1 CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION TO CELEBRITY ENDORSMENT WITH RESPECT TO FMCG PRODUCTS MARKETED IN INDIA 1.1 Introduction to the concept of celebrity Celebrities are people who enjoy specific public recognition by a large number of certain groups of people. They have some characteristic attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or special skills that are not commonly observed. Thus, it can be said that within a society, celebrities generally differ from the common people and enjoy a high degree of public awareness. Among the classic forms of celebrities are actors, models, television-serial stars, sports person etc. Further “celebrity” refers to “an individual who is known to the public, such as actors, sport figures, entertainers etc. For his or her achievement in areas other than that of the product class endorsed” (Friedman and Freidman, 1979). All media have become stuffed with celebrity. The newsreader on TV, the magazine editors and the lead journalists have become celebrities too. TV commercials or print advertisements that feature stars and appear in this media environment fit in naturally with it, so it's hardly surprising that up to 20% of all advertising employs celebrities. All the evidences suggest that these campaigns are very effective in promoting the corporate, product and service brands with which they are aligned. (Hamish Page.10) They are usually known to the public for their accomplishments in areas other than the product endorsed by them. (Friedman & Friedman 1979). According to Marshall (1997), celebrities are celebrated individuals that are unique, in some way, from the average citizen. Boorstin (1961) defines a celebrity as someone “who is well-known for their well-known-ness”. According to Fredman, Termini and Washington (1976), a celebrity is sometimes a sports figure, actor, comedian or other type of entertainer. According to Miciak and Shanklin (1994), a celebrity can be an animated character like Fred Flinstone, or an animal. In the Indian context, this stands true for classic forms of celebrities such as actors like Salmankhan, Shah Rukh Khan, Cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar and entertainers like Maliaka Arora Khan, but also for less obvious groups such as businessmen like the Tatas, Malayas & Ambanis or politicians like Rahul Gandhi (Schlecht 2003). However, unlike heroic figures, the modern celebrity may not have achieved anything
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1
CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION TO CELEBRITY ENDORSMENT WITH RESPECT TO
FMCG PRODUCTS MARKETED IN INDIA
1.1 Introduction to the concept of celebrity
Celebrities are people who enjoy specific public recognition by a large number of
certain groups of people. They have some characteristic attributes like attractiveness,
extraordinary lifestyle or special skills that are not commonly observed. Thus, it can
be said that within a society, celebrities generally differ from the common people and
enjoy a high degree of public awareness.
Among the classic forms of celebrities are actors, models, television-serial
stars, sports person etc. Further “celebrity” refers to “an individual who is known to
the public, such as actors, sport figures, entertainers etc. For his or her achievement in
areas other than that of the product class endorsed” (Friedman and Freidman, 1979).
All media have become stuffed with celebrity. The newsreader on TV, the magazine
editors and the lead journalists have become celebrities too. TV commercials or print
advertisements that feature stars and appear in this media environment fit in naturally
with it, so it's hardly surprising that up to 20% of all advertising employs celebrities.
All the evidences suggest that these campaigns are very effective in promoting the
corporate, product and service brands with which they are aligned. (Hamish Page.10)
They are usually known to the public for their accomplishments in areas other than
the product endorsed by them. (Friedman & Friedman 1979).
According to Marshall (1997), celebrities are celebrated individuals that are
unique, in some way, from the average citizen. Boorstin (1961) defines a celebrity as
someone “who is well-known for their well-known-ness”. According to Fredman,
Termini and Washington (1976), a celebrity is sometimes a sports figure, actor,
comedian or other type of entertainer. According to Miciak and Shanklin (1994), a
celebrity can be an animated character like Fred Flinstone, or an animal. In the Indian
context, this stands true for classic forms of celebrities such as actors like
Salmankhan, Shah Rukh Khan, Cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar and entertainers like
Maliaka Arora Khan, but also for less obvious groups such as businessmen like the
Tatas, Malayas & Ambanis or politicians like Rahul Gandhi (Schlecht 2003).
However, unlike heroic figures, the modern celebrity may not have achieved anything
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exceptional except, merely, public attention and a product of media representation
(Tuner, 2004). This is evident in contestants from reality shows, such as Big Brother
and Survivor. According to Tuner (2004) fame is developed, not by the achievement
of great things, but, by differentiating one‟s personality from those of their
competitors. Consequently entertainers lead the ranks of celebrity “because they are
skilled in the marginal differentiation of their personalities” (Boorstin, 1961). One of
the “know all” resources that keep our society up-to-date about the latest celebrity
news is the tabloid press. As noted by Marshall (1997), the tabloid press gives us an
outrageous twist on the connotation of the celebrity because it presents the general
public a possibility that these “unique talents,” that makes one a celebrity, are
vulnerable. As a result, these public individuals are subject to the ups and downs in
their career, and ultimately their life. As a result, these ups and downs can influence
the brand or product that has been endorsed by a particular celebrity.
According to McCracken (1989), the success of a celebrity endorsement has to
do with the cultural meaning of the celebrity endorser. These meanings vary across
status, class, gender and age. In addition, unique celebrity personalities and lifestyles
can influence the success of an endorser depending on cultural norms. (McCracken,
1989). These and other source characteristics are significant to advertising research
and, more specifically, research that focuses on the effect of celebrity endorsements.
In the view of (Phalang ing, Fumitaka Furuoka, 2007) the word “celebrities”
promises excitement, amusement and fun. They are constantly the focus of attention
of thousands of people. People are curious about their lifestyles, secrets, and
personalities. They even want to know what products the celebrities usually consume.
For marketers, it offers a potential to make profit.
1.2 Introduction to the concept of Non-Celebrity
Every advertisement does not require a celebrity to endorse it. There are many
advertisements which have never felt the need of doing so. For example, Fevicol,
Vim, Lifeboy, Amul, Iodex, Vicks-veporub etc. Rather,there are a few noted ads
where the owner is seen endorsing their own commodity. Such as Mahashay
Dharampal of MDH Masala and Rajeev Reddy of Country Club. Although
companies may spend ample time and energy finding a celebrity whose image
corresponds well with their brands, endorser concerns often do not end there.
Problems can arise when the famous person is involved in incidents that change, or
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even damage, his or her reputation. These circumstances, referred to here as "negative
events" can range widely from accidents that hinder a celebrity‟s ability to perform to
exposure for substance abuse.
When an organization cannot find a celebrity that is in agreement with the
organization‟s brand image, they can create their own “celebrity” endorser, i.e. a
created spokesperson, either real people acting out a role or animated/imaginary roles.
A created spokesperson has some of the following advantages (Erdogan, 1999and
Tom et al, 1992). Created spokespersons have a higher degree of control and are less
costly than celebrities and marketers have the possibility to create a better fit between
the product and the endorser. The endorser‟s longevity will be for as long as the
method is successful for the organisation, whereas “real” celebrities have limited
longevity. The same created spokesperson can be used indefinitely and adapted to
changing circumstances. According to Tom, Clark, Elmer, Grech, Masetti and
Sandhar (1992) the created spokesperson‟s effectiveness is in establishing a lifelong
link with the product.Tom et al (1992) suggest that marketing professionals should
make use of created endorsers when the advertising objective is to create a long-term
link between the endorser and the organisation. It should also be noted that celebrities
would be the better choice when the organisation is interested only in establishing a
short-term memorable link.
In the Indian context, very few of the participants have actually bought
products endorsed by celebrities. Influence on purchase was observable only in the
18-25 age group. Even when products were bought, it was only after imperceptible
differences between the brands existed or the products were low-involvement and
inexpensive such as sodas (Somdutta Biswas, Mahmood Hussain, Kathleen ODonnell,
2009). Participants across all age groups conceded that they bought products endorsed
by celebrities when they were younger in their teens. All believe that celebrity
endorsement help bring the product to the consideration set of brands (Somdutta
Biswas, Mahmood Hussain, Kathleen ODonnell, 2009). In a set of laboratory studies,
Till and Shimp (1998) find that negative information about a celebrity can damage
product evaluations through the associative link between brand and celebrity. Because
negative events occur, companies must decide how to deal with affected celebrities.
Over the years, non-celebrity based advertising had built a sharply fixed personality
for brand Perk-fun, mischievous, bubbly and simply “perky”. With one of the original
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Perk models, Preity Zinta, who embodied very similar values, has only further
strengthened the brand‟s imagery.
1.3 Celebrities from India
The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements and presence in advertising
in India. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a
territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models. There was a burst of
advertising, featuring stars like Kavita Chaudhary (Lalitaji-Surf), Deepika Chikhalia
(Nirma Detergent Soap), Kapil Dev (Palmolive shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar
(Dinesh Suitings).
In 2012, Salman Khan had a year like no other. He set the box office on fire
with „Ek The Tiger‟, raking in 198 crore in gross collections across the country. It
was the largest box office hit that year by a wide margin. Salman also ratcheted up his
popularity with the Being Human Foundation that won him the goodwill of millions
of fans. Shah Rukh Khan earned nearly ₹150 crore from his endorsement of 23
brands.1 The list of Forbes, which includes movie actors, television stars, authors, film
directors, musicians, singers, sportspersons, comedians and models are compiled on
the basis of both money and fame. Fame is defined as visibility in print, television,
and online, plus social media power, which was by looking at each celebrity‟s
presence on Facebook and Twitter. Most celebrities are between 30 and 50 years old.
However, that hasn‟t prevented a clutch of 12 celebrities under 30, like Saina Nehwal,
Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Mary Kom and Shreya Ghoshal, from breaking into
the top 50. There‟s only one musician who has managed to break into the top 20: AR
Rahman‟s soaring popularity isn‟t just an affirmation of his skills as a world-class
musician, but also a function of his growing presence on social media. Rahman has
more than 10 million Facebook fans. This means that every post of his holds the