Big Star Undercover: The Eclipsing Effect of Celebrity Endorsers’ Faces on Consumer’s Brand Recall
(A2019-5777)

AUTHORS

Yongdan LIU, University of Macau; Ting Chi LIU, University of Macau, Faculty of Business Administration; Andrea Pérez, University of Cantabria

KEYWORDS

celebrity endorsement; brand recall; face perception

ABSTRACT

Evidence from neuroscience and psychology suggests that faces are supernormal stimuli that attract instant automatic attention. While numerous studies have focused on the positive effects of using celebrities’ faces in advertising, little is known regarding whether such could negatively impact exposure of the brand. The present research proposes that, as compared with a blurred or partially-covered face, a clear celebrity endorser’s face will impair consumers’ brand recall. Focusing on celebrities’ faces as the visual attention magnet, the present study demonstrates that a clear celebrity endorser’s face adversely affects the level of consumer engagement with brand name. Results from two experiments and one eye-tracking experiment offer empirical support for this hypothesis. These findings suggest that the inclusion of a celebrity’s face is a double-edged sword in advertisement design and should be done with caution.