as a motivating factor to purchase mobiles or cars.

If we have a look at the results gender wise, 47 males are motivated by latest models and
trends to buy the product and only 11 males are motivated by fewer prices. 2 females are
motivated by fewer prices whereas majority, that 34 females are motivated by latest trends
and models.
Table 2
Discount and
Gender

Male
Female
Total

offers
17
15
32

Latest models and

Fewer prices
11
2
13

49

trends
47
34
81

Total
75
51
126

Table 3 shows that 10.2 percent of respondents are motivated by fewer prices whereas 63.8
percent of respondents are motivated by latest models and trends. Discount and offers are able
to motivate around 25 percent of the respondents.
Table 3
Motivating Factors
Discount and offers
Fewer prices
Latest models and trends
Total

Frequency
32
13
81
127

Percent
25.2
10.2
63.8
100.0

2. Do you believe products specifically advertised by the celebrities are of good quality?
Table 4
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

Yes
11
3
14

No
38
6
44

50%
55
2
57

Not sure
9
2
11

Total
113
13
126

Table 4 shows 11 males in age group 18- 24 believe that products advertised by the celebrities
are of good quality, whereas 38 in same age group do not believe the same.
Table 5
Gender

Male
Female
Total

Yes
9
5
14

No
27
17
44

50%
31
26
57

Not sure
8
3
11

Total
75
51
126

17 females say the products promoted by celebrities do not have good quality, whereas, 26
females believe that the product is only 50% consists of good quality. 27 males believe that
the products promoted by celebrities are of not good quality and only 9 males believe reverse.
Table 6 shows a larger view of the responses. It shows that 11 percent of total respondents
believe that the products endorsed by the celebrities are of good quality, whereas 34.6% of
respondents consider such products below quality. 44.9% of respondents say 50% they have
good quality and rest of the respondents that is 8.7 % are not sure.
Table 6
Responses
Yes

Frequency
14
50

Percent
11.0

Responses
No
50%
Not sure
Total

Frequency
44
57
11
126

Percent
34.6
44.9
8.7
99.2

Chart 1

3. What is the most persuading factor to purchase the following products?

a) Motor Vehicle
Table 7
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

brand name Celebrity

59
8
8
2
67
10

Luxury
25
0
25

Self esteem
21
3
24

Total
113
13
126

59 respondents of age group 18- 24 consider brand name as the most persuading factor to
purchase the motor vehicle. 25 and 21 respondents believe it is the luxury and self- esteem
respectively which act as most persuading factor to buy motor vehicle. 8 respondents in age
group 25- 34 believe its the brand name which persuades them, whereas only 2 consider
celebrity as the persuading factor to purchase motor vehicle.
Table 8

51

Gender

Male
Female
Total

brand name
38
29
67

Celebrity
6
4
10

Luxury
14
11
25

Self esteem
17
7
24

Total
75
51
126

Table 8 shows 38 male respondents believe brand name acts a persuading factor to purchase
motor vehicle, whereas only 6 male consider its the celebrity who is endorsing the product.
Table 9
Dimensions
Brand Name
Celebrity
Luxury
Self Esteem
Total

Frequency
67
10
25
24
126

Percent
52.8
7.9
19.7
18.9
99.2

Table 9 shows only 19.7% and 5.8% of the respondents consider luxury and brand name
respectively, as the most persuading factor to purchase a motor vehicle.
Chart 2

b) Clothing
Table 10
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

brand name
59
8
67

Celebrity
8
3
11

52

status
25
0
25

cost
21
2
23

Total
113
13
126

According to 59 respondents in the age group 18- 24 consider brand name is the most
persuading factor while purchasing the clothing. Table 10 shows none of the respondents in
age group 25- 34 none agree to that status is the persuading factor to purchase clothing.
Table 11
Gender

Male
Female
Total

brand name
46
21
67

celebrity
6
5
11

status
13
12
25

cost
10
13
23

Total
75
51
126

Table 11 exhibits that only 10 males think that cost is a persuading factor to purchase
clothing, whereas 46 males think it the brand name which persuades them to purchase
clothing.
Table 12 shows around 52% of the total respondents believe brand name is the most
persuading factor to buy clothing, whereas, only 8.7 % of total respondents consider celebrity
as the most persuading factor to purchase clothing.
Table 12
Dimensions
brand name
celebrity
status
cost
Total

Frequency
67
11
25
23
126

Chart 3

53

Percent
52.8
8.7
19.7
18.1
99.2

c) Food Products
Table 13
attractive
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

celebrity
10
1
11

package
7
1
8

quality
87
10
97

brand name
9
1
10

Total
113
13
126

The above results show that 87 respondents of age group 18-24 believes quality is the most
persuading factor to purchase the food products, whereas only 7 respondents consider
attractive packaging as the most persuading factor.
Table 14
attractive
Gender

Male
Female
Total

celebrity
8
3
11

package
4
4
8

quality
57
40
97

brand name Total

6
75
4
51
10
126

Table 14 shows 57 male respondents consider quality as the most persuading factor to buy
food products. 40 females consider quality as the most persuading factor to purchase food
products whereas; only 3 females consider that celebrity persuades them to purchase food
products.

54

Table 15 shows around 76% of total respondents consider quality as the most persuading
factor to purchase food products. Only 6% of the respondents believe attractive packaging is
the reason.
Table 15
Dimensions
Celebrity
Attractive Package
Quality
Brand name
Total

Frequency
11
8
97
10
126

Chart 4

55

Percent
8.7
6.3
76.4
7.9
99.2

4. Companies are investing large amounts of money for using celebrities; do you think
its helping them to increase their total revenue?
Table 16
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

Yes
78
10
88

No
21
1
22

Don't know
14
2
16

Total
113
13
126

According to 78 respondents of age group 18-24, companies investing large amount of money
for celebrity endorsement are benefitted by increase in total revenue. 10 respondents of age
group 25-34 believes that celebrity endorsement do help in increase in total revenue of the
organization, whereas 1 respondent dont believe that. Table 17 shows 54 males say yes when
asked if they believe that celebrity endorsement help in increasing revenue of organization,
whereas 15 say no. 34 females say yes to the same question whereas, 7 females say no.
Table 17
Gender

Male
Female
Total

Yes
54
34
88

No
15
7
22

Don't know
6
10
16

Total
75
51
126

Table 18
Dimensions
Yes
No
Don't know
Total

Frequency
88
22
16
126

Percent
69.3
17.3
12.6
99.2

In table 18, around 69% of the total respondents do believe that organizations are benefitted
by celebrity endorsement, whereas, around 17% say no the same thing.

Chart 5

56

5. Does the presence of mega star like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or
Aishwarya Rai in an advertisement encourage you to purchase the product or service?
Table 19
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

Yes
36
3
39

No
57
8
65

Not sure
20
2
22

Total
113
13
126

Table 19 shows that 36 respondents falling in age group 18- 24 believe that mega stars like
Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai in an advertisement encourage them
to purchase the product or service, whereas 57 do not believe this. The age group 25- 34 has
only 3 respondents considering these mega stars in an advertisement encouraging to purchase
the product or service, while 2 are not sure.
Table 20
Gender

Male
Female
Total

Yes
26
13
39

No
36
29
65

Not sure
13
9
22

Total
75
51
126

26 male respondents believe mega stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or
Aishwarya Rai in an advertisement encourage them to purchase the product or service, while
36 males say no to it. 13 females are also encouraged by the same.

57

Table 21 shows around 30% of total respondents say they are encouraged by presence of
mega stars in advertisement to purchase a product or service, while 51.6% of total
respondents say they are not encouraged by presence of mega stars in advertisements.
Table 21
Dimensions
Yes
No
Not sure
Total

Frequency
39
65
22
126

Percent
30.7
51.2
17.3
99.2

Chart 6

6. Do you believe the celebrities also use those products which they themselves endorse?
Table 22
Age

18-24
25-34
Total

Yes
19
0
19

No
69
10
79

Not sure
24
2
26

Total
112
13
125

19 respondents falling in age group 18- 24 believe that celebrities also use those products
which they themselves endorse, while 69 respondents from same age group do not believe
this. In age group 25- 34, there are no respondents who would believe that celebrities also use
those products which they themselves endorse, but have 10 respondents who believe
celebrities also use those products which they themselves endorse.
Table 23

58

Gender

Male

Yes
12

No
47

Not sure
14

Total
74

Female

32

12

51

12 male respondents and 7 female respondents believe celebrities also use those products
which they themselves endorse whereas 47 male and 32 female respondents do not believe
the same.
Table 24
Dimensions
Yes
No
Not sure
Total

Frequency
19
79
26
125

Percent
15.0
62.2
20.5
98.4

Table 24 shows only 15% of the total respondents believe that celebrities also use those
products which they themselves endorse, while around 62% of the total respondents do not
agree with them.
Chart 7

7. What type of celebrity endorsement persuades you personally to purchase products?

Table 25

59

Famous
Age group
18-24

Film star
39

personalities
54

Cricketer
14

Politician
4

25-34

Total

43

61

15

Table 25 shows 39 respondents in age group 18- 24 are persuaded by films stars to purchase a
products, while 54 says famous personalities persuade them only 14 say they are persuaded
by cricketers. In other age group, only 1 respondent is persuaded by cricketer, 7 are persuaded
by famous personalities whereas none is persuaded by politician.
Table 26 shows 21 males and 22 female respondents are persuaded by film stars to buy
products, whereas 36 males and 25 females are persuaded by personalities. Cricketers are able
to persuade 12 males and only 3 females, whereas politicians persuade only 3 males and 1
female respondent.
Table 26
Famous
Gender

Male
Female

Total

Film star
21
22
43

personalities
36
25
61

Cricketer
12
3
15

Politician
3
1
4

Total
73
51
124

Table 27
Dimensions
Film star
Famous personalities

Frequency
43
61

Percent
33.9
48.0

Cricketer
Politician
Total

15
4
124

11.8
3.1
97.6

Table 27 shows 33.9% of total respondents are persuaded by film stars to purchase products,
whereas, only 3.1% of total respondents are persuaded by politicians.
8. Please rate the following celebrities as a brand endorser:
a) Aishwarya Rai for LOreal

60

Table 28
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
7
24
59
35
126

Percent
5.5
18.9
46.5
27.6
99.2

Table 28 shows only 5.5% of the total respondents rate Aishwarya Rai an excellent brand
endorser, 46.7% consider her an average brand endorser, while 27.6% rate her as a poor brand
endorser.
b) Hrithik Roshan for Coca Cola and Hero Honda Karizma
Table 29
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
7
20
58
38
126

Percent
5.5
15.7
45.7
29.9
99.2

Table 29 shows only 5.5% of the total respondents consider Hrithik Roshan for Coca Cola
and Hero Honda Karizma as an excellent brand endorser. 15.7% consider him as a good brand
endorser, whereas 45.7% consider him an average brand endorser.

c) Sushmita Sen for Olay Creams

Table 30
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
5
27
49
42
125

Percent
3.9
21.3
38.6
33.1
98.4

There are 21.3% of total respondents who rate Sushmita Sen for Olay Creams as good brand
endorser. 38.6% rate her as an average brand endorser whereas only 3.9% rate her as excellent
brand endorser.

61

d) Juhi Chawla for Kukure

Table 31
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
12
17
62
32
126

Percent
9.4
13.4
48.8
25.2
99.2

Table 31 shows that Juhi Chawla is considered as an average brand endorser for Kurkure by
48% of total respondents whereas only 9.4% of the total respondents consider as an excellent
brand endorser for Kurkure. 13.4% and 25.2% of the total respondents believe she is good
and poor brand endorser respectively.
e) Amitabh Bachchan for Cadbury choclates
Table 32
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
9
19
52
38
125

Percent
7.1
15.0
40.9
29.9
98.4

Table 32 shows 29.9% of the total respondents consider Amitabh Bachchan as poor brand
endorser for Cadbury choclates whereas only 7.1% consider him as an excellent brand
endorser for the same.
f) Shah Rukh Khan for Airtel and Pepsi
Table 33
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
2
10
57
56
126

Percent
1.6
7.9
44.9
44.1
99.2

The above table indicates that equal percent of respondents consider Shah Rukh Khan as an
average and poor brand endorser for Airtel and Pepsi. Only 1.6% of the total respondents

62

consider him as excellent brand endorser, whereas 7.9% of total respondents consider him as
good for the same.
g) Saif Ali Khan for Lays and Chevrolet
Table 34
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
5
32
43
44
126

Percent
3.9
25.2
33.9
34.6
99.2

In table 34, Saif Ali Khan comes out to be average brand endorser for Lays and Chevrolet as
said by 33.9% of total respondents, whereas only 3.9% of total respondents consider him to
be an excellent brand endorser for the same.
h) Amir Khan for Tata Sky and Samsung
Table 35
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
2
15
47
61
126

Percent
1.6
11.8
37.0
48.0
99.2

11.8% of the total respondents believe that Amir Khan is a good brand endorser for Tata Sky
and Samsung, whereas 37% of the total respondents consider him as an average brand
endorser for the same brands.
i)

Katrina Kaif for Slice

Table 36
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
15
16
39
51
125

63

Percent
11.8
12.6
30.7
40.2
98.4

The above table shows that 30.7% of the respondents consider Katrina Kaif as an average
brand endorser for Slice, whereas 11.8% of the respondents say she is an excellent brand
endorser. 12.6% of total respondents believe she is a good brand endorser for Slice.
j) John Abraham for Garnier and Castrol
Table 37
Dimensions
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Frequency
10
27
55
30
126

Percent
7.9
21.3
43.3
23.6
99.2

43.3% of the total respondents say that John Abraham is an average brand endorser for
Garnier and Castrol, whereas 21.3% of total respondents consider him good. 7.9% of the total
respondents believe that he is an excellent brand endorser for these two brands.
Table 38 and chart 8 below shows the mean scores of the respondents while rating the
celebrities for various brand.
Table 38
Celebrities
Aishwarya_L'Oreal
Hrithik_Coke_Karizma
Sushmita_Olay
Juhi_Kurkure
Amitabh_Cadbury
Shahrukh_Airtel_Pepsi
Saif_Lays_Chevrolet
Amir_TataSky_Samsung
Katrina_Slice
John_Garnier_Castrol

N
126
126
125
126
125
126
126
126
125
126
Chart 8

64

Mean
2.95
2.96
2.99
2.86
2.84
3.31
2.97
3.31
2.94
2.77

9. What do you value the most when you purchase a product?

Table 39

Gender

Price of the

Celebrity

Quality of the

Value for

product

Endorsement
1
2
3

product

money

Male
Female

Total

10
5
15

49
36
85

15
8
23

Table 39 indicates that 10 males say they value the price of the product the most when they
purchase a product, while only one male say its celebrity endorsement which they value. 36
females consider price of the product which they value the most, whereas only 2 females
think they value celebrity endorsement.
Table 40
Dimensions
Price of the product
Celebrity Endorsement
Quality of the product
Value for money
Total

Frequency
15
3
85
23
126

65

Percent
11.8
2.4
66.9
18.1
99.2

75
51
126

Table 40 shows 11.8% of respondents value price of the product whereas only 2.4% of the
respondents value celebrities when they purchase a product. The quality of product is valued
by 66.9% of the respondents.

66

Chart 9

10. Does celebrity endorsement help in brand promotion?

Table 41
Gender

Male
Female
Total

Yes
63
37
100

No
7
11
18

Not sure
4
3
7

74
51
125

Table 41 shows 63 males say celebrity endorsement help in brand promotion while 7 males
say it does not help. 37 females say celebrity endorsement help in brand promotion.
Table 42
Dimensions
Yes
No
Not sure
Total

Frequency
100
18
7
125

Percent
78.7
14.2
5.5
98.4

According to table 2, 78.7% of total respondents consider that celebrity endorsement assist in
brand promotion, whereas 14.2% of the total respondents feel its not so.

67

Chart 10

11. Does it affect company if celebritys image defer?

The table below shows 49 males and 34 females say that if celebritys image defer, the
company gets affected, whereas 18 males say that company is not affected if celebritys image
defers.
Table 43
Gender

Male
Female
Total

Yes
49
34
83

No
18
4
22

Not sure
8
13
21

Total
75
51
126

Table 44
Dimensions
Yes
No
Not sure
Total

Frequency
83
22
21
126

Percent
65.4
17.3
16.5
99.2

In table 44, 65.4% of the total respondents believe that company gets affected if celebritys
image defers whereas 17.3% of the total respondents believe the company is not affected if
celebritys image defers. 16.5% of the total respondents are not sure of their responses.

68

Chart 11

12. What means of advertisements persuades you the most to purchase a product?
Table 45
Gender

Male
Female

Total

Television
51
39
90

Radio
3
0
3

Newspaper
5
2
7

Magazines Internet
5
10
2
8
7
18

74
51
125

Table 45 shows 51 male and 39 female respondents television is the means of advertisements
which persuades them the most. Only 3 male respondents believe its radio which persuade
them the most.

69

Table 46
Dimensions
Television
Radio
Newspaper
Magazines
Internet
Total

Frequency
90
3
7
7
18
125

Percent
70.9
2.4
5.5
5.5
14.2
98.4

Table 46 shows 70.9% of total respondents believe television is the means of advertisements
which persuades them the most. 14.2% of the total respondents are most persuaded by
internet, whereas only 5.5% of the total respondents by newspapers and magazines.
Chart 12

13. What do you think is the reason for the companies to choose celebrity endorsement
for promoting their products?
The table below shows 33 males and 16 females believe that the reason for the companies to
choose celebrity endorsement for promoting their products is easy recognition, whereas, 4
males and 4 females think it is so because the companies cannot think of any new idea.

70

Table 47
Easy

Gender

Male
Female
Total

To be able to

recognition of

Can't generate

increase sales

To compete

product
33
16
49

new ideas
4
4
8

and profit
29
14
43

strongly
9
17
26

75
51
126

Table 48
Dimensions
Easy recognition of product
Can't generate new ideas
To be able to increase sales and profit
To compete strongly
Total

Frequency
49
8
43
26
126

Percent
38.6
6.3
33.9
20.5
99.2

The above table shows 38.6% of total respondents believe that companies choose celebrity
endorsement because they feel the customers will easy recognize the product, whereas 33.9%
of total population says it is so, so that companies may able to increase their sales and profits.
Chart 13

Chapter Five

71

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of analysis, the conclusions have been drawn in this chapter. The
conclusions are discussed below on the basis of age, on the basis of gender and also
on the basis of the ratings given to the celebrity endorser as given by the respondents.
This is brief discussion of directions for future study as well in latter part of this
chapter.

5.1

The conclusions are as follows:

5.1.1 On the basis of Age

1. 28 respondents belonging to age group 18- 24 consider discounts and offers as
motivating factors where as latest models and trends motivates an average of
74 respondents from the same age group. 7 respondents of age group 25- 34
agree with latest models and trends as a motivating factor to purchase mobiles
or cars.
2. 11 respondents in age group 18- 24 believe that products advertised by the
celebrities are of good quality, whereas 38 in same age group do not believe
the same.
3. 59 respondents of age group 18- 24 consider brand name as the most
persuading factor to purchase the motor vehicle. 25 and 21 respondents
believe it is the luxury and self- esteem respectively which act as most
persuading factor to buy motor vehicle. 8 respondents in age group 25- 34
believe its the brand name which persuades them, whereas only 2 consider
celebrity as the persuading factor to purchase motor vehicle.
4. According to 59 respondents in the age group 18- 24 consider brand name is
the most persuading factor while purchasing the clothing. Table 10 shows
none of the respondents in age group 25- 34 none agree to that status is the
persuading factor to purchase clothing.
5. 87 respondents of age group 18-24 believes quality is the most persuading
factor to purchase the food products, whereas only 7 respondents consider
attractive packaging as the most persuading factor.
6. 78 respondents of age group 18-24, companies investing large amount of
money for celebrity endorsement are benefitted by increase in total revenue.

72

10 respondents of age group 25-34 believes that celebrity endorsement do help

in increase in total revenue of the organization, whereas 1 respondent dont
believe that
7. 36 respondents falling in age group 18- 24 believe that mega stars like Shah
Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai in an advertisement
encourage them to purchase the product or service, whereas 57 do not believe
this. The age group 25- 34 has only 3 respondents considering these mega
stars in an advertisement encouraging to purchase the product or service, while
2 are not sure.
8. 19 respondents falling in age group 18- 24 believe that celebrities also use
those products which they themselves endorse, while 69 respondents from
same age group do not believe this. In age group 25- 34, there are no
respondents who would believe that celebrities also use those products which
they themselves endorse, but have 10 respondents who believe celebrities also
use those products which they themselves endorse.
9. 39 respondents in age group 18- 24 are persuaded by films stars to purchase a
products, while 54 says famous personalities persuade them only 14 say they
are persuaded by cricketers. In other age group, only 1 respondent is
persuaded by cricketer, 7 are persuaded by famous personalities whereas none
is persuaded by politician.
5.1.2

On the basis of Gender

1. 47 males are motivated by latest models and trends to buy the product and
only 11 males are motivated by fewer prices. 2 females are motivated by fewer
prices whereas majority, that 34 females are motivated by latest trends and
models.
2. 17 females say the products promoted by celebrities do not have good quality,
whereas, 26 females believe that the product is only 50% consists of good
quality. 27 males believe that the products promoted by celebrities are of not
good quality and only 9 males believe reverse.
3. 38 male respondents believe brand name acts a persuading factor to purchase
motor vehicle, whereas only 6 male consider its the celebrity who is
endorsing the product.
4. 10 males think that cost is a persuading factor to purchase clothing, whereas
46 males think it the brand name which persuades them to purchase clothing.

73

5. 57 male respondents consider quality as the most persuading factor to buy

food products. 40 females consider quality as the most persuading factor to
purchase food products whereas, only 3 females consider that celebrity
persuades them to purchase food products.
6. 54 males say yes when asked if they believe that celebrity endorsement help in
increasing revenue of organization, whereas 15 say no. 34 females say yes to
the same question whereas, 7 females say no.
7. 26 male respondents believe mega stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh
Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai in an advertisement encourage them to purchase
the product or service, while 36 males say no to it. 13 females are also
encouraged by the same.
8. 12 male respondents and 7 female respondents believe celebrities also use
those products which they themselves endorse whereas 47 male

and 32

female respondents do not believe the same

9. 21 males and 22 female respondents are persuaded by film stars to buy
products, whereas 36 males and 25 females are persuaded by personalities.
Cricketers are able to persuade 12 males and only 3 females, whereas
politicians persuade only 3 males and 1 female respondent.
10. 10 males say they value the price of the product the most when they purchase
a product, while only one male say its celebrity endorsement which they value.
36 females consider price of the product which they value the most, whereas
only 2 females think they value celebrity endorsement.
11. 63 males say celebrity endorsement help in brand promotion while 7 males say
it does not help. 37 females say celebrity endorsement help in brand
promotion.
12. 49 males and 34 females say that if celebritys image defer, the company gets
affected, whereas 18 males say that company is not affected if celebritys
image defers.
13. 51 male and 39 female respondents television is the means of advertisements
which persuades them the most. Only 3 male respondents believe its radio
which persuade them the most.
14. 33 males and 16 females believe that the reason for the companies to choose
celebrity endorsement for promoting their products is easy recognition,
whereas, 4 males and 4 females think it is so because the companies cannot
think of any new idea.
5.1.3 On the basis of Ratings given to Celebrity Endorsers

74

1. 5.5% of the total respondents rate Aishwarya Rai an excellent brand endorser,
46.7% consider her an average brand endorser, while 27.6% rate her as a poor
brand endorser.
2. 5.5% of the total respondents consider Hrithik Roshan for Coca Cola and Hero
Honda Karizma as an excellent brand endorser. 15.7% consider him as a good
brand endorser, whereas 45.7% consider him an average brand endorser.
3. 21.3% of total respondents who rate Sushmita Sen for Olay Creams as good
brand endorser. 38.6% rate her as an average brand endorser whereas only
3.9% rate her as excellent brand endorser.
4. Juhi Chawla is considered as an average brand endorser for Kurkure by 48%
of total respondents whereas only 9.4% of the total respondents consider as an
excellent brand endorser for Kurkure. 13.4% and 25.2% of the total
respondents believe she is good and poor brand endorser respetively.
5. 29.9% of the total respondents consider Amitabh Bachchan as poor brand
endorser for Cadbury choclates whereas only 7.1% consider him as an
excellent brand endorser for the same.
6. equal percent of respondents consider Shah Rukh Khan as an average and poor
brand endorser for Airtel and Pepsi. Only 1.6% of the total respondents
consider him as excellent brand endorser, whereas 7.9% of total respondents
consider him as good for the same.
7. Saif Ali Khan comes out to be average brand endorser for Lays and Chevrolet
as said by 33.9% of total respondents, whereas only 3.9% of total respondents
consider him to be an excellent brand endorser for the same.
8. 11.8% of the total respondents believe that Amir Khan is a good brand
endorser for Tata Sky and Samsung, whereas 37% of the total respondents
consider him as an average brand endorser for the same brands.
9. 30.7% of the respondents consider Katrina Kaif as an average brand endorser
for Slice, whereas 11.8% of the respondents say she is an excellent brand
endorser. 12.6% of total respondents believe she is a good brand endorser for
Slice.
10. 43.3% of the total respondents say that John Abraham is an average brand
endorser for Garnier and Castrol, whereas 21.3% of total respondents consider
him good. 7.9% of the total respondents believe that he is an excellent brand
endorser for these two brands.

5.2 DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY

75

There can be many ways in which this study can be expanded in future. Some of the
ways could be listed as follows:
1. This study has been carried out in few departments of Aligarh Muslim
University. It could further incorporate more universities or colleges of
Aligarh.
2. The study could also be extended to a comparison of perception regarding
celebrity endorsement at Aligarh and other cities.
3. More respondents could be targeted in future which will help in increasing the
sample size.
4. Future studies can be carried out to compare the celebrities endorsing in India
and in foreign countries.

76

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78

79

QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear respondents,
This questionnaire carries data on which study will take place on the topic Celebrity
endorsement affecting consumers attitude toward the advertisement and purchase
intension for a product. Your view will be of immense value and through this I can find the
change in attitude by seeing advertisement.
Name:_____________________________________________________________________
Gender:___________________ Age______________ Occupation______________________
1.

What are the motivating factors when you plan to buy mobiles or cars?
(a) Discounts and offers
[
]
(b) Fewer prices
[ ]
(c) Latest models and trends [
]
(d) Celebrity endorsing the product [ ]

2.

Do you believe products specifically advertised by the celebrities are of good

quality?
Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]
50% [ ]
Not sure [ ]

3.

What is the most persuading factor to purchase the following products?

(a) Motor vehicle?
Brand Name [ ]

Celebrity

[ ]

Luxury

[ ]

Self Esteem

[ ]

(b) Clothing
Brand Name [ ]

Celebrity

[ ]

Status

[ ]

Cost

[ ]

(c) Food Products

Celebrity
[ ]
Quality
[ ]

Attractive Package
Brand Name

[ ]
[ ]

4.

Companies are investing large amounts of money for using celebrities; do you think
its helping them to increase their total revenue?
Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]
Dont know [ ]

5.

Does the presence of mega star like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bacchan or Aishwariya
Rai in an advertisement encourage you to purchase the product or service?
Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]
Not sure
[ ]

6.

Do you believe the celebrities also use those products which they themselves endorse?
Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]
Not sure
[ ]

7.

What type of celebrity endorsement persuades you personally to purchase products?

Film star
[ ]
Famous personalities
[ ]
Cricketer
[ ]
Politician
[ ]

8.

Please rate the following celebrities as a brand endorser:(a) Aishwariya Rai for LOreal
Excellent
[ ]
Good
[ ]
Average
Poor
[ ]
Cant [ ]
(b) Hritik Roshan for coca cola and hero honda karizma
Excellent
[ ]
Good
[ ]
80

Average

[ ]

[ ]

Poor
[ ]
(c) Sushmita Sen for Olay creams
Excellent
[ ]
Poor
[ ]

Cant rate

[ ]

Good
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

Good
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(e) Amitabh Bachan for Cadbury chocolatesExcellent

[ ]
Good
Poor
[ ]
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(f) Shah Rukh Khan for Airtel and Pepsi

Excellent
[ ]
Good
Poor
[ ]
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(g) Saif Ali Khan for Lays and Chevrolet

Excellent
[ ]
Good
Poor
[ ]
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(h) Aamir Khan for Tata Sky and Samsung

Excellent
[ ]
Good
Poor
[ ]
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(i) Katrina Kaif for slice

Excellent
[ ]
Poor
[ ]

Good
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

(j) John Abraham for Garnier and Castrol

Excellent
[ ]
Good
Poor
[ ]
Cant rate

[ ]
[ ]

Average

[ ]

What do you value the most when purchasing a product?

Price of the product
[ ]
Celebrity endorsement
Quality of the product
[ ]
Value for money

[ ]
[ ]

Does celebrity endorsement help in brand promotion?

Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]

Not sure

[ ]

Does it affect company if celebritys image defer?

Yes
[ ]
No
[ ]

Not sure

[ ]

(d) Juhi Chawla for KurkureExcellent

[ ]
Poor
[ ]

9.

10.
11.
12.

What means of advertisements persuades you the most to purchase a product?

Television
[ ]
Radio
[ ]
Newspaper
[ ]
Magazines
[ ]
Internet
[ ]

13.

What do you think is the reason for the companies to choose celebrity endorsement
for promoting their products?
Easy recognition of product
[ ]
Cant generate new ideas
[ ]
81

to be able to increase sales and profit[ ]

82

to compete strongly

[ ]