Celebrity Appeal and Types of appeal

Celebrities, particularly movie stars, TV personalities, popular entertainers, and

sports icons, provide a very common type of reference group appeal

Advertisers spend enormous sums of money to have celebrities promote their

products, with the expectation that the reading or viewing audience will react
positively to the celebrity's association with their products

Of all the benefits that a celebrity might contribute to a firm's advertising pro
gram—fame, talent, credibility, or charisma—celebrity credibility with the
consumer audience is the most important

To illustrate, when a celebrity endorses only one product, consumers are likely to
perceive the product in a highly favorable light and indicate a greater intention to
purchase it

The different types of methods in which celebrities are used to promote the
products are .

Testimonial: Based on personal usage, a celebrity attests to the quality of the

product or service .

Endorsement: Celebrity lends his or her name and appears on behalf of a

product or service with which he or she may or may not be an expert.

Actor: Celebrity presents a product or service as part of character endorsement.

Spokesperson: Celebrity presents a product or service as part of character

endorsement.

A few examples are : Salman Khan – Revital, Amitabh Bachan – Cadbury’s M.

S Dhoni – Boost, Kareena Kapoor – VIVEL, Katrina Kaif – Slice, Sharukh Khan-
Fair and Handsome, Sachin Tendulkar – Aviva etc.

Five major types of reference group appeals in common marketing usage

Advertisers, to communicate with their markets, use appeals by celebrities and other
similar reference groups very effectively.

There are Five major types of reference group appeals in common marketing usage.
They are:

1. celebrity appeals,

2. expert appeals,
3. common-man appeals,

4. executive and employee appeals,

5. trade or spokes-character appeals.

1) Celebrity Appeal

Celebrities, particularly movie stars, TV personalities, popular entertainers, and

sports icons, provide a very common type of reference group appeal. Of all the
benefits that a celebrity might contribute to a firm's advertising pro gram—fame,
talent, credibility, or charisma—celebrity credibility with the consumer audience is
the most important.

To illustrate, when a celebrity endorses only one product, consumers are likely to
perceive the product in a highly favorable light and indicate a greater intention to
purchase itThe different types of methods in which celebrities are used to
promote the products are Testimonial:, Endorsement, Actor, Spokesperson .

A few examples are : Salman Khan – Revital, Amitabh Bachan – Cadbury’s M.

S Dhoni – Boost, Kareena Kapoor – VIVEL, Katrina Kaif – Slice, Sharukh Khan-
Fair and Handsome, Sachin Tendulkar – Aviva etc.

2.The Expert : A second type of reference group appeal used by marketers is the
expert, a person who, because of his or her occupation, special training, or
experience, is in a unique position to help the prospective consumer evaluate the
product or service that the advertisement promotes

For e.g Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor Sleek Kitchen ,Wonder Chef etc

3. The "Common Man: A reference group appeal that uses the testimonials of
satisfied customers is known as the common-man approach

The advantage of the common-man appeal is that it demonstrates to prospective

customers that someone just like them uses and is satisfied with the product or
service being advertised.

Many television commercials show a typical person or family solving a problem by

using the advertised product or service. These commercials are known as
slice-of-life commercials because they focus on real-life situations with which the
viewer can identify For example: Complan commercial talks about how it
provides growth to a child’s height. The recent Fortune oil commercial shows a
mother requesting a nurse to allow her to feed her ailing son few spoons of dal.
 4) The Executive And Employee Spokesperson

During the past two decades, an increasing number of firms have used their top
executives as spokespersons in consumer ads.

The popularity of this type of advertising probably is due to the success and
publicity received by a number of executive spokespersons.

The appearance of a company's chief executive in its advertising seems to imply

that someone at the top is watching over the consumers' best interests, and it
encourages consumers to have more confidence in the firm's products or
services. For example : MDH masala – Owner .

5) Trade or spokes-characters

Trade or spokes-characters (e.g Amul girl ), as well as familiar cartoon characters

(ZOO ZOO Vodafone), serve as quasi-celebrity endorsers.

These trade spokes-characters present an idealized image and dispense

information that can be very important for the product or service that they “work
for”

With few exceptions, trade characters serve as exclusive spokespersons for a

particular product or service.

They sometimes provide a kind of personality for the product or service and
make the product appear friendlier (Ronald McDonald)

Types of Appeal

Advertising uses appeals as away of persuading people to buy certain products.

Advertising appeals are designed in a way so as to create a positive image of the

individuals who use certain products

There are two types of appeals : Emotional and Rational.

Sometimes objective, factual appeals are more effective in persuading a target audience,
at other times emotional appeals are more effective It depends on the kind of audience to
be reached and their degree of involvement in the product category .

In general, however, logical, reason-why appeals are more effective in persuading

educated audiences, and emotional appeals are more effective in persuading
less-educated consumers.

Fear Appeal

Fear is an effective appeal often used in marketing communicationsAdvertisers often

consider using the fear appeal in their attempts to persuade consumers.
A negative relationship is found between the intensity of fear appeals and the ability to
persuade .Strong fear appeals concerning a highly relevant topic (such as cigarette
smoking) will cause defense mechanism to display fearful aspects of the message and in
doing so they reject the message .

Because giving up a comfortable habit is difficult, consumers more readily reject the
threat.

This they do by a variety of techniques, including denial of its validity ("There still is no
real proof that smoking causes cancer"), the belief that they are immune to personal
disaster ("It can't happen to me"), and a diffusing process that robs the claim of its true
significance ("I play it safe by smoking only filter cigarettes").

Therefore, marketers should use reasonable but not extreme fear appeals and also
recognize that fear appeals are not always appropriate

There is no single explanation of the relationship between fear appeals and

persuasiveness

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

Emotional advertisements always grab attention they are the safest appeal and the most
used as well. Emotional appeals affect people, it is meant to touch the targeted
audience’s heart.

Emotional appeals affect people; the audience connects with the individuals in the ad.
Eg: Rolex uses this during the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament; they narrate the story of
the player or brand ambassador.

Though a product is being advertised the audience is able to connect to the

advertisement. Humour in an emotional appeal that advertisers use very frequently, this
appeal can either be either effective or highly ineffective. Either way, the ad grasps the
audience’s attention as it is different.

Humor

Many marketers use humorous appeals in the belief that humor will increase the
acceptance and persuasiveness of their advertising communications

For example, the effects of humorous ads vary by the audience's demographics, level of
involvement (humor is more effective for promoting low-involvement products), and
attitudes (humor is more effective when the audience already has positive attitudes
toward the brand).

Humor that is relevant to the product is superior to humor that is unrelated to the
product.Audience demographic factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age) affect the response
to humorous advertising appeals. The nature of the product affects the appropriateness
of a humorous treatment. Humor that is relevant to the product is superior to humor that
is unrelated to the product
Audience demographic factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age) affect the response to
humorous advertising appeals. The nature of the product affects the appropriateness of a
humorous treatment.

Rational Appeal

The functional benefits of a product is highlighted. Industrial buyers are most responsive
to rational appeal. This is generally product oriented appeal

• High quality appeals

• Low price appeals

• Long life appeals

• Performance minted appeals

• Ease to use oriented appeals

Abrasive Advertising

Annoying and unpleasant advertisements can be very effective.

Sleeper effect - Research shows that the abrasiveness of a commercial that uses this
type of appeal will wear out over time and the brand name will remain in consumers’
memories. How ethical this type of appeal can be at times, but guess it works in some
product areas.All of us have at one time or another been repelled by so-called agony
commercials ( 5 star, D’cold, Colgate Salt )

Nevertheless, pharmaceutical companies often run such commercials with great success
because they appeal to a certain segment of the population that suffers from ailments
that are not visible and thus elicit little sympathy from family and friends.

Their complaints are legitimized by commercials with which they immediately identify.
With the sponsor's credibility established ("They really understand the misery I'm going
through"), the message itself tends to be highly persuasive in getting con-timers to buy
the advertised product.

In our highly permissive society, sensual advertising seems to permeate the print media
and the airwaves

In today's advertising, there is a lot of explicit and daring sexual imagery, extending far
beyond the traditional product categories of fashion and fragrance into such categories
as shampoo, beer, cars, and home construction

Other appeals

• Price or value appeal

• Quality appeal ( If the product doesn’t possess the quality then it can be on the flip
side)

• Star Appeal ( celebrity endorsement)

 • Ego appeal ( L’oreal)

• Sensory appeal ( Ads aim at senses, touch , taste)

• Social Acceptence appeal

• Prestige appeal ( Merc , BMW )

Types of Appeal

Advertising uses appeals as away of persuading people to buy certain products.

Advertising appeals are designed in a way so as to create a positive image of the

individuals who use certain products

There are two types of appeals : Emotional and Rational.

Sometimes objective, factual appeals are more effective in persuading a target audience,
at other times emotional appeals are more effective It depends on the kind of audience to
be reached and their degree of involvement in the product category .

In general, however, logical, reason-why appeals are more effective in persuading

educated audiences, and emotional appeals are more effective in persuading
less-educated consumers.

Fear Appeal

Fear is an effective appeal often used in marketing communicationsAdvertisers often

consider using the fear appeal in their attempts to persuade consumers.

A negative relationship is found between the intensity of fear appeals and the ability to
persuade .Strong fear appeals concerning a highly relevant topic (such as cigarette
smoking) will cause defense mechanism to display fearful aspects of the message and in
doing so they reject the message .

Because giving up a comfortable habit is difficult, consumers more readily reject the
threat.

This they do by a variety of techniques, including denial of its validity ("There still is no
real proof that smoking causes cancer"), the belief that they are immune to personal
disaster ("It can't happen to me"), and a diffusing process that robs the claim of its true
significance ("I play it safe by smoking only filter cigarettes").

Therefore, marketers should use reasonable but not extreme fear appeals and also
recognize that fear appeals are not always appropriate

There is no single explanation of the relationship between fear appeals and

persuasiveness

EMOTIONAL APPEAL
Emotional advertisements always grab attention they are the safest appeal and the most
used as well. Emotional appeals affect people, it is meant to touch the targeted
audience’s heart.

Emotional appeals affect people; the audience connects with the individuals in the ad.
Eg: Rolex uses this during the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament; they narrate the story of
the player or brand ambassador.

Though a product is being advertised the audience is able to connect to the

advertisement. Humour in an emotional appeal that advertisers use very frequently, this
appeal can either be either effective or highly ineffective. Either way, the ad grasps the
audience’s attention as it is different.

Humor

Many marketers use humorous appeals in the belief that humor will increase the
acceptance and persuasiveness of their advertising communications

For example, the effects of humorous ads vary by the audience's demographics, level of
involvement (humor is more effective for promoting low-involvement products), and
attitudes (humor is more effective when the audience already has positive attitudes
toward the brand).

Humor that is relevant to the product is superior to humor that is unrelated to the
product.Audience demographic factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age) affect the response
to humorous advertising appeals. The nature of the product affects the appropriateness
of a humorous treatment. Humor that is relevant to the product is superior to humor that
is unrelated to the product

Audience demographic factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age) affect the response to
humorous advertising appeals. The nature of the product affects the appropriateness of a
humorous treatment.

Rational Appeal

The functional benefits of a product is highlighted. Industrial buyers are most responsive
to rational appeal. This is generally product oriented appeal

• High quality appeals

• Low price appeals

• Long life appeals

• Performance minted appeals

• Ease to use oriented appeals

Abrasive Advertising

Annoying and unpleasant advertisements can be very effective.

Sleeper effect - Research shows that the abrasiveness of a commercial that uses this
type of appeal will wear out over time and the brand name will remain in consumers’
memories. How ethical this type of appeal can be at times, but guess it works in some
product areas.All of us have at one time or another been repelled by so-called agony
commercials ( 5 star, D’cold, Colgate Salt )

Nevertheless, pharmaceutical companies often run such commercials with great success
because they appeal to a certain segment of the population that suffers from ailments
that are not visible and thus elicit little sympathy from family and friends.

Their complaints are legitimized by commercials with which they immediately identify.
With the sponsor's credibility established ("They really understand the misery I'm going
through"), the message itself tends to be highly persuasive in getting con-timers to buy
the advertised product.

In our highly permissive society, sensual advertising seems to permeate the print media
and the airwaves

In today's advertising, there is a lot of explicit and daring sexual imagery, extending far
beyond the traditional product categories of fashion and fragrance into such categories
as shampoo, beer, cars, and home construction

Other appeals

• Price or value appeal

• Quality appeal ( If the product doesn’t possess the quality then it can be on the flip
side)

• Star Appeal ( celebrity endorsement)

• Ego appeal ( L’oreal)

• Sensory appeal ( Ads aim at senses, touch , taste)

• Social Acceptence appeal

• Prestige appeal ( Merc , BMW )

Board QUESTION BANK 2007 - 2013

1. ( Outline three print or TV ads for consumer products which have used one of
each ‘An expert ‘ ‘The common Man’ ‘An executive /employee ,
spokesperson , as a reference group appeal in the advertisement . Explain
why? OCT 2007)

2. What are the different kinds of Celebrity and Other Reference Group
Appeals? APRIL 2009

3. Illustrate how you would use the common man appeal to advertise a sport
shoe in a print advertisement . April 2009
4. Types of Appeals – Oct 2009 SHORT NOTE

5. Cite three examples of existing ads using three different types of appeals and
justify them – OCT 2010

6. Describe one example each of advertisement in a single product class where

each of the following appeals were used . ( OCT 2011

7. Fear appeal 2) Sex appeal

8. Appeals ( NOV 2013)