Attention Please!

Celebrities 
& Advertising

It seems as though a celebrity appears in almost every ad these days, regardless of whether it is in a magazine, on a billboard, or on a commercial on television. We are not even the least bit surprised anymore when viewing said advertisements.

But why is it that nearly every company wants to showcase a celebrity or multiple celebrities in the advertising campaigns for   their products?

The obvious answer is that people are extremely interested in celebrities. In today’s society, celebrities have reached elevated statuses, to the point of where some are even considered godly. “Average” people, those who are not famous, practically worship celebrities, and many wishes with every fiber of their being to be just like them or even just to meet or come in contact with one of them. Scientific evidence has proved that this has neurological effects on consumers, which results in viewers of the ads going out and buying the products used by their favorite celebrities. This strategy literally messes with our minds and gets inside our heads. It causes us to think, “Well if name of celebrity says this product is good and works, then it must be true.”

In my opinion, the amount of attention celebrities receive has become a bit out of hand and a tad ridiculous. But at the same time, I fall victim to companies’ schemes because I cannot help but be intrigued by celebrities as well. Sometimes, it feels like I cannot resist watching and become incapable of looking away when they pop up on my television or computer screen. This is exactly what every company is trying to accomplish.

Therefore, the reason that featuring celebrities in advertising is such an effective technique is because overall the goal of all advertising is to capture the audience’s attention and attract the viewers’ gazes. Results of scientific studies show that the first aspect of advertisements that viewers respond to is the face of another human being. By making celebrities the human beings featured in their ads, the companies ensure that viewers will certainly recognize these faces more easily and with little effort. References:

[1] M. Cerf, E. Paxon Frady and C. Koch. Faces and text attract gaze independent of the tast: Experimental data and computer model. Journal of Vision (2009).

[2] C. Koch. The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach. Roberts & Company Publishers (2004).