Eclipsing: When Celebrities

Overshadow the Brand

Jasmina Ilicic
The University of Adelaide

Cynthia M. Webster
Macquarie University

ABSTRACT

This paper applies Gestalt psychology and associative network theory to examine the effect of
eclipsing in celebrity endorsement on consumer attitude towards the endorsed brand. Eclipsing
occurs when the celebrity overshadows the endorsed brand by dominating in an advertisement and
diminishing the associative link between the celebrity and endorsed brand. Three studies take into
account match-up, celebrity attachment, brand familiarity, and the moderating role of eclipsing,
through manipulating two levels of eclipsing in advertising: (1) high eclipsing, when the celebrity is
the focus, and (2) low eclipsing, when both the celebrity and brand are emphasized. Consumers who
have a weak attachment to the celebrity endorser report a more positive brand attitude when they
see the celebrity and endorsed brand both emphasized in an advertisement (low eclipsing) than when
the celebrity overshadows and dominates the brand (high eclipsing), irrespective of whether
consumers perceive the celebrity and brand to match or mismatch. For consumers with strong
celebrity attachment, high eclipsing enhances brand attitude, regardless of whether they perceive
the celebrity and brand to either match or mismatch. The findings of these studies have significant
implications for advertisers and brand managers in the execution of their advertisements featuring
endorsements. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using celebrity endorsers in advertisements attracts
consumer attention, increases brand awareness, and
helps brands to be noticed in an increasingly cluttered
media space (Friedman & Friedman, 1979; O’Mahony
& Meenaghan, 1997/1998). More and more advertise-
ments today spotlight the celebrities, emphasizing the
celebrities and providing little emphasis on the en-
dorsed brands. Here, the celebrity overshadows the
brand, termed “eclipsing” (Keel & Nataraajan, 2012).
Clear examples of eclipsing occur in recent advertise-
ments for American Express (AMEX). The one-minute
television commercial featuring Kate Winslet, for ex-
ample, takes 55 seconds going through her starring
film roles and leaves the last five seconds to AMEX.
The print advertisement is similar, with a glossy image
of Kate Winslet occupying half of the space and with
much of the remaining devoted to information about
her memories, ambitions, and achievements. Only at
the end of the advertisement, on one line, does she state
that the card she uses is AMEX. These advertisements
include a clear endorsement for the brand, but mostly
contain personal information about the celebrity, infor-
mation relevant to the celebrity but not the brand.
Although eclipsing is evident in recent advertising
campaigns featuring celebrities, no research to date
examines the effect of eclipsing on consumer attitude
towards endorsed brands (Keel & Nataraajan, 2012).
Most of the research in celebrity endorsement focuses
on the effectiveness of celebrities as direct spokespeo-
ple, who provide information about brands through
advocating and actively engaging with them in ad-
vertisements. Celebrities eclipse the brand when they
feature as the focal point in the advertisement, with
more time or space dedicated to the celebrity than to
the brand itself. Match-up is an added critical element
with celebrity endorsers. Research shows a mismatch
between the celebrity and brand results in negative con-
sumer attitude towards the brand (Ilicic & Webster,
2013; Kamins & Gupta, 1994; Lynch & Schuler, 1994)
and dissuasion (Rossiter & Smidts, 2012). Consumer
attachment to the celebrity further complicates the en-
dorsement situation, with strong celebrity attachment
resulting in brand attitude enhancement and weak at-
tachment producing brand attitude dilution (Ilicic &
Webster, 2011).
The aim of this paper is to extend research in the
area of celebrity endorsements by examining the ef-
fects of celebrity eclipsing on consumer evaluations of
endorsed brands. Celebrity and endorsed brand match-
up, celebrity attachment and consumer attitude to-
wards the brand in high eclipsing versus low eclipsing
advertisements are examined in order to identify the

Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 31(11): 1040–1050 (November 2014)

View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mar
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/mar.20751
1040
conditions under which eclipsing may have negative
ramifications for the brand. First, eclipsing and the key
aspects of consumer perceptions of celebrity effective-
ness, including match-up and celebrity attachment, are
examined. Here, the roles of match-up and attachment
on brand evaluations are discussed. Based on these dis-
cussions, hypotheses relating to the effects of eclipsing
on consumer brand attitude are offered. Three stud-
ies test these hypotheses followed by discussions of the
results with implications for researchers, advertisers,
and brand managers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Eclipsing and Gestalt Psychology
In endorsement situations, advertisers strategically
present popular, attractive celebrities together with
brands. Typically, celebrities feature as direct spokes-
people, where they provide relevant information about
the brand they endorse throughout much of the ad-
vertisement, speaking extensively about the brand or
actively engaging with it. For example, Katy Perry
discusses the importance of Proactiv skin care in her
life. Katy Perry’s fun, youthful, and eccentric image
matches that of the Proactiv brand, providing con-
sumers with consistent information about the celebrity
and brand. In advertisements, viewers see her using the
product and hear her praising the brand. These adver-
tisements spend most of the time explicitly highlighting
the benefits of the endorsed brand, Proactiv.
Based on Gestalt psychology (Koffka, 1935), these
standard endorsement practices are effective, in part,
as they incorporate accepted design principles of fo-
cal point, figure-ground, balance, proximity, similar-
ity, and congruity (Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, 2010).
The endorsed brand figures as the focal point, gaining
viewer attention, and the celebrity is featured in notice-
able support for the brand, providing specific qualities
that complement and do not confuse the brand message.
Celebrities eclipse the endorsed brand when they cre-
ate an imbalance by being featured as the focal point in-
stead of the brand within an advertisement and placed
as the dominant figure, while the brand recedes into the
background. For example, in a recent 60-second adver-
tisement for Pepsi, Beyonce features as the focal point,
dancing to her own music in front of mirrors relaying
multiple images of herself (YouTube, 2013). Six of the
first 12 seconds are devoted to Beyonce opening and
drinking out of a can of Pepsi and the next 42 seconds
are dedicated to Beyonce dancing and singing. Viewers
again are exposed to Pepsi in the 54th second. In this
advertisement, Beyonce features as the focal stimuli
with only 12 seconds of the 60-second advertisement
devoted to the Pepsi brand. When celebrities dominate
advertisements, they engage the audience while also di-
verting attention away from the brand. The imbalance
of time and space toward the celebrity accentuates the
INFLUENCE OF ECLIPSING ON BRAND ATTITUDE
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
celebrity’s attributes and, as a consequence, provides
little information on the endorsed brand.
As there is no empirical research specifically on
eclipsing in celebrity endorsement, studies examin-
ing visual and verbal perception may also provide
some useful insights. Work in visual complexity in-
dicates that sufficiently motivated people spend more
time looking at complex visual arrangements that are
asymmetric, incongruous, and contain more elements
(Berlyne, 1966; Donderi, 2006). Consequently, moti-
vated individuals have a less-efficient search strategy
when a target stimulus is present yet obscured. Con-
spicuous, or highly visible, forms are much easier to
identify (Engel, 1970, 1977), however, as the number
of similar elements increases, identification becomes
more difficult (Ho, Scialfa, Caird, & Graw, 2001). For
an eclipsing endorsement situation, which arguably is
a complex arrangement, these results suggest that con-
sumers may be drawn to the advertisement and pro-
cess the obvious celebrity communication, but may not
be interested enough to attend to the brand. In an au-
dio study, Bigand, McAdams, and Foret (2000) examine
people’s ability to detect melodic errors while simulta-
neously listening to two different well-known nursery
songs. In this complex auditory situation, they find non-
musicians simplify the task by concentrating on only
one of the songs, while experienced musicians are able
to integrate the two songs creating one piece to focus
their attention. These results again show that when
faced with composite situation, inexperienced individ-
uals simply disregard unnecessary information, sug-
gesting that brand familiarity may influence consumer
perception in an eclipsing endorsement situation.
While informative, these studies in visual and ver-
bal perception examine whether individuals accurately
identify stimuli and do not ask for their overall evalu-
ations of the arrangement. Rossiter and Percy’s (1980)
study is one of the few in advertising to look at the
effects of visual and verbal imagery on consumer eval-
uations. Although they do not consider an endorsement
situation and focus on only one brand at a time, they
find advertisements that emphasize the brand by using
a relatively large picture and making explicit claims
result in strong consumer brand attitude, whereas
small pictures and vague claims significantly weaken
consumer brand attitude. In eclipsing situations, the
celebrity is elevated and the endorsed brand is dimin-
ished, which suggests that consumer attitude towards
the endorsed brand weakens.
Eclipsing and Associative Network Theory
Associative network theory also underpins the mech-
anisms by which celebrity endorsement is an effec-
tive advertising strategy (Till, 1998; Till & Busler,
2000). According to the theory, memory is struc-
tured as an associative network containing nodes
(brand and celebrity nodes) connected via related links
(Anderson, 1983; Collins & Loftus, 1975; Martindale,
1041
1991). Through consumption experiences and media
exposure, consumers gain information about brands
and celebrities. Over time, consumers become highly
familiar with certain brands and celebrities. Research
shows brand familiarity leads to much richer and more
developed knowledge structures, providing consumers
with deeper confidence in their knowledge of the brand,
brand attributes, and benefits than those unfamiliar
(Bettman & Sujan, 1987; Swaminathan, Fox, & Reddy,
2001). For unfamiliar or new brands, consumers report
either unformed or weak associations tied to the brand,
resulting in weaker attitude strength and accessibility
(Fazio, 1986, 1989). Initially, the brand and celebrity
nodes are unconnected in consumer minds and it is
through the endorsement process that the link join-
ing the brand and celebrity is formed. The endorse-
ment process presents the brand and celebrity nodes
together, activating memory retrieval for both nodes
simultaneously.
Advertisements featuring celebrities eclipsing the
brand provide consumers with much more information
about the celebrity than the brand, making it difficult
for consumers to activate brand information. Focus-
ing predominantly on the celebrity distracts consumers
from establishing a strong associative link between the
celebrity and brand, and weakens the effectiveness of
the celebrity endorser (Till, 1998). Ostensibly, a weak
celebrity–brand connection results in a more negative
consumer brand attitude. As such, it is expected that
when a celebrity is the focus of an advertisement (high
eclipsing endorsement), consumer attitude towards the
brand weakens, compared to when both the celebrity
and endorsed brand are strong elements (low eclips-
ing endorsement). Thus, it is expected that celebrity
eclipsing will have a negative effect on consumer brand
assessments and it is proposed:
H1: Consumers report a more positive attitude to-
wards the endorsed brand when exposed to a
low eclipsing endorsement than a high eclipsing
endorsement.
Eclipsing and Match-up
Celebrity–brand match-up, or congruence, is exten-
sively researched in the extant celebrity endorsement
literature (Batra & Homer, 2004; Fleck, Korchia, & Le
Roy, 2012; Till & Busler, 1998, 2000; Till, Stanley, &
Priluck, 2008). Advertisers attempt to tactically place
a celebrity with a brand, whereby the image of the
celebrity is seen to match with that of the endorsed
brand, providing consumers with consistent informa-
tion about the brand (Kamins, 1990: Kamins & Gupta,
1994). This match-up is said to occur when “highly rele-
vant characteristics of the spokesperson are consistent
with highly relevant attributes of the brand” (Misra &
Beatty, 1990, p. 160). Research in celebrity endorse-
ment shows that match-up has a positive effect on con-
sumer attitude towards the endorsed brands and the
advertisements in which they feature (Ilicic & Web-
1042
ster, 2013; Kamins, 1990; Kamins & Gupta, 1994; Till
& Busler, 1998, 2000; Till, Stanley, & Priluck, 2008).
Greater match-up also results in increased purchase
intentions (Lee & Thorson, 2008), advertisement view-
ing time, brand interest, and word-of-mouth communi-
cation (Törn, 2012).
When a celebrity is perceived to match the brand,
consumers are easily able to form a celebrity–brand
connection, as both the brand and celebrity encom-
pass consistent attributes that facilitate ease of cogni-
tive processing (Kahneman, 2011). Consumers use this
match-up as a simple heuristic to judge the endorse-
ment. When there is little fit, or a perceived mismatch
between the celebrity and brand, the celebrity–brand
connection is absent or difficult to determine. With a
mismatch, consumers are left to process disjointed in-
formation, which requires more analytical effort to un-
derstand the endorsement (Lynch, 1981). Results show
that when a celebrity mismatches the brand, consumers
report negative brand evaluations (Ilicic & Webster,
2013; Kamins & Gupta, 1994).
When assessing match-up, consumers consider at-
tributes from both the celebrity and the endorsed
brand. With eclipsing, the information is much more
one-sided, emphasizing the celebrity. As a result, pro-
cessing brand-related information requires greater ef-
fort. When an eclipsing celebrity matches the brand,
consumers simply evaluate the brand based on the
celebrity status. Since consumers use match-up as a
shortcut to make quick judgments about their attitude
towards the endorsed brand, it is expected that eclips-
ing exerts the strongest influence on those who perceive
the celebrity and brand to mismatch. When a celebrity
mismatches the brand, consumers use piecemeal, an-
alytical processing to draw conclusions for the pairing
of the celebrity and brand. A low eclipsing endorse-
ment should allow consumers to establish some sort
of celebrity–brand link, resulting in a more positive
attitude towards the brand. A high eclipsing endorse-
ment weakens the brand position, as consumers are
distracted from establishing a celebrity–brand connec-
tion, resulting in a more negative attitude toward the
brand. This suggests the following:
H2: When consumers perceive a mismatch, low
eclipsing leads to a more positive attitude to-
wards the brand whereas high eclipsing leads to
a more negative attitude. When consumers per-
ceive celebrity–brand match-up, both low and
high eclipsing advertisements result in equally
positive attitude toward the brand.
Eclipsing and Attachment
Many consumers today seek meaningful relationships
with celebrities and research shows consumers re-
port possessing varying levels of attachment toward
celebrities from mild curious interest to celebrity wor-
ship (McCutcheon, Ashe, Houran, & Maltby, 2003;
ILICIC AND WEBSTER
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
Reeves, Baker, & Truluck, 2012; Thomson, 2006). Ap-
plying attachment theory (Bowlby, 1979, 1980), Thom-
son (2006) demonstrates that the strength of an attach-
ment is evident in heightened feelings of separation dis-
tress when threatened with real or imagined separation
from the celebrity. Research also finds that consumer–
celebrity attachment results in a more positive attitude
towards the advertisement and brand that the celebrity
endorses (Ilicic & Webster, 2011).
When consumers have a strong attachment to a
celebrity, they use their positive emotional connection
to the celebrity as a heuristic to form positive judgments
about the endorsed brand. Previous research finds con-
sumers form positive attitudes toward multiple en-
dorsed brands when their attachment to a celebrity is
strong (Ilicic and Webster, 2011). According to associa-
tive network theory, when consumers have a weak at-
tachment to a celebrity, the celebrity–brand connection
is more difficult to establish. Consumers with a weak
attachment to the celebrity are expected to use ana-
lytical, detailed processing in order to establish and
understand the associative link, or pairing, between
the celebrity and brand (Lynch, 1981). It is suggested
that eclipsing may increase the effects of those with
weak celebrity attachment, with consumers reporting
increased attitude towards the brand when eclipsing
is low than when eclipsing is high. Again, low eclips-
ing endorsements should enable consumers to form a
celebrity–brand association, resulting in a more pos-
itive attitude towards the brand. It is not expected
that eclipsing influences those with strong celebrity
attachment, as simple peripheral processing (Petty,
Cacioppo, & Schumann, 1983) is used to form quick
positive judgments about the brand. Consumers with
strong celebrity attachment focus their attention on the
celebrity in forming their judgments, regardless of the
level of eclipsing in the advertisement. As such, the
following is suggested:
H3: When celebrity attachment is weak, low eclips-
ing leads to a more positive attitude towards the
brand whereas high eclipsing leads to a more
negative attitude. When celebrity attachment
is strong, both low and high eclipsing result in
equally positive attitude towards the brand.
Eclipsing, Match-up, and Attachment
A three-way interaction between eclipsing, match-up,
and attachment is expected. In a match-up/strong at-
tachment situation, consumers should be able to estab-
lish a celebrity–brand connection, as match-up and at-
tachment are used as heuristics in developing positive
judgments about the brand, regardless of whether they
are exposed to a high or low eclipsing endorsement. As
such, it is expected that those who perceive a match-up
and have a strong attachment to the celebrity will re-
port positive attitude towards the brand. Alternatively,
in a mismatch/weak attachment situation, eclipsing is
expected to exert the strongest influence, with con-
INFLUENCE OF ECLIPSING ON BRAND ATTITUDE
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
sumers expected to report the lowest brand attitude
when exposed to a high eclipsing than a low eclipsing
endorsement, due to the difficulty with which to judge
the brand. A mismatch/weak attachment/low eclipsing
situation allows consumers to construct some link be-
tween the celebrity and brand, which should increase
consumer brand attitude. As such, the following is
proposed:
H4: When consumers have weak attachment to a
celebrity that mismatches the brand, low eclips-
ing results in a more positive attitude towards
the brand whereas high eclipsing results in a
lower attitude towards the brand. When con-
sumers have strong attachment to a celebrity
that matches the brand, eclipsing has no effect
on attitude towards the brand.
STUDY 1
When consumers are unable to form a celebrity–brand
connection, their attitude towards the brand is weak
(Till, 1998). Study 1 aims to demonstrate that celebrity
eclipsing, when the celebrity dominates the advertise-
ment, results in negative attitude towards the endorsed
brand.
Study 1 uses an actual television advertisement to
examine an endorsement between a corporate brand
and a celebrity. The corporate brand is a leading re-
gional financial institution in Australia, the Greater
Building Society, and the celebrity is Jerry Seinfeld,
an internationally known comedian and actor. A re-
search company was used to recruit subjects from re-
gional areas within Australia to evaluate their attitude
towards the Greater Building Society. A total of 220
subjects were assigned to one of two experimental con-
ditions: (1) low eclipsing advertisement, featuring both
celebrity and brand information (110 subjects) and (2)
a high eclipsing advertisement, predominantly featur-
ing the celebrity (110 subjects). To control for exposure
time effects, both advertisements ran for 20 seconds.
Overall, 51.8% of subjects were female and 48.2% were
male. Subjects were mainly between 35–49 and 50–64
years of age (24.1% and 28.6%, respectively).
Procedure and Measures
Subjects were directed first to view one of two ad-
vertisements. In the high eclipsing condition, subjects
viewed Jerry Seinfeld in an advertisement for the
Greater Building Society. The advertisement featured
the image of Jerry crawling along a sandy desert with
ripped clothing and then answering a phone stating
“Hello . . . I’m busy now.” The advertisement also con-
tained the voiceover of a customer stating that since
escaping the big banks her savings were growing and
showed the Greater Building Society’s brand logo at the
end. In the low eclipsing condition, subjects viewed an
1043
advertisement featuring an image of a Greater Building
Society customer discussing the multiple benefits of the
brand in terms of escaping the big banks and gaining a
higher interest rate on savings accounts with no trans-
action fees. The advertisement then followed with the
image of Jerry crawling along the desert and answer-
ing the phone, and ended with the Greater’s brand logo
shown on the screen (YouTube, 2011). Once subjects
viewed their allocated 20-second advertisement, they
were then asked to evaluate the Greater brand based
on the advertisement they just viewed. Subjects were
then asked to rate their attitude towards the brand us-
ing Mitchell and Olson’s (1981) 5-point semantic differ-
ential scales that included four items good/bad, pleas-
ant/unpleasant, like very much/dislike very much, high
quality/poor quality (Cronbach α = 0.932).
Results and Discussion
It is expected that subjects will report a more positive
attitude towards the brand when exposed to an ad-
vertisement that features a low eclipsing endorsement
than when exposed to an advertisement that features
a high eclipsing endorsement. To test this hypothesis,
an independent samples t-test was performed. The re-
sults find a significant difference (t = − 5.32, p = 0.000)
in brand attitude between the high eclipsing and low
eclipsing advertisements. As intended, subjects report
a more positive attitude towards the brand when ex-
posed to a low eclipsing advertisement (M = 3.92, SD =
0.81) and a more negative attitude towards the brand
when exposed to a high eclipsing advertisement (M =
3.64, SD = 0.99), providing support for Hypothesis 1.
The results of Study 1 provide initial evidence
of eclipsing effects in celebrity endorsement. When
celebrities overshadow the brand, when they are the
focus within an advertisement, consumer attitude to-
wards the brand is weaker.
STUDY 2
Study 2 aims to demonstrate that celebrity eclips-
ing moderates the effect of perceived celebrity–brand
match-up on consumer attitude towards the endorsed
brand. It is expected that eclipsing reduces consumer
brand attitude for those who perceive the celebrity and
brand to mismatch, with consumers reporting reduced
attitude towards the brand when eclipsing is high than
when eclipsing is low.
Study 2 examines another real celebrity endorse-
ment between Nicole Kidman and Omega watches us-
ing a constructed advertisement, copying a similar
structure to those used in the 2007 AMEX print cam-
paign. A research company recruited subjects from
metropolitan areas within Australia. A total of 185 com-
plete questionnaires were obtained. Subjects were ex-
posed to created print advertisements and assigned to
one of the same two conditions as described in Study 1
1044
(high eclipsing vs. low eclipsing). Of the 185 subjects
recruited, 31.9% were male and 68.1% were female.
Subjects were mainly between the ages of 25–24 and
35–49 (28.1% and 24.3%, respectively). Ninety-six sub-
jects were assigned to the low eclipsing condition and
89 to the high eclipsing condition.
Procedure and Measures
Subjects were directed to view one of two advertise-
ments. In the high eclipsing condition, subjects viewed
Nicole Kidman in a print advertisement for the Omega
brand, making no reference to the brand. In this adver-
tisement, Nicole Kidman provided information about
herself including her name, inspiration, biggest chal-
lenge, childhood ambition, and truism. The ad featured
a half-page, informal portrait of the celebrity in black
and white on the left. The right-hand side of the page
featured the same generated celebrity answers in hand-
written font to their inspiration (I am inspired by so
many things every day), biggest challenge (life), child-
hood ambition (trumpet player), and truism (is about
taking my own path). The advertisement did not men-
tion the endorsed brand, instead highlighted informa-
tion about the celebrity. In the low eclipsing condition,
subjects viewed an advertisement similar to the high
eclipsing condition, but the advertisement also included
a clear endorsement for the brand in larger font (the ad-
vertisement stated “my watch, Omega”). The advertise-
ments for each condition featured the brand’s logo in the
bottom right-hand corner of the same size. Once sub-
jects viewed their allocated advertisement, they were
then asked to indicate the degree to which they be-
lieved the celebrity and brand match using three items
drawn from Till and Busler (2000), including do not be-
long together/do belong together, do not go together/do
go together, and do not fit/do fit (Cronbach α = 0.959).
They then were asked their attitude towards the brand
using the same measures as Study 1, with internal con-
sistency confirmed (Cronbach α = 0.924). Subjects’ de-
gree of familiarity with the brand was also measured
on a 7-point Likert scale to use as a covariate in the
analysis, as consumers report strong associations re-
sulting in stronger attitude for familiar brands (Fazio,
1986, 1989).
Results and Discussion
Manipulation of eclipsing occurred as intended, with an
independent samples t-test finding a significant differ-
ence (t = 4.220, p = 0.000) in high versus low eclipsing
on brand attitude. As intended, subjects report a more
positive attitude towards the brand in the low eclipsing
condition (M = 4.06, SD = 0.69) and a weaker attitude
toward the brand in the high eclipsing condition (M =
3.66, SD = 0.60).
The moderating role of eclipsing on brand atti-
tude is examined. Brand attitude is regressed sep-
arately on match-up (Model 1); on eclipsing (Model
2); on match-up and eclipsing (Model 3); and then on
ILICIC AND WEBSTER
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
Table 1. Study 2 Match-up and Eclipsing as Predictors in the Models of Brand Attitude.
Brand Attitude (N = 185)
Unstandardized Coefficient (β)
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
(Match-up (Eclipsing (Match-up and (Match-up, Eclipsing, and
Only) Only) Eclipsing) Interaction)

Intercept 3.776∗∗∗ 4.753∗∗∗ 4.257∗∗∗ 4.095∗∗∗

Match-up 0.359∗∗∗ 0.329∗∗∗ 0.843∗∗∗
Eclipsing −0.356∗∗∗ −0.191∗∗∗ −0.138
Match-up × Eclipsing −.203∗∗
Brand Familiarity 0.201∗∗∗ 0.248∗∗∗ 0.198∗∗∗ 0.192∗∗∗
F-value 58.71 27.45 41.99 33.64
Adjusted R2 0.39 0.22 0.40 0.42
∗
p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001

match-up, eclipsing, and the interaction terms (Model

4), with brand familiarity as the covariate. The data
for the independent variable of match-up and covari-
ate of brand familiarity are mean centered. Eclipsing
is dummy coded 0 (low eclipsing) and 1 (high eclips-
ing). Table 1 indicates that match-up and eclipsing
are both similarly significant predictors of brand at-
titude, with the brand familiarity covariate also signifi-
cant. Match-up is a stronger predictor of brand attitude
than eclipsing, when both are included in the model
(Model 3; unstandardized betamatch-up = 0.329; unstan-
dardized betaeclipsing = −0.191). As expected, the model
with match-up, eclipsing, and the two-way interaction
(Model 4) offers a better goodness of fit and increased
variance explained, compared with the models in which
Figure 1. Study 2—moderating role of eclipsing on brand
match-up or eclipsing serve as single predictors. More
attitude.
specifically, Table 1 shows that the adjusted R2 values
significantly increase from 0.39 to 0.42 (Models 1–4:
F (180) = 5.456, p < 0.05) when match-up, eclipsing, estingly, eclipsing has a moderating effect on match-up,
and the two-way interaction appear as predictors in with low eclipsing resulting in a more positive brand at-
the model than when match-up features alone. titude than high eclipsing, providing partial support for
Model 4 shows that a significant, negative inter- Hypothesis 2.
action effect occurs. Aiken and West’s (1991) plotting The results of Study 2 reinforce the importance
technique, plus simple slopes analysis are used to ex- of eclipsing in influencing consumer brand attitude.
amine the significant two-way interaction on brand Eclipsing results in negative brand attitude irrespec-
attitude. Simple slopes analysis tests whether the ef- tive of perceived match-up. Eclipsing has a significant
fects of the independent variable significantly differ at moderating role on those who perceive the celebrity
low and high levels of the moderating variable (Aiken and brand to match and mismatch, with consumers
and West, 1991). The significant interaction effect for reporting a more positive brand attitude when they
match-up and eclipsing on brand attitude is plotted in see the celebrity and brand both in the advertisement
Figure 1, with high match-up as 1 SD above the mean (low eclipsing) than when the celebrity overshadows the
and low match-up as 1 SD below the mean. Simple brand (high eclipsing). Interestingly, the effect of eclips-
slopes analysis shows that when consumers perceive ing is greater when consumers perceive the celebrity
both mismatch and match, eclipsing has an effect on and brand to match, suggesting that low eclipsing may
brand attitude (unstandardized betalow eclipsing = 0.96, enhance perceived match-up between the celebrity and
t = 3.599, p < 0.001; unstandardized betahigh eclipsing = brand.
0.73, t = 4.003, p < 0.001).
As expected, consumers who perceive celebrity–
brand mismatch report the most positive attitude STUDY 3
towards the brand when they are exposed to an adver-
tisement that features low eclipsing, and a more nega- Study 3 aims to demonstrate that high celebrity eclips-
tive attitude towards the brand when they are exposed ing moderates the effect of weak consumer–celebrity at-
to an advertisement that features high eclipsing. Inter- tachment on consumer attitude towards the endorsed

INFLUENCE OF ECLIPSING ON BRAND ATTITUDE 1045

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
Table 2. Study 3 Attachment and Eclipsing as Predictors in the Models of Brand Attitude.
Brand Attitude (N = 208)
Model 1
(Attachment
Only)
Intercept 3.403∗∗∗
Attachment 0.335∗∗∗
Eclipsing
Attachment × Eclipsing
Brand Familiarity 0.203∗∗
F-value 32.882
Adjusted R2 0.24
∗
p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001.
brand. It is expected that eclipsing will reduce the
effects of weak attachment on brand attitude, with
consumers reporting decreased attitude towards the
brand when eclipsing is high than when eclipsing is
low. Study 3 also examines the three-way interaction
between match-up/attachment/eclipsing on consumer
brand attitude. It is expected that when consumers
perceive celebrity–brand mismatch and have a weak
attachment to the celebrity, low eclipsing will result in
a more positive brand attitude than high eclipsing.
Study 3 examines two other real celebrity endorse-
ments between Toni Collette (actress) and Common-
wealth Bank, and Keith Urban (musician) and Sam-
sung. A research company recruited subjects from
metropolitan areas within Australia. A total of 208 com-
pleted questionnaires were obtained. Subjects were ex-
posed to the same created print advertisement format
as Study 2 and assigned to one of the same two con-
ditions as described in Study 2. Of the 208 subjects
recruited, 38.5% were male and 61.5% were female.
Subjects were mainly between the ages of 35–49 and
50–64 (24.5% and 27.4%, respectively).
Procedure and Measures
Subjects were directed to view one of two advertise-
ments. In the high eclipsing condition, subjects viewed
either Toni Collette or Keith Urban in a print adver-
tisement for the assigned brand (Commonwealth Bank
and Samsung, respectively), making no reference to the
brand. In this advertisement, the celebrity provided the
same information about herself or himself as in Study
2. The advertisement again featured a half-page, in-
formal portrait of the celebrity in black and white on
the left. The right-hand side of the page featured the
same generated celebrity answers in hand-written font
as in Study 2. In the low eclipsing condition, subjects
viewed an advertisement similar to the high eclips-
ing condition, which also included a clear endorsement
for the brand in larger font (the advertisement stated
“my bank, Commonwealth Bank” or “my phone, Sam-
sung”). The advertisements for each condition featured
the brand’s logo in the bottom right-hand corner of
1046
Unstandardized Coefficient (β)
Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
(Eclipsing (Attachment (Attachment, Eclipsing,
Only) and Eclipsing) and Interaction)
3.628∗∗∗ 3.558∗∗∗ 3.581∗∗∗
0.323∗∗∗ 0.220∗∗∗
−0.408∗∗ −0.308∗ −0.317∗
0.227∗
0.200∗∗ 0.198∗∗ 0.218∗∗∗
8.534 24.339 20.346
0.07 0.26 0.28
the same size. Once subjects viewed their allocated
advertisement, they were then asked to indicate the
degree to which they were attached to the celebrity,
using three items drawn from Thomson (2006) includ-
ing: “Losing (celebrity) forever would be distressing to
me,” “I miss (celebrity) when (he/she) is not around,”
and “If (celebrity) was permanently gone I would be up-
set” (Cronbach α = 0.925). They then were asked their
attitude towards the brand and perceived match-up be-
tween the celebrity and brand using the same measures
as Study 2, with internal consistency confirmed (Cron-
bach αattitude towards the brand = 0.948; Cronbach αmatch-up =
0.981). Subjects’ degree of familiarity with the brand
was also measured on a 7-point Likert scale to use as a
covariate in the analysis.
Results and Discussion
Manipulation of eclipsing occurred as intended, with an
independent samples t-test finding a significant differ-
ence (t = 2.784, p < 0.01) in high versus low eclipsing
on brand attitude. As intended, subjects report a more
positive attitude towards the brand in a low eclipsing
condition (M = 3.61, SD = 1.01) and a weaker attitude
toward the brand in the high eclipsing condition (M =
3.21, SD = 1.03).
The moderating role of eclipsing on brand attitude
is again examined. Brand attitude is regressed sepa-
rately on attachment (Model 1); on eclipsing (Model 2);
on attachment and eclipsing (Model 3); and then on at-
tachment, eclipsing, and the interaction terms (Model
4), with brand familiarity as the covariate. The data
are mean centered for the independent variable of at-
tachment and covariate of brand familiarity. Eclipsing
is dummy coded 0 (low eclipsing) and 1 (high eclips-
ing). Table 2 indicates that attachment and eclips-
ing both are significant predictors of brand attitude,
with the brand familiarity covariate also significant.
Attachment is a slightly stronger predictor of brand
attitude than eclipsing, when both are added to the
model (Model 3; unstandardized betaattachment = 0.323;
unstandardized betaeclipsing = −0.308). As expected, the
model with attachment, eclipsing, and the two-way
ILICIC AND WEBSTER
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar

Figure 2. Study 3—moderating role of eclipsing on brand
attitude.
interaction (Model 4) offers a better goodness of fit and
increased variance explained, compared with the mod-
els in which attachment or eclipsing serve as single
predictors. Table 2 shows that the adjusted R2 values
significantly increase from 0.24 to 0.28 (Models 1–4:
F (207) = 6.159, p < 0.01) when attachment, eclipsing,
and the two-way interaction appear as predictors in the
model than when attachment features alone.
Aiken and West’s (1991) plotting technique plus sim-
ple slopes analysis are used to examine the significant
two-way interaction on brand attitude. Figure 2 is plot-
ted at strong (1 SD above mean) and weak (1 SD be-
low mean) levels of attachment. Simple slopes analysis
shows that the slope for high eclipsing is significant,
while the slope for low eclipsing is not (unstandardized
betahigh eclipsing = 0.54, t = 5.791, p < 0.001; unstandard-
ized betalow eclipsing = −0.10, t = − 0.577, p > 0.05).
As expected, consumers report the most negative at-
titude towards the brand when they have a weak at-
tachment to the celebrity and are exposed to an ad-
vertisement that features high eclipsing, and a more
positive attitude when exposed to a low eclipsing ad-
vertisement. In addition, eclipsing does not impact con-
sumer brand attitude for those who have a strong
Table 3. Study 3 Match-up, Attachment, and Eclipsing as Predictors in the Models of Brand Attitude.
Brand Attitude (N = 208)
Model 1
(Match-up Only)
Intercept 3.403∗∗∗
Match-up 0.568∗∗∗
Attachment
Eclipsing
Match-up × Attachment × Eclipsing
Brand Familiarity 0.187∗∗
F-value 40.907
Adjusted R2 0.28
∗
p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001.
INFLUENCE OF ECLIPSING ON BRAND ATTITUDE
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
attachment to the celebrity, providing support for
Hypothesis 3.
The results of Study 3 again support the role of
eclipsing on consumer brand attitude. Eclipsing is a
significant moderator of consumer brand attitude when
consumers have a weak attachment to the celebrity,
with consumers reporting a more positive attitude
when they see the celebrity and brand both empha-
sized in an advertisement (low eclipsing), than when
the celebrity overshadows and dominates the brand in
an endorsement (high eclipsing).
Next, the three-way interaction between match-up,
attachment, and eclipsing is examined. Models 1 and 4
in Table 3 indicate that match-up is a much stronger
predictor than attachment and eclipsing (Model 1; un-
standardized betamatch-up = 0.568, Model 4; unstandard-
ized betamatch-up = 0.421, unstandardized betaattachment
= 0.119, unstandardized betaeclipsing = −0.222). Addi-
tionally, Model 4 shows a significant, negative three-
way interaction effect. As expected, the model with the
match-up, attachment, eclipsing, and the three-way in-
teraction (Model 4) offers a better goodness of fit and
increased variance explained, compared with the mod-
els in which match-up, attachment, or eclipsing serve
as single predictors. Table 3 shows that the adjusted R2
values significantly increase from 0.28 to 0.37 (Models
1–4: F (203) = 24.193, p < 0.001) when match-up, at-
tachment, eclipsing, and the three-way interaction ap-
pear as predictors in the model, than when attachment
features alone.
Aiken and West’s (1991) plotting technique plus sim-
ple slopes analysis are used to examine the significant
three-way interaction on brand attitude. The signifi-
cant interaction effect for the three-way interaction on
brand attitude is plotted in Figure 3A and B, with high
as 1 SD above the mean and low as 1 SD below the
mean. Simple slope analysis (Figure 3) shows that when
consumers have weak attachment to the celebrity and
perceive a mismatch between the celebrity and brand,
the slopes for both high and low eclipsing are significant
(unstandardized betahigh eclipsing = 0.45, t = 5.033, p <
0.001; unstandardized betalow eclipsing = 0.52, t = 5.047,
p < 0.000). When consumers have a weak attachment
Unstandardized Coefficient (β)
Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
(Attachment Only) (Eclipsing Only) (Three-Way Interaction)
3.403∗∗∗ 3.628∗∗∗ 3.515∗∗∗
0.421∗∗∗
0.335∗∗∗ 0.119∗
−0.408∗∗ −0.222
0.069∗
0.203∗∗∗ 0.200∗∗ 0.198∗∗∗
32.822 8.534 24.193
0.24 0.07 0.37
1047

Figure 3. Study 3—moderating role of attachment and
eclipsing on brand attitude. (A) Weak attachment and (B)
strong attachment.
and perceive celebrity–brand mismatch and match, low
eclipsing increases their brand attitude. The results for
strong attachment, mismatch, and match show that the
slopes for both high and low eclipsing are significant
(unstandardized betahigh eclipsing = 0.45, t = 5.033, p <
0.001; unstandardized betalow eclipsing = 0.52, t = 5.047, p
< 0.000). Interestingly, when consumers have a strong
attachment to the celebrity and perceive the celebrity
to either match or mismatch, their brand attitude in-
creases when they are exposed to a high eclipsing en-
dorsement than a low eclipsing endorsement, providing
only partial support for Hypothesis 4.
The results of Study 3 again demonstrate that eclips-
ing may negatively influence consumer brand attitude.
Eclipsing has a significant moderating role on those
who have a weak attachment to the celebrity, with
subjects reporting a more positive attitude when they
see the celebrity and brand both in the advertisement
(low eclipsing) than when the celebrity overshadows the
brand (high eclipsing). The models that include match-
1048
up, attachment, eclipsing, and the three-way interac-
tion indicate that match-up, attachment, and eclipsing
remain as significant predictors of brand attitude. The
significant three-way interaction effect, however, sug-
gests that those who have weak celebrity attachment
report a more positive attitude when exposed to a low
eclipsing endorsement, when the celebrity is perceived
to either match or mismatch the brand. Those who have
strong celebrity attachment report stronger brand at-
titude when exposed to a high eclipsing endorsement,
when the celebrity is perceived to either match or mis-
match the brand.
GENERAL DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
This research examines celebrities when they eclipse,
or overshadow, the brand in endorsements, where the
celebrity dominates the advertisement. Previous re-
search on the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers cen-
ters on the concept of match-up, or fit, of relevant
characteristics between the celebrity and brand (Fleck,
Korchia, & Le Roy, 2012; Kamins, 1990; Kamins &
Gupta, 1994; Till & Busler, 1998, 2000; Till, Stanley, &
Priluck, 2008), and the degree of consumer attachment
toward the celebrity (Ilicic & Webster, 2011; Thom-
son, 2006). Findings from three studies confirm that
celebrity eclipsing can negatively influence consumer
attitude towards endorsed brands.
Results show that although consumers may perceive
a match between the celebrity and endorsed brand, ad-
vertisements should not focus predominantly on the
celebrity themselves. By accentuating the celebrity, the
connection between the celebrity and brand is dimin-
ished and, as such, consumer brand attitude weak-
ens. Advertisers should emphasize both the celebrity
and brand in advertisements in order to establish a
celebrity–brand association within consumer memory
structures.
Findings suggest that eclipsing strongly influences
consumer brand attitude when consumers have a weak
attachment to the celebrity. Those consumers with
weak celebrity attachment have significantly more pos-
itive attitude towards the endorsed brand in low eclips-
ing endorsements, when both the celebrity and brand
are emphasized, than in high eclipsing endorsements.
Low eclipsing enables consumers to form a celebrity–
brand connection, which results in a more positive
brand attitude, whereas high eclipsing further discon-
nects the celebrity and brand, and results in a more
negative brand attitude. Findings from this study also
show a three-way interaction, with high eclipsing re-
sulting in a more negative brand attitude when con-
sumers have a weak attachment to the celebrity and
when they perceive the celebrity and brand to either
match or mismatch. Interestingly, low eclipsing can re-
sult in a negative brand attitude when consumers have
a strong attachment to the celebrity and when they
ILICIC AND WEBSTER
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
perceive the celebrity and brand to either match or mis-
match.
The findings of these studies have significant impli-
cations for advertisers and brand managers in the ex-
ecution of their advertisements featuring celebrity en-
dorsers. Match-up exerts stronger influence on brand
attitude when consumers are exposed to low eclipsing
endorsements. Low eclipsing endorsements also result
in a more positive brand attitude when consumers have
weak celebrity attachment. Brand managers are un-
likely to select an endorser to whom all of their target
market is attached. As such, low eclipsing advertise-
ments ensure that consumer brand attitude is not fur-
ther diluted. Alternatively, when the target market is
strongly attached to the celebrity, regardless of whether
the celebrity and brand are perceived to match or mis-
match, advertisements should focus on the celebrity
and create a high eclipsing endorsement situation in
order to increase brand attitude.
Associative network theory (Anderson, 1983; Mar-
tindale, 1991) underpins the mechanisms under which
eclipsing may affect consumer attitude towards en-
dorsed brands. According to the theory, a brand should
enable consumers to make a celebrity–brand connec-
tion. The more difficult it is for consumers to make
a connection, the weaker their attitude towards the
endorsed brand. Evidence is provided to suggest that
eclipsing occurs across multiple media, in both televi-
sion advertisements and also in print. Future research,
however, should examine whether eclipsing influences
consumer message comprehension and elaborative pro-
cessing in television versus print. Length of exposure
to the celebrity may influence consumer involvement in
the advertisement and advertisement elaboration. One
way to test for the effects of eclipsing and consumer
involvement is to conduct an eye-tracking experiment.
With eye tracking, precise measurements of attention
to the celebrity versus brand are obtained. Also, eclips-
ing should be investigated with established versus new
brands to examine whether this execution style dilutes
brand attitude only for new brands, where consumers
have weakly formed brand associations.
Future research also should explore the role of
eclipsing on celebrity attitude. A low eclipsing endorse-
ment situation that places the celebrity in a weak-
ened position detracts from the celebrity and subse-
quently, the brand then eclipses and overshadows the
celebrity. To date, research examines consequences for
the endorsed brands; however, research should em-
pirically explore the reciprocal effect of endorsements
on celebrities. Since consumers consider celebrities as
“selling out” by pairing with brands purely for mone-
tary reasons (Bailey, 2007), celebrities are increasingly
concerned with protecting their own brand image and
maintaining consumer perceptions of their authentic-
ity. Research is yet to examine the conditions under
which endorsements are mutually beneficial and when
they are detrimental to celebrity “human brand” status.
As celebrity endorsement is a form of co-branding
partnership (Keel & Nataraajan, 2012; Seno & Lukas,
INFLUENCE OF ECLIPSING ON BRAND ATTITUDE
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
2007), research also should look at eclipsing in ad-
vertisements with other types of co-branding partner-
ships, such as strategic alliances between corporate
brands in related versus unrelated product categories.
For example, airlines, hotels, and car rentals such
as Qantas, Marriott, and Hertz are related product
categories, whereas media conglomerate Disney and
car manufacturer Mazda are unrelated. Findings from
such research would identify additional conditions un-
der which co-branding partnerships can be detrimental
or beneficial to consumer evaluations of co-branding
partners.
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The authors thank Stacey M. Baxter and Lawrence Ang for
their helpful comments and suggestions, significantly improv-
ing the quality of this paper. They also thank the University of
Adelaide and Macquarie University for sponsoring this study.
Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to:
Jasmina Ilicic, Lecturer in Marketing, Faculty of the Pro-
fessions, Business School, The University of Adelaide, 10
Pulteney Street, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
(jasmina.ilicic@adelaide.edu.au).
ILICIC AND WEBSTER
Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar