A firm that decides to employ a celebrity to promote its product or service has the choice
of using the celebrity to give a testimonial or an endorsement as an actor in a commercial or
as a company spokesperson . Table 11-2 distinguishes among these different types of celebrity
appeals. Figure 11-3 presents the findings of a study that explored what marketing practitioners in the United Kingdom look for in selecting a celebrity endorser. What is apparent is that
the importance of certain celebrity characteristics varies depending on whether the product
being promoted is technical (e.g. PCs) or non-technical (e.g. jeans) in nature. Specifically, for
a product like a PC the ‘trustworthiness’ of a celebrity is considered to be most important,
whereas for a clothing item like jeans the ‘physical attractiveness’ of the celebrity is viewed as
most important