The diminishing halo effect: Celebrities and negative events in marketing

Abstract

Celebrities have long been utilized by brands to enhance their products and services, with the underlying assumption that the celebrity’s positive attributes and public image would transfer a halo effect to the endorsed products. However, recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift in this phenomenon, marked by a growing number of negative marketing events involving celebrities. We identify several key themes, including consumer attributions, psychological processes, social media amplification, consumer empowerment, and cultural shifts. Each contributes to a holistic understanding of why and how negative events involving celebrities can lead to a diminishing halo effect. Depending on whether consumers attribute the event internally or externally, their response can vary and, subsequently, affect the celebrity’s halo effect. Overlaying attribution theory provides deeper insights into the dynamics of consumer perception and response in the context of negative events in marketing. Understanding how consumers attribute causality to negative events and the psychological mechanisms that underpin their responses provides valuable insights for celebrities, brands, and marketers navigating the challenges of the digital age.