Impact of celebrity endorsement in advertising on brand image among Chinese adolescents

Purpose – Does celebrity endorsement work and how does it work among adolescents? This article aims to identity attributes of celebrity endorsers and attributes of celebrity endorsement advertisements that are most appealing to the adolescents. The article also examines adolescents’ perceptions about how celebrity-endorsement advertisements work. Method – A focus group study among 76 Chinese adolescents aged 13 to 19 was conducted. Interviewees were asked to identify the specific elements of advertisements using celebrity endorsement that were most appealing to them. They were asked to suggest how advertisements using celebrity endorsements work. Findings – Results found that interviewees were best able to recall celebrity endorsers whom they considered attractive, funny and expressive. They identified popularity, a good image, and congruence between the celebrity’s image and that of the brand as important factors for marketers to consider in selecting celebrity endorsers. A majority of the interviewees perceived that using a celebrity in an ad would increase brand awareness, attract the celebrity’s fans, encourage trial, and enhance purchase confidence. Research implications – A theoretical model on how advertisements using celebrity endorsements work from the point-of-view of adolescents was constructed. Originality/value – Previous studies on celebrity endorsement have been mainly quantitative in nature. The present study adopts qualitative methodology and fills a gap in the literature.