Abstract

In India today, the use of celebrity for advertising in companies has become a trend and a perceived winning formula of corporate image-building and product marketing. This phenomenon is reflected in the recent market research finding that 8 out of 10 TV commercials scoring the highest recall were those with celebrity appearances. Today 'celebrity endorsement' has attracted immense debate on whether it really contributes to the brand building process or whether it is just another tool to make the brand more visible in the minds of the consumers. For example, with the Cadbury's worm issue, the brand wanted to build a trust amongst the customers in order to regain its market share. They chose Amitabh Bachchan as an endorser to build that trust and in order to regain their market share. According to the sales data, it was found out that the right celebrity selection gave the right results to them. Firms invest huge amounts as advertising expenditure for hiring the right celebrity. However, there lies uncertainty with respect to the returns that the company might be able to garner for the brand. For example, the Bachchans were endorsing Maruti Versa but this campaign, in spite of the Bachchans being there, was a failure and indirectly the brand was a failure. The consumers were not able to accept the fact that Amitabh Bachchan could ever drive a B-segment car. From the above examples, it can be stated that there should be a synergy between the brand and the endorser. The issue of matching the values of the celebrity with the brand values is also very important, that is, getting the right celebrity to endorse the right brand. Consumers perceive the brand as having superior quality because it has been endorsed by a credible source. This makes endorsement as one of the indictors of quality for any brand. If the celebrity is involved in multiple endorsements, it tends to create confusion among consumers and hence negatively affects the perception of the advertisement and the brand. Hence, to say clearly whether the practice of celebrity endorsement impacts positively or negatively to the brand still remains a debate.

Key words: Celebrity, advertising, customer, endorsement.