Celebrity Advertising: Literature Review and Propositions
Peter Yannopoulos*
In this paper we review several studies in the area of celebrity advertising. Topics include, why companies use celebrity advertising, achieving the right fit between the brand and the celebrity, the use of athletes as spokespeople, financial considerations of celebrity advertising, and potential risks of celebrity advertising. Next, we develop several propositions and discuss the conclusions and managerial implications of the research.

Field of research: Celebrity advertising, Celebrity endorsers, Sponsorship, Celebrity spokespeople

1. Introduction
A celebrity endorser is “an individual who is known to the public (actor, sports figure, entertainer, etc) for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product class endorsed” (Friedman & Friedman 1979). Sponsorship is defined as “providing support for and associating the organization‟s name with events, programs, or even people such as athletes or teams” (Peter & Donnelly 2006). Corporations have chosen both sponsorship and celebrity endorsement as means to increase exposure and brand awareness, as well as reposition their products. The terms celebrity endorsement and sponsorship will be used interchangeably in this report. It has been estimated that about 10% of the dollars spent on television advertising are used in celebrity endorsement advertisements (Agrawal & Kamakura 1995). Because of its importance, it is imperative for managers to be able to determine what impact a particular sponsorship will have on different aspects of a brand‟s performance such as brand preference, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, sales and profitability (Aaker 1991; Keller 2008). In this paper I will review selected aspects of research on celebrity advertising, discuss the reasons firms use celebrity advertising, examine how to determine the