There has been a tremendous
upsurge in the field of
advertising and marketing in recent years, thanks to
the intense competition among several brands of products. Whether it
is the print or the electronic media, a veritable flood of ads
constantly claims the attention of readers and viewers. Consumers
are continuously urged to purchase some brand of soap or talcum
powder or beauty cream. And this extends to a multitude of products
ready-made apparel, shoes, furniture items, refrigerators, motor cars and
what not! Often, the people cannot resist the barrage and yield to
the temptation of buying.
In such a climate of an abundance of products under different
brands manufactured by different companies, it is not surprising
to find corporates resorting to various methods to beat
the competition. Celebrity endorsements have
become omnipresent in today's marketing world with almost every
company roping in celebrities for brand building. These celebrities
work as the `brand ambassadors'either subtly, or
deliberately pointing to the virtues of the products they endorse.
The success of celebrity endorsement depends to a
great extent on the credibility of the person who endorses the
product and also that of the company which sells it. There are instances of
the endorser not using the product he or she espouses in which case his
or her credibility comes into question. The company might have
been selling a particular product for decades without getting
any complaint, but competition from other brands erodes the
revenues. However, if the credibility of the company is high (as revealed by
the popularity of the product), it can successfully beat the competition. |
