Celebrity+Advertising

=Celebrity Advertising=

There cannot be a celebrity culture without advertising. However, when one thinks of celebrities and advertising, you think of a celebrity endorsing a product. That is one major aspect of it, but another part of advertising is when a celebrity advertises themselves.

Celebrity Endorsements
In our society it is all about selling and buying something. In many cases, celebrities are used to help sell, or "endorse," a product. In fact, it has been proven that a product will sell more or less depending on who is selling it. Celebrities have a powerful affect on the destiny of a brand. Usually called "testimonials" or "celebrity endorsements", the use of celebrity as a form of persuasion is used so that the consumers relate to the person in the add: "If the celebrity / athlete / star uses the product, then it must be good, so I will purchase it too" (Sikka and Hari). The upside to this is that the brand or product literally has a face that the audience can relate to. On the other hand, an individual celebrity is not always the most stable person. Many companies have dropped celebrity endorsers after scandals. For example, Wrigley's Gum dropped Chris Bro wn and stopped running his [|commercials] after he was found to have beaten then girlfriend, Rhianna. Yet celebrity endorsements are used for anything from make-up to clothing to face wash. Proactive Solution has major celebrity endorsements. Stars such as Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Lindsey Lohan and P-Diddy have all appeared in Proactive ads and commercials (to the left: Jessica Simpson for Proactive). Celebrity advertising is such a big deal, that some companies will use dead celebrities as advertisers. Advertisers use voice impersonators so that it seems as though the deceased celebrity is actually endorsing the product. This has become a controversial issue however because though the dead star's agency gives permission, some see it as advertising without authorization. However, a deceased celebrity is less expensive and much less likely to be involved in scandal.

Celebrity endorsements can sometimes backfire on the celebrities just as it can backfire on the company. If a star endorses one product and is then found to actually use another, that is a big problem. When Jessica Simpson admitted publicly that she had in fact used Acutane to clear her acne. This wasn't good for Proactive or Simpson. Proactive saw a drop in sales and the Proactive ads featuring Simpson were shown much less. It is never good for a celebrity if their commercials are dropped or their endorser releases them. Many celebrities use their endorsements as a way of self advertising.

Self Advertising
A major part of celebrity culture comes from celebrities self-advertising themselves. This is how a celebrity gets their name and face out there and almost always in a good light. Ways that celebrities can self-advertise are through websites, appearances and advertisements.

Websites
Many celebrities have personal website authorized by the celebrity and maintained by the celebrity or a company directly associated with the celebrity to be labeled an "official website." These sites often include press releases, tour dates, and promotional materials (all of which have been authored or approved by the celebrity). Some celebrities involved in criminal and civil trials, such as the late Michael Jackson and mogul Martha Stewart, establish official websites to issue statements to the press and to respond to statements and press releases issued by the prosecuting officials. Most celebrity sites are created and maintained by marketing and web professionals employed by the celebrity or the celebrity's publicist. However, some celebrities, maintain their own official sites without professional help. For examples of celebrity websites click here: [|Lady Gaga], [|Stephen King], [|Leonardo DiCaprio].

Appearances and Advertisements
What many people do not realize is that when celebrities make television appearances and endorse or appear in an advertisement for a product, they are advertising themselves. The more a celebrity is seen on TV and in magazine ads, the more popular that star becomes. When up and coming stars wants to make a big name for themselves they often appear on many talk shows. Take, for example, Lady Gaga. In 2008, when she was trying to make a jump to popular music in America, she appeared on So You Think You Can Dance, The Hills, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. In 2009 she appeared on The Jay Leno Show, The Tonight Show, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Saturday Night Live and The View, just to name a few. So far this year she has made over 20 television appearances and the number is always going up. A perfect example of an endorsement advertising for a celebrity is the Michael Jordan's campaign with Nike. His Air Jordan sneakers were originally released as a Nike product. However, they became so popular that they are now part of his own line of sports clothing. The Nike campaign was so big that it spawned the saying "Wanna be like Mike" (Gadomski). In all, it has been time tested that, for the most part, the more a celebrity puts their face out there, the bigger the star they will be.

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