Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, 15-Special Issue, October 2017

Impingement of Celebrity towards Product

Promotion in Chennai City-A Hawkish View
S. Dinesh Kumar, Research Scholar, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore.
Assistant Professor, Sri Sai Ram Institute of Management Studies, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai.
E-mail:dhineselvaraj@gmail.com
Dr.V. Hemanth Kumar, Professor, Sri Sai Ram Institute of Management Studies, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai.
Abstract--- Advertisements have been an imperative medium of promotion and using charismatic stars in ads will
guide the product promoters to lure the consumers better. To prove this there have been a colossal research done on
celebrity endorsements. Albeit all, this study endeavors the impact of celebrity endorsements on consumers’ ad
perception with three-dimensional scale proposed by Ohanian, R. (1990), McGuire(1985) and Speck, Schumann and
Thompson (1988) on attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise as variables through a survey of 660 respondents.
Structure was reconfirmed by factor analysis and the model was examined for reliability, convergent validity and
discriminant validity, using confirmatory factor analysis. Impact of celebrity endorsements on consumers’ ad
perception was found using structural equation modeling and the results divulged that celebrity endorsements and
the variables selected were found to have a significant impact on ad perception.
Keywords--- Celebrity Endorsement, Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, Expertise, Ad Perception.

I. Introduction
The assertive intention of every firm on promoting their products would be to reach the customers. In reaching
out to customers advertisements play an indispensable role. Though advertisements bait the customers towards the
products promoted, but using celebrities in advertisements make amorous advances towards purchase intention of
the product. Advertisements using celebrities provoke the target audiences better than any other promotional
techniques. The recall of celebrity endorsed products standout and gets recognized by customers when they are on a
shopping of multiple brands of similar products. Though many studies were carried out on celebrity endorsements
this study makes it relevant by considering the variables like attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise of the
celebrities which inculcates the perception of the advertisements among the audiences. Therefore the objective for
this study was framed with the intention to test the selected variables along with ad’ perception and to test the
model, we present with a sample of consumers from multiple walks of life in Chennai region.

II. Review of Literature

Author Variable studied Ad perceptions’ impact
Brain D. Till and Physical attractiveness Positive association with Purchase intention
Michael Busler
(Autumn, 2000)
Hovland and Weiss Familiarity, Likeability Positive perception of ad, celebrity and brand when celebrity is familiar and likeable
(1951) and Similarity of celebrity
Expertise, Trustworthiness Positive perception of ad, celebrity and brand when expertise and trustworthiness high
McGuire (1985) of celebrity
Goldsmit et al. (2000). Endoser credibility Endoser credibility has a direct relationship with Purchase intention which possesses a
consumer affective towards ad which forms positive purchase intention
McCracken 1986) Process of transfer of The higher the perceived match between symbolic properties of the product and
meaning from celebrity to celebrities meanings drawn from his/her assumed roles, the higher the likelihood of
product and to consumer consumer‘s consumption and appropriation of product‘s meanings.
Speck, Schumann Celebrity Expertise Expert celebrities produced higher recall of product information than non-expert
and Thompson celebrities.
(1988)
Kamins and Gupta Match-up between the Positive perception of ad, celebrity, and brand
(1994) celebrity and the product
Cooper (1984), Dean Celebrity vs Non- Advertisements featuring a celebrity deliver a higher degree of appeal, attention, recall
and Biswas (2001) Celebrity Endorsement rate and possibly purchase, compared to the ads without celebrities.
Chan, Leung Ng, Luk Various Attributes of Using a celebrity in an ad would increase brand awareness.
(2013) celebrities

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III. Research Objectives

Primary Objective
• To study the impact on ad perception by celebrity endorsers.
Secondary Objectives
• To study the impact of celebrity endorser’s attractiveness in ad perception.
• To study the impact of celebrity endorser’s trustworthiness in ad perception.
• To study the impact of celebrity endorser’s expertise in ad perception.
Research Model
The type of research carried out for this study was descriptive, for which 660 people of various walks of life
were selected randomly as sample in Chennai region. An assiduously structured questionnaire was adopted for
collection of data. All the respondents met the criteria of watching advertisements. The questionnaire that was
constructed for this research was adopted from previous studies with same alteration. Multiple-items measures were
used for all variables in order to increase the reliability & validity of the items used. The five-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree) was adopted to frame the questionnaire for all the items.
Based on the data collected hypotheses were developed and to test the goodness of the framework, factor analysis
and path analysis were used. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to retest the previously validated scale, and also to assess reliability and
validity. This analysis helped to arrive to a conclusion to analyze the impact of celebrity endorsements on ad
perception.
Conceptual Framework & Hypotheses

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Hypotheses of the Proposed Study

H1: Celebrity endorsements do not have a positive impact on ad perception
Research conducted by Cooper (1984), Dean and Biswas (2001), emphasized that celebrity featuring
advertisements have more response rate than that of the non-celebrity featuring advertisements. It has also been
proved that the attention and recall rate is comparatively better than non-celebrity featured advertisements which
have a positive turn out ratio towards purchase behaviour.
H2: Celebrities’ attractiveness does not have a positive impact on ad perception
Attractiveness of celebrities has been associated with likability of the product since it is easier to recall the
product due to the likability of the celebrity was proved by Brain D. Till and Michael Busler (Autumn, 2000) in their
research which yields in purchase intention of the product. Hovland and Weiss (1951) in their research also
discussed about the likability of celebrity which creates the likability of the product. They have also concluded that
familiar and likable celebrity endorsed advertisements has a positive perception towards advertisements.
H3: Celebrities’ trustworthiness does not have a positive impact on ad perception
Previous studies also suggested that the trustworthiness and the Goldsmith et al. (2000), articulated that
credibility of the celebrities have a significant positive perception towards the advertisements which results in
purchase of the product. The research conducted by McGuire (1985), suggested that Expertise, Trustworthiness of
celebrity plays an important role in creating a positive perception towards ad.
H4: Celebrities’ expertise does not have a positive impact on ad perception
Speck, Schumann and Thompson (1988) in their research discussed that expert celebrities produced higher recall
of product information than non-expert celebrities. McGuire (1985), in his study suggested that expertise and
trustworthiness have a high positive perception of ad

IV. Analysis, Results and Discussion

The reliability and validity tests were conducted for all the variables in the conceptual mode. The reliability
refers to the accuracy with which the constructs repeatedly measure the same phenomenon with permissible
variation. The composite reliability for internal consistency of the constructs was tested and was above 0.9. The
Cronbach Alpha scores were found to be greater than 0.5 which is good reliability for social science research
(Nunny 1978).
The content validity is defined as the extent to which the measure spans the domain of the construct’s theoretical
assumption. For the present study, the content validity of the instrument was ensured as various dimensions of
celebrity endorsements were identified from the literature, corporate practices, etc.
In order to check for validity, a measurement model was specified for each construct and CFA (zero-order) was
run for all the four factors-Attractiveness, trustworthiness, Expertise and Ad Perception. Each item were closely
monitored to the association they have on the construct. A comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.9 or more of this
proposed model indicates that there is a strong evidence of unidimensionality (Byrne, 1994). The CFI values
obtained for the four constructs are above 0.9.
Exploratory Factor Analysis
To reconfirm the structure exploratory factor analysis was used. The below table explains the sampling adequacy
through Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) statistic. Bartlett's test is used to measure the correlations in the data set that
are appropriate for factor analysis.
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling adequacy 0.923
Bartlett's test of sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 4951.108
df 105
Sig. .000
The significance value for this analysis leads us to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the correlations
are appropriate for factor analysis.
From the result, it is understood that KMO value is acceptable. Bratlett’s test results also show that the values are
significant and thus, acceptable.

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Factor Analysis Results

S.No. Dimension Factor Loadings Cronbach Alpha (α)
Variable 1 Attractiveness
1 Classy 0.859 0.93
2 Elegant 0.854
3 Handsome/Beautiful 0.851
4 Sexy 0.847
5 Attractive 0.789
Variable 2 Trustworthiness
7 Reliable 0.849 0.943
8 Sincere 0.847
9 Honest 0.838
10 Trustworthy 0.804
11 Dependable 0.764
Variable 3 Expertise
15 Experienced 0.872 0.915
16 Knowledgeable 0.857
17 Qualified 0.841
18 Skilled 0.679
19 Expert 0.662

Factor Analysis Results

Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provides enhanced control for assessing variables as compared to
exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and is helpful to validate the construct.
AMOS 18 was used to run CFA. While doing CFA first, zero-order CFA was done for three variables like
attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. This was done to check the impact of the variables on ad perception
and then the first-order CFA was tested with four variables like attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and ad
perception after which the second-order CFA was conducted. While analysis is being done the convergent and
discriminant validity were also established.
Zero-Order CFA Results
Constructs Cronbach Alpha (α) AVE CFI2 GFI3
Attractiveness 0.930 0.765 0.999 0.993
Trustworthiness 0.943 0.757 1.000 0.997
Expertise 0.915 0.668 0.997 0.992
Ad Perception 0.838 0.555 0.996 0.990
First-Order CFA Results
Construct Cronbach Alpha (α) AVE MSV ASV
Attractiveness 0.943 0.77 0.419 0.246
Trustworthiness 0.943 0.768 0.419 0.266
Expertise 0.912 0.675 0.339 0.187
Ad Perception 0.870 0.584 0.122 0.062

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Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Ad Perception

Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on ad Perception

Impact of Celebrity Endorsements on Ad Perception and Model Fit
Model Element Impact on Ad Perception
Standardised Beta (r) 0.29(***)
Chi-Square (λ2) 386.372
Degrees of Freedom (df) 159
Model Fit
CMIN/DF (λ2/df) 2.430
GFI 0.899
AGFI 0.867
CFI 0.962
RMSEA 0.065
Notes: ***significant at 95% confidence level
From the above table it is confirmed that celebrity endorsements have a positive impact on ad perception. Hence
the data analyzed does not support H1, therefore, H1 is rejected. This means that celebrity endorsements positively
impact ad perception and there is a positive correlation between the two. The table also explains the various fit
indices for the model used to determine the impact of celebrity endorsements on the impact variable ad perception.
This means that the said model is a good fit and model is acceptable. Thus, our proposed model passes the test of
goodness of fit and can be considered an acceptable model for finding out the impact of celebrity endorsers on ad
perception.

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Impact of Various Attributes of Celebrities on Consumers’ Ad Perception

Attractiveness Trustworthiness Expertise
Std. Beta (r) 0.35 (***) 0.2 (***) 0.15 (***)
Chi-Square 41.07 53.413 67.01
df 32 30 31
Model Fit
CMIN/DF 1.283 1.78 2.162
GFI 0.976 0.969 0.962
AGFI 0.959 0.943 0.932
CFI 0.996 0.992 0.984
RMSEA 0.029 0.048 0.059
Notes: ***significant at 95% confidence level
From the above table it is clear that all the three celebrity attributes – attractiveness, trustworthiness and
expertise - have a positive impact on ad perception. Thus, H2, H3 and H4 are also rejected. This means that the
attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise of a celebrity endorser, have a significant impact on consumer ad
perception.

V. Findings and Conclusion

The results of the model show that celebrity endorsements have a positive impact on ad perception and the
results also reveal that the beta coefficient (r) exist a low degree of correlation between the two. Moreover it is also
proved that all the three variables like attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise of a celebrity endorser, have a
positive impact on ad perception. The results obtained from this study prove with the earlier researchers’ outcome.
Hence all the four hypotheses H1, H2, H3 and H4 are rejected. Thus, the findings of this present study enumerates
that celebrity endorsements can be an effective marketing tool available to the marketers as it is expected to have a
positive impact on ad perceptions.

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