Abstract

The emergence of a new stage of commercial communication ignited by competition has been largely responsible for the adoption of celebrity endorsement strategies in advertising campaigns by most firms. This study examined the involvement and attitude of brand managers in celebrity endorser’s selection for advertising campaigns in Lagos, Nigeria.  Anchored on the Source Credibility theory, the study used qualitative research methods like in-depth interview and focus group discussion to explore the degree of involvement of the brand managers in the selection of a celebrity endorser. The study revealed that brand managers adopt the celebrity endorsement strategy, because comparably, it brings about more media exposure for the brand. Also, the study revealed that the selection of celebrities is largely based on feeling and intuition rather than on a systematic procedure. The study recommends the institution of a systematic procedure to ascertain the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement especially in terms of investment returns and the adoption of steps that will check waste in terms of time and resources that have characterized most celebrity induced advertising campaigns.

Key Words: Celebrity, Advertising, Consumer, Brand, Celebrity Endorsement

*Hassan Husseini Shaibu is of the Department of Mass communication, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos

^AMCRON Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 10, No. 2, October 2018:   26 – 37