Today many marketers are crazy about signing on popular celebrities to endorse their brands and are spending billions on them. This appears to be the easiest way of drawing consumers' attention, especially in the context of fierce competition in the consumer goods category, where there is a clutter of alternative brands and their advertisements, vying for consumer attention. This article takes a look at the conceptual background to the subject and delineates contemporary examples of celebrity endorsements on Indian television.

In the context of marketing, celebrities come under the broad category of `reference groups.' A reference group is defined as an actual or imaginary individual or group which has significant relevance to a consumer's evaluations, aspirations or behavior. The presumed perspectives or values of the reference group are used by the consumer as the basis for his/her behavior.

Celebrities constitute a non-membership reference group. This is to mean that consumers do not belong to this group themselves, but it provides a standard of reference for their behavior. A single celebrity is considered to be an individual referent. Celebrities constitute a positive or associative reference group, as consumers normally find their values and behavior attractive, and look to them as role models. Celebrities can also be considered to be identification groups as consumers identify strongly with their behavior and try to incorporate the same in their own behavior.

Celebrities have a credibility influence on consumers, i.e., consumers tend to believe the source of influence as accurate and unbiased. They also have comparative influence which means that celebrities do not set or enforce any rules of behavior on the consumers, but serve as a standard to choose for comparison.

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