Abstract
A practice that is increasing in frequency and scope is the use of images of dead celebrities in advertising and marketing. In this paper, we examine this practice and do the following. First, we examine the size and growth-rate of this market. Next, we look at the key role that two key technologies have played in this market, namely digital morphing and text-to-speech. These two technologies have allowed Dead Celebrities to be ‘resurrected’ and have a post-mortem life as product endorsers, paying rich dividends to their heirs and estates. Predictably, this practice has raised some ethical issues (e.g., the post-mortem exploitation of a Deleb’s image) for Marketers and Advertisers, which we examine. Because dead Celebrities offer some key advantages over living celebrities (e.g., the absence of risk from scandal after death), we look at some of the major similarities and differences between living and dead celebrities in terms of what they practically can and cannot do for Advertisers and Marketers. Based on these practical similarities and differences, we offer marketing practitioners a set of ethical recommendations and cautions to follow (e.g., avoid ‘Disingenuous Fakery’), in using Delebs as product endorsers.
Highlights
A practice that has increased in frequency and scope, especially recently, is that of the use of dead celebrities in various aspects of marketing
Because dead Celebrities offer some key advantages over living celebrities, we look at some of the major similarities and differences between living and dead celebrities in terms of what they practically can and cannot do for Advertisers and Marketers
According to one report, “Dead celebrities allow advertisers to tap into feelings of nostalgia about times spent gathered around the television watching classic shows - an emotion that reverberates with baby boomers in particular”
Summary
A practice that has increased in frequency and scope, especially recently, is that of the use of dead celebrities in various aspects of marketing. A recent example is the passing away of Pop-music icon Michael Jackson, who according to one recent report, was nearly half a billion dollars in debt at the time of his death (Kroft, Devine and MacDonald 2009). We did the best thing, which is, we looked at the extensive literature on the use of living celebrities in Advertising and Marketing to understand how Delebs are used in these same fields We address these issues, as well as others pertaining to the marketing of dead celebrities in the rest of this paper, organized as follows. We conclude with some suggested directions for future research in this nascent area of the marketing literature
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