Wolverine vs. Hugh Jackman. Famous characters vs celebrities. Who wins the brand endorsement battle?
Celebrities or their much-loved characters? Which would grab your attention?
New research from the University of Newcastle has revealed new marketing insights into the age-old battle of character vs celebrity endorsements.
Both celebrities as themselves and celebrities as their famous characters have been used to endorse products or services in advertising for decades. Celebrities and their characters can be a great way to build emotional connections with your audience who value that celebrity’s opinions. The question is: are characters or celebrities themselves more effective?
Researchers Amanda Kennedy and Associate Professor Stacey Baxter conducted the recent research which pitted the likes of Hugh Jackman and Orlando Bloom against their well-known movie characters Wolverine from the X-Men franchise and Legolas from The Lord of the Rings franchise.
As a part of three studies on more than 500 people, researchers exposed participants to a mock advertisement featuring both Hugh Jackman as himself and his popular character Wolverine.
“Our research showed that the associative links in our mind, referred to as ‘nodes’, which are tied to a celebrity and film differ”, Amanda Kennedy said. She continues, “The nodes tied to a celebrity are generally broader, including factors relating to their personal life and any misdemeanors, while the associations tied to a film persona are tighter and more specific to that character or film.”
Participants were also shown an image of Orlando Bloom and his Lord of the Rings character, Legolas, to test the impact of celebrity indiscretions on endorsed brands.
After learning negative information about Orlando, the attitudes and purchase intentions associated with the Legolas ad remained unchanged, whereas decreased intentions to purchase were found with the ads featuring Orland as himself.
In conclusion, it was found that the use of characters delivered all of the star power attached to a celebrity endorsement without the risk of associating with any of that person’s existing or future misdemeanours.
“Celebrities are not immune to tarnishing their reputation, which can in turn have disastrous impacts on the brands they endorse. Film personas, on the other hand, are infallible and pose much less risk to brands”, Amanda Kennedy said.
“In light of this research, advertisers can still real the many benefits of using celebrities as brand endorsers, while not putting the brand at risk if celebrity misbehaves.”
If you’re considering a particular celebrity to endorse your brand, it’s worth considering the characters they are known for and how they could make your campaign more powerful and future proof.
This research was carried out in collaboration with Monash Business School, Monash University’s Associate Professor Jasmina Llicic and was recently published in the journal of Psychology and Marketing.
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