Celebrity Endorsement—The North–South Divide

Abstract

Celebrity endorsement is an age-old concept and several studies have attempted to bring out an array of perspectives about celebrity endorsement. An umpteen number of studies supported the huge money spent on celebrity endorsers. It is proved that a celebrity endorser has the power to influence the opinions, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour of the viewers. However, in the Indian context, in spite of huge industry presence, very limited effort had been made in the past to understand celebrity endorsements. This article aims to bring out the perceived differences in the endorser’s credibility between South and North Indian film stars. The study results suggest that there are perceived differences among credibility dimensions between the film stars, with particular importance attached to the attractiveness and expertise dimensions. However, the trustworthiness dimension received the highest importance in credibility evaluations.