1. Endorsements
When to Avoid/Use Celebrities
Prepared by J. Scott Armstrong (details on him at jscottarmstrong.com).
Please inform Scott about errors and also make suggestions (armstrong@wharton.upenn.edu)
Scott has taken these slides from adprin.com, a site that he founded. That site contains interactive versions of these
slides, along with linked references, videos, and webcasts, all in PPT and PPTX format that you can download.

2. Celebrities
When should you avoid celebrities?
Go to the next slide for the answer.
Adapted from AdPrin.com 2

3. When an ad contains strong arguments, avoid the use of
celebrities(6.6.1)
Gallup and Robinson non-experimental studies of TV
commercials showed that customers understood:
2.4 selling points for ads with no celebrities
1.4 points for ads with celebrities.
Analyses of non-experimental data on TV commercials
found that those with celebrities had lower persuasion
scores.
Consider celebrity endorsements for gaining attention.
But calculate the projected Return-on Investment – and
include an escape clause.

4. Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself,
and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are
working with someone else, share your application plan and the
results of your application.
• For example, examine celebrity endorsements for your firm to
see if you have strong arguments.
Adapted from AdPrin.com