Celebrity Endorsement: A Literature Review
Abstract
Use of celebrities as part of marketing communications strategy is a fairly common practice for major firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery. Firms invest significant monies in juxtaposing brands and organisations with endorser qualities such as attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness. They trust that these qualities operate in a transferable way, and, will generate desirable campaign outcomes. But, at times, celebrity qualities may be inappropriate, irrelevant, and undesirable. Thus, a major question is: how can companies select and retain the 'right' celebrity among many competing alternatives, and, simultaneously manage this resource, while avoiding potential pitfalls? This paper seeks to explore variables, which may be considered in any celebrity selection process by drawing together strands from various literature.
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The influence of celebrities on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior is so strong that their endorsements are a key part of businesses' marketing strategies.
“The influence of celebrities on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior is so strong that their endorsements are a key part of businesses’ marketing strategies (Erdogan, 1999; Knoll & Matthes, 2017).”
From Stories in Action. (2022) · cites this paper as Erdogan, 1999
Both content and SMI characteristics are indispensable for effective influencer marketing.
“While previous research focuses on SMI characteristics influencing effectiveness (Erdogan 1999;Ohanian 1990), the current study suggests that both content and SMI characteristics are indispensable for effective influencer marketing.”
From Influencer Marketing on Instagram: Empirical Research on Social Media Engagement with Sponsored Posts (2022) · cites this paper as Erdogan 1999
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Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020) · International Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898 · Cited by 1,422 · see citing works
The effectiveness of celebrity endorsements: a meta-analysis
Knoll, J., & Matthes, J. (2017) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-016-0503-8 · Cited by 601 · see citing works
Boerman, S. C., Willemsen, L. M., & Van Der Aa, E. P. (2017) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2016.12.002 · Cited by 581 · see citing works
Driessens, O. (2013) · International Journal of Cultural Studies · doi:10.1177/1367877912459140 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
AlFarraj, O., Alalwan, A. A., Obeidat, Z. M., Baabdullah, A., Aldmour, R., & Al-Haddad, S. (2021) · Review of International Business and Strategy · doi:10.1108/ribs-07-2020-0089 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Planning and Conducting Experimental Advertising Research and Questionnaire Design
Geuens, M., & De Pelsmacker, P. (2017) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2016.1225233 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Meng, L. (., Bie, Y., Yang, M., & Wang, Y. (2025) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104978 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Gross, J., & von Wangenheim, F. (2022) · Journal of Interactive Advertising · doi:10.1080/15252019.2022.2123724 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
“While previous research focuses on SMI characteristics influencing effectiveness (Erdogan 1999; Ohanian 1990), the current study suggests that both content and SMI characteristics are indispensable for effective influencer marketing.”
MethodZhang, Q., Wang, Y., & Ariffin, S. K. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0296339 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Perception of advertisements with celebrity endorsement among mature consumers
Chan, K., & Fan, F. (2022) · Journal of Marketing Communications · doi:10.1080/13527266.2020.1843063 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Walsh, J., Vaida, N., Coman, A., & Fiske, S. T. (2022) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/15291006231161337 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“5 The influence of celebrities on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior is so strong that their endorsements are a key part of businesses’ marketing strategies (Erdogan, 1999; Knoll & Matthes, 2017).”
BackgroundChatbot-aided product purchases among Generation Z: the role of personality traits
Liu, J., & Chen, J. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1454197 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Salinas-Maceda, V. (2026) · Fashion, Style & Popular Culture · doi:10.1386/fspc_00381_1
- Authors
- Erdogan, B. Z.
- Corresponding author
- Erdogan, B. Zafer
- ORCID
- Erdogan, B. Zafer
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing Management
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1999-05
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 291-314
- ISSN
- 0267-257X (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1376
- OpenAlex
- W2062350780
- Cited by
- 1,734
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 98 · 2025: 124 · 2024: 158 · 2023: 183 · 2022: 159 · 2021: 149 · 2020: 131 · 2019: 133 · 2018: 85 · 2017: 92 · 2016: 61 · 2015: 78 · 2014: 65 · 2013: 56 · 2012: 42
- FWCI
- 8.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing Management (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Keywords
- celebrity endorsement, celebrity selection, brand imagery, corporate image, likeability, trustworthiness, marketing communication
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