Effectiveness of celebrity endorsement of a political candidate among young voters

Abstract

I examined how voters' attitudes may be influenced by celebrity endorsement of a political candidate. In the study I drew upon reactance theory, reinforcement theory, social identification theory, and the elaboration likelihood model to investigate the effects on young decided and undecided (swing) voters of party identification and identification with a celebrity endorser in a political campaign. I used a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design to examine the factors of voters' party identification, identification with a celebrity endorser, and status of voting intention of 256 U.S. university students enrolled in a journalism course. The results suggest that party identification and identification with a celebrity endorser are predictors of effectiveness for celebrity endorsement of political candidates. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.