Do Celebrity Endorsements Really Work?

By: Vincent Kania

Have you ever been watching TV and seen a well known celebrity trying to sell you a product? Odds are you have. From athletes to singers to movie stars, corporations are using celebrities to endorse their products now more than ever. It's a common and generally accepted as technique, but does it actually work?

The basic idea behind the ad is that this well known person, who most people know and already trust, are selling you a product that you don't know and trust. The celebrity is using their personality that people like to sell the product in a way that the company itself couldn't do alone. Companies spend a large amount of money in endorsing these people, but a few studies have shown that there is not much of a profit that results directly from these endorsements.

According to a study done by Anita Elberse, she notes that after these commercials are aired the company's stock rises about a quarter of a percent, and sales increase by roughly 4% (Elberse para. 4). If that celebrity is "having a good year" however, (ie. Gold medal, good movie, etc.) these numbers may increase slightly.

Consumers are smart. Obviously we know this celebrity is only saying this thing because they are being paid to do so, so why do we buy this product because of this? It may be the trust that this person brings with them, or maybe they have vouched for it outside of that specific commercial. Whatever the case, the trend is making companies money, so don't expect this idea to disappear anytime soon.

Elberse, Anita. "Do Celebrity Endorsements Work?" MarketWatch. N.p., 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

"#VoteFreddie #RickyBobby #Braves #MLBFinalVote." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.