Celebrity endorsements are a widely used marketing strategy, through which a popular celebrity is paired with the brand in order to enhance brand meaning in the eyes of consumers. However, endorsement strategies are not without risk, as evidenced by popular media revealing celebrities’ negative behavior. While much research has addressed factors enhancing endorsement effectiveness, limited research exists that examines the effects of negative celebrity information on consumer responses to the endorser and brand. The current research seeks to understand the potential differentiating effects of failure type (functional vs. nonfunctional) on related consumer attitudes and intentions. Three experiments (between subjects factorial design) were conducted to examine the phenomenon of interest. Contrary to expectations, results of the first two experiments suggest an absence of significant differentiating effects of failure type, overall, although various exceptions surfaced. These experiments represent a unique research attempt to disentangle the effects of functional and nonfunctional information on consumer responses to endorsement strategies. In addition, it contributes to the growing research interest in understanding the important effects of negative information on consumer attitudes and intentions.

The use of celebrity endorsers is a popular marketing strategy in many countries. Typically, many marketers believe that using celebrities is a viable marketing strategy for attracting customers, increasing market share and improving sales for their market offerings. The celebrity endorsement strategy using local celebrities is increasing in South Africa. Many South African marketers are now using popular local black celebrities in an attempt to attract the prosperous black emerging middle class, known as Black Diamonds. Black Generation Y students offer great promise to marketers in the South African market as their tertiary education is likely to lead to higher future earning potential and subsequent entry into the already prosperous black emerging middle class segment. Given the increased use of local black celebrities and the market potential of the black Generation Y cohort in South Africa, it is important to investigate whether this marketing strategy may be effective when used in this segment. Celebrity endorsement may work effectively if the correct celebrity is chosen to promote a product but may have costly results if an inappropriate celebrity is chosen. Ohanian (1990) developed a scale to facilitate the selection of celebrity endorsers. The scale is based on the source credibility model that includes the source attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise model. This study set out to determine whether the black Generation Y students have positive perceptions of local black celebrity endorsers using the celebrity endorsers‟ credibility scale developed by Ohanian (1990). Furthermore, the scale was validated using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling in order to ascertain whether the scale remains applicable when used in the South African context. A non-probability convenience sample of 880 (440 per institution) black students aged between 18 and 24 years was taken in 2012 from the two registered public higher education institutions in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Following a top-of-the-mind-awareness test, four local black celebrities were identified, namely Connie Ferguson, Black Coffee, DJ Sbu and Zahara. In a second top-of-the-mind-awareness test to determine which product types each celebrity is considered to most suitable to endorse, Connie Ferguson was linked to cosmetics, Black Coffee to hot beverages, DJ Sbu to men’s clothing and Zahara to traditional African clothes and jewellery. The relevant primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire that had four versions – one per identified celebrity. Lecturers at the two public HEIs were contacted and asked if they would distribute the questionnaires (four versions) to their students to complete during lecture periods. The questionnaires were hand delivered to the relevant lecturers and those completed were immediately collected. The questionnaire requested respondents to indicate on a six-point Likert scale their perceptions of the four selected celebrities‟ attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise in endorsing their selected product types. In addition, respondents were asked to provide certain demographic data. Findings from the study indicated that black Generation Y students have positive perceptions of the selected local black celebrity endorsers‟ attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise in endorsing their selected product types. In addition, the results of both the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling suggest that the scale developed by Ohanian (1990) to be a valid measure for selecting celebrity endorsers when applied in South Africa. Insights gained from this study will assist both marketing academics and practitioners understand the perceptions of the black Generation Y students towards the use of local black celebrities in product promotions in the South African market. / MCom, Marketing Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The use of celebrity endorsers is a popular marketing strategy in many countries. Typically, many marketers believe that using celebrities is a viable marketing strategy for attracting customers, increasing market share and improving sales for their market offerings. The celebrity endorsement strategy using local celebrities is increasing in South Africa. Many South African marketers are now using popular local black celebrities in an attempt to attract the prosperous black emerging middle class, known as Black Diamonds. Black Generation Y students offer great promise to marketers in the South African market as their tertiary education is likely to lead to higher future earning potential and subsequent entry into the already prosperous black emerging middle class segment. Given the increased use of local black celebrities and the market potential of the black Generation Y cohort in South Africa, it is important to investigate whether this marketing strategy may be effective when used in this segment. Celebrity endorsement may work effectively if the correct celebrity is chosen to promote a product but may have costly results if an inappropriate celebrity is chosen. Ohanian (1990) developed a scale to facilitate the selection of celebrity endorsers. The scale is based on the source credibility model that includes the source attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise model. This study set out to determine whether the black Generation Y students have positive perceptions of local black celebrity endorsers using the celebrity endorsers‟ credibility scale developed by Ohanian (1990). Furthermore, the scale was validated using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling in order to ascertain whether the scale remains applicable when used in the South African context. A non-probability convenience sample of 880 (440 per institution) black students aged between 18 and 24 years was taken in 2012 from the two registered public higher education institutions in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Following a top-of-the-mind-awareness test, four local black celebrities were identified, namely Connie Ferguson, Black Coffee, DJ Sbu and Zahara. In a second top-of-the-mind-awareness test to determine which product types each celebrity is considered to most suitable to endorse, Connie Ferguson was linked to cosmetics, Black Coffee to hot beverages, DJ Sbu to men’s clothing and Zahara to traditional African clothes and jewellery. The relevant primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire that had four versions – one per identified celebrity. Lecturers at the two public HEIs were contacted and asked if they would distribute the questionnaires (four versions) to their students to complete during lecture periods. The questionnaires were hand delivered to the relevant lecturers and those completed were immediately collected. The questionnaire requested respondents to indicate on a six-point Likert scale their perceptions of the four selected celebrities‟ attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise in endorsing their selected product types. In addition, respondents were asked to provide certain demographic data. Findings from the study indicated that black Generation Y students have positive perceptions of the selected local black celebrity endorsers‟ attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise in endorsing their selected product types. In addition, the results of both the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling suggest that the scale developed by Ohanian (1990) to be a valid measure for selecting celebrity endorsers when applied in South Africa. Insights gained from this study will assist both marketing academics and practitioners understand the perceptions of the black Generation Y students towards the use of local black celebrities in product promotions in the South African market. / MCom, Marketing Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

What role do celebrity endorsements play in determining the success of a sports apparel company brand, such as Nike, Inc. (Nike) and Under Armour? Each year, Nike and Under Armour spend hundreds of millions of dollars marketing their athletic apparel, footwear, accessories and gear using paid celebrities and professional athletes. Can marketing videos prominently featuring inspirational athletes increase a company’s profitability and stock price value, and lead to stronger brand recognition that could not only convince its current customers to buy products, but also reach new consumers and expand its revenue? By collecting data on Nike and Under Armour’s YouTube videos from July 2010 to November 2017, this study uses characteristics of the companies’ videos, such as professional athletic presence, gender, purpose, intended audience and number of views, to determine whether a celebrity is consistently positively correlated with stock price changes. Two tests produced conflicting results: Celebrity presence was only statistically significant in positively affecting Under Armour’s daily stock price immediately, but not in either company’s weekly or monthly stock prices. Additionally, lack of celebrity presence was statistically significant in negatively impacting Under Armour’s change in monthly stock price. These mixed results demonstrate the debatable impact a celebrity endorsement has on a company’s stock market valuation. The conclusion discusses potential factors that may have contributed to Under Armour’s stock price fall.

Background: With increased scrutiny of celebrities by the Chinese government, more and more celebrities are being exposed to being caught in various scandals. This leads to the challenge of how companies respond to such celebrity endorsements followed by scandals to incorporate the intentions of independent, socially conscious China’s Generation-Y. Therefore, companies need to understand the factors that influence abandonment intentions and thus take more action on preventive celebrity endorsement management. Purpose: This dissertation aims to examine China’s Generation-Y's intention to abandon brands following a celebrity endorsement followed by a scandal. A theory of planned behavior incorporating tax evasion scandals forms the theoretical basis for examining which factors most impact abandonment intention. Method: To achieve the purpose of this thesis, the researcher conducted a quantitative study through an interpretive research method with a sample of 246 Chinese respondents. In addition to demographic questions and two modules on celebrity endorsement and scandal context, the questionnaire consisted of eight modules derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The researcher used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regressions to analyze the data to investigate the relationship between the variables better and determine if the hypotheses set by the study were supported. Finally, demographic factors were combined to explore the intrinsic link with the variables further. Conclusion: This research provides evidence that the factors influencing the intention of China’s Generation-Y to use a brand change after a scandal concerning a celebrity who had endorsed the brand in question. The main finding concerns the increased importance of subjective norms and the decreased comparative importance of attitude towards intention to use/abandon said brand after the scandal. However, in contrast with previous studies, the results of this study showed no significant influence of perceived behavioral control before or after the scandal. Furthermore, the researchers found that while before a scandal there was a significant difference in the influence of subjective norms between men and women, that difference disappeared after a scandal. Those results allowed the researchers to draw conclusions, make managerial implications, and suggest further possible research opportunities.

Background: Celebrity endorsements is a marketing strategy that has been long used bymarketers to strengthen brands' reputations. Nowadays, due to the fast growth of socialmedia, number of people using social media increase day-by-day. Hence, the use of digitalplatforms as marketing channel has increasing. Plus, a changing shift from traditionalcelebrity endorsement to influencer marketing has also been observed whereby well-knownsocial media users are employed by brands to promote their products. Those people areknown as social media influencers (SMIs) and are deemed as non-traditional celebrities.According to advertising and marketing literature, celebrity endorsement is an effectiveapproach to improve attitudes towards brands and raise buying intentions. However, thereare limited research on the impacts of different types of celebrities on social media uponcustomers, especially in the perfume industry. Therefore, this study was created to fill this gap. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of Instagram influencers onVietnamese customer’s attitude and intentions in purchasing perfume. This paper adoptedthe Ohanian model of source credibility since the authors aim to examine associationbetween SMIs’ perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise and customerattitude. The relationship between customer attitude and purchasing intention of perfumewas then also investigated. Method: The survey method was used as the research method. Online questionnaire wasemployed to gather primary data from the respondents in Vietnam. A total of 147 sampleVietnamese Instagram users participated in the survey and collected data was analysed usingthe SPSS 28.0 version. Conclusion: The research results showed that all three dimension of source credibilitymodel, attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, had significant influences on customerattitude. Findings also demonstrated a positive relationship between customer attitudetowards SMIs and their buying intention of perfumes. This study made several contributionsto both theory and practice, which were also highlighted in this paper.

Background and purpose: Celebrity endorsements have a profound impact on consumers’ purchases and lifestyles. Pharmacists and student pharmacists must be aware of celebrity endorsements of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and dietary supplements to properly advise patients regarding safety and effectiveness, or lack thereof, of endorsed products. Educational activity and setting: An application-based activity was utilized in a self-care course to apply OTC medication and dietary supplement regulations to celebrity endorsements of these products. Students were asked to identify a celebrity endorsement of a product, providing: (1) the product endorsed, (2) celebrity endorser, (3) location of the endorsement, (4) summary of the endorsement and the endorsement itself, (5) assess if the endorsement violated any regulations, and (6) assess if the endorsement was in disagreement with evidence-based resources. Findings: Student pharmacists concluded that 30% of celebrity endorsements violated laws and regulations while 35% concluded the claims made were not supported by evidence-based literature. Interestingly, student pharmacists who selected the same endorsements did not always arrive at the same conclusions. Studied endorsements were frequently found to be in violation of laws and regulations governing OTC medications and dietary supplements and frequently were not supported by evidence-based literature. The activity described provides an innovative active-learning strategy to teach laws and regulations affecting OTC medications and dietary supplements.

This master thesis will discuss elements of using celebrity in marketing communication. Theory will cover basic communication process, Elaboration Likelihood Model, and meaning transfer model but main focus will be in discussing various celebrity selection theories, identifying different risks involved in using celebrities in marketing communication and investigating ways how to utilize celebrities to enhance the communication. Several examples are included to provide connection to real life use of celebrities.