Digital ventriloquism and celebrity access: Cameo and the emergence of paid puppeteering on digital platforms

Abstract

Cameo is part of a growing set of new media platforms trending toward direct routes for monetizing fame. Cameo allows fans to book personalized shout-out videos and provides celebrities—celetoids and reality stars in particular—access to new modes of income, which became increasingly important amid the pandemic. This research explores how the direct monetization of the fan-celebrity relationship is re-shaping the power dynamic of these parasocial relationships. Using digital ventriloquism as an analytical lens to study reality stars (e.g. Real Housewives) on Cameo, this study introduces the concept of paid puppeteering on digital platforms, defined as a form of digital ventriloquism in which a celebrity’s public persona is manipulated and incentivized through financial means on a paid digital platform for the illusion of close parasocial connections with fans. Paid puppeteering reinforces celebrities as gig workers as Cameo mitigates fan access to celebrities—for a fee.

The effect mechanism of the celebrity persona on consumers' purchase intention: based on the analysis of the grounded theory

“…The celebrity's appearance, character quality, business ability and work charm are all factors that attract fans' purchasing behavior. These qualities of celebrities help to bring together interest groups and emotional communities around the celebrity and are used by companies for various business practices (Drenten and Psarras, 2021). Therefore, companies should choose the right celebrities for live-streaming e-commerce.…”

“…By setting up the persona, celebrities help to shorten the emotional distance with fans on the one hand (Chung and Cho, 2017). It also helps to bring interest groups and emotional groups together around celebrities, and is used by various industries for various commercial purposes (Drenten and Psarras, 2021). On the other hand, celebrities present themselves through social networking sites and provide the public with their ideal self, so that consumers generate consumption behavior under rational or irrational identification (Hackley et al, 2018).…”

“…On the other hand, celebrities present themselves through social networking sites and provide the public with their ideal self, so that consumers generate consumption behavior under rational or irrational identification (Hackley et al, 2018). Therefore, the celebrity persona connects the economic and social benefits of celebrities and has a significant commercial value (Drenten and Psarras, 2021).…”

“…, 2018). Therefore, the celebrity persona connects the economic and social benefits of celebrities and has a significant commercial value (Drenten and Psarras, 2021).…”

Algorithmic Ventriloquism: The Contested State of Voice in AI Speech Generators

“…Media theory has applied ventriloquism to explore various voice-related phenomena, from the metaphorical voice in written texts (Cooren, 2010) to the relation between media technologies and the human voice (Altman, 1980;Drenten & Psarras, 2023;Goldblatt, 2006;Riszko, 2017;Truax, 2001). Media can recast human voices and generate new relations between humans, their bodies, and their voices; ventriloquism describes the mechanism of this reorganization as an operative ontology that redefines "the relations between selves and their bodies" (Connor, 2000, p. 43).…”