Sometimes a celebrity holding a negative public image is the best product endorser

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine women’s reactions to celebrity endorsers holding positive and negative public images and the consequences for purchase intentions of the endorsed product. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the social comparison literature and applies the theory of upward and downward comparisons to the celebrity endorsement context. Findings Study 1 shows that exposure to celebrities holding a positive public image decrease consumers’ temporal self-esteem, while celebrities holding a negative public image increase temporal self-esteem. Study 2 suggests that this change in self-esteem transfers to the product depending upon the type of social comparison focus (similarity vs dissimilarity) which people have. Study 3 shows that for consumers low in true self-esteem, i.e. self-esteem based upon a stable foundation, celebrities holding a positive public image decrease purchase intentions. For consumers high in true self-esteem, there was no difference between exposure to celebrities holding a positive and a negative public image for purchase intentions. Study 4 focused on replicating the results found in Studies 1-3 in the context of an achievement celebrity (as opposed to a regular celebrity). The findings in Study 4 provide further support for the results of Studies 1 and 3, and identify expert celebrities as a boundary condition for the effects found in Study 2. Practical implications The results provide evidence suggesting that celebrities holding a negative public image can be used as celebrity endorsers in product categories in which it can be considered helpful to protect women’s self-esteem, such as beauty products or self-expressive products. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature on celebrity endorsement by adding a boundary condition for the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. According to the results, choosing a positive celebrity can, for some groups, have negative effects on purchase intensions and that a negative celebrity might be the safer choice.

Fifty years of celebrity endorser research: Support for a comprehensive celebrity endorsement strategy framework

“…Wang and Scheinbaum () found that consumers’ positive perception of a celebrity endorser's physical attractiveness enhances brand attitude and purchase intentions. Conversely, Sääksjärvi, Hellén, and Balabanis () found that for low‐self‐esteem consumers, exposure to a good‐looking celebrity affects purchase intentions negatively.…”

Celebrity Endorsement as Drivers of Advertising Strategy: The Case of Toc Tien Endorsing Oppo

“…Among many popular advertising strategies, celebrity endorsement has been rising as an appropriate promotional trend with an important role in the success of the product in terms of sales and brand recognition. However, some previous studies show that an attractive celebrity image sometimes decrease purchase intention [3].…”

“…Moreover, the attractive celebrity may create a negative effect on mood and body image [2]. Finally, sometimes the celebrities holding a positive public image diminish purchase intentions when consumers are low in true self-esteem [3].…”

Celebrity endorsement: Conceptual clarifications, critical review, and future research perspectives

“…It has been implicitly implied that the consumer is in favor of endorsement, achieved through the exposure to beautiful and famous people. The effects of this exposure, however, are not always positive, and unconscious comparisons with the idealized images of the celebrities could provoke negative emotions (Brown and Tiggemann, 2016; Sääksjärvi et al, 2016; Van de Ven, 2017). There are, moreover, inconsistent views about the types of celebrities who induce these emotions.…”