Of all the benefi ts that a celebrity might contribute to a fi rm’s advertising programme – fame,
talent, credibility or charisma – celebrity credibility with the consumer audience is the most important. By celebrity credibility we mean the audience’s perception of both the celebrity’s expertise
(how much the celebrity knows about the product area) and trustworthiness (how honest the
celebrity is about what he or she says about the product).
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To illustrate, when a celebrity endorses
only one product, consumers are likely to perceive the product in a highly favourable light and indicate a greater intention to purchase it. In contrast, when a celebrity endorses a variety of products,
his or her perceived credibility is reduced because of the apparent economic motivation underlying
the celebrity’s efforts.
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Figure 11-4 presents footballer Steven Gerrard as an endorser for Lucozade.
A recent study examining the impact of celebrity athlete endorsers on teens found that such
endorsers had a positive infl uence on favourable word-of-mouth (WOM) and increased brand
loyalty. Moreover, the research found that female teens tended to spread more favourable WOM
about a product or brand endorsed by their favourite celebrity athlete than did male teens. The
females were also more likely to agree that males who had athlete role models had influenced
them to purchase certain brands