Are Celebrity Endorsements Effective?

With the Olympics starting today in Sochi, it made me think of how many of the athletes will endorse products after they win.

Are these ads that feature the athletes and other celebrities effective and worth the money that companies pour into them?

There are many celebrity endorsements these days, click here to see a list.

Shaun White is one of these athletes that has endorsed many
products, since 2010. Including Oakley and American Express. And we can't forget about his Stride Gum! You can see more Olympic Athletes and what they have sponsored here.


Some experts believe that having a celebrity endorse a product will help in the short run, but in the long run will make no difference. They think that it is a waste of money because the celebrities will require first class treatment and a large sum of money. There is also the risk that after you shoot this multi-million dollar ad, controversy will exist. The celebrity may get into PR trouble or contradict themselves.

Companies may have wasted that money and have to pull the ads they spent so much time on.  Kevin Harrington, talks about Pepsi paying 50 million dollars for Beyoncé to endorse drinking Pepsi, but the controversy that arose when she joined Michelle Obama's Let's Move Campaign.

The celebrity endorsement is going to raise awareness at first, but then will people even remember
which celebrity endorsed the product or which product they had been associated with?

A study performed by WPP agency Mediaedge:cia (MEC), was noted in this article. They "found that 35% of consumers believe celebrity endorsements improve a brand's awareness, help define its personality, and generate interest. Yet, 53% of respondents said they have problems remembering which celebrity is endorsing which product."

30% of young people would try a product if it was endorsed by their idol, with the number being substantially lower for adults and older people.

What does this mean?

Will companies continue to use celebrities in their ads for immediate returns?

Or does the celebrity need to be the product for it to be effective. Meaning everything the product represents, so does that celebrity.

It will be interesting to see what Olympic athletes win and get these endorsements after the Olympics.
Go Team USA!