Abstract
This study asks if endorsers function as surrogates for country-of-origin, and if the effectiveness of the tactic varies with the perceived ethnicity (Western versus Chinese) of the celebrities. It finds no significant influence on the country-oforiginperception, brand attitudes or product quality evaluations in the reactions of 797 consumers in Shanghai to magazine advertisements featuring celebrities of Chinese vs. Western ethnicity. The lack of any significant effect of the ethnicity of celebrities on a brand’s perceived country of origin precludes country image having any effect on those variables for the case of the cosmopolitan Chinese consumer.
Highlights
This paper intended to study Shanghai consumers in order to get a good picture of their reactions toward celebrity endorsers in advertising
The current study highlights that there is no statistically significant relationship between the ethnic origin of celebrities featured in advertising in cosmopolitan China (Shanghai) and the perceived country of origin of the brands endorsed
The implication for international marketers targeting this cosmopolitan Chinese market is clearly that neither the perceived ethnicity of celebrities associated with the brand nor the national image of its country of origin is an important enough factor in the effectiveness of an advertising campaign to demand a disproportionate amount of time and effort in strategic campaign planning
Summary
This paper intended to study Shanghai consumers in order to get a good picture of their reactions toward celebrity endorsers in advertising. Even though the forces of globalisation and the increasing presence of multinational firms in Shanghai may be leading it towards “Western-style values and gimmicks”, daunting challenges face the international marketers who are “increasingly targeting such a diverse and complex market” (Simmons & Schindler, 2003) In this cosmopolitan China, intensified competition among advertisers has resulted in celebrity endorsement becoming one of the prevalent strategies for creating positive associations in the minds of local consumers (Chan & Zhang, 2007; Gan, 2006; Liu, Huang & Minghua, 2007). Previous research has shown that celebrity endorsement is an effective strategy for gaining and holding attention (Atkin & Block, 1983), which favorably influences brand attitudes, enhances the likelihood of purchase (Friedman & Friedman, 1979), fosters brand loyalty, and positively influences word of-mouth communication (Bush, Martin & Bush, 2004). One of the key decisions that both foreign and local companies that wish to operate in Shanghai will have to make, concerns the most appropriate choice of celebrity for their products and brands
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