The Impact of Celebrity Endorsement in Advertising

In an information overloaded society, one of the biggest challenges of advertising is to catch the attention of the consumers. Celebrity endorsement is one of the ways by which the attention of the consumer is drawn. Most of the consumers are fascinated by the public behaviour and the way of being of celebrities and therefore, they are attentive to their behaviour. Both the practical experience and also researches in the field of consumer behaviour show us that celebrity endorsement in advertising can increase the attention of the consumer, it can influence their attitude towards the advertised product and therefore determine the consumers’ purchase intention. This increased attention towards the celebrity in advertising, may also have a negative effect, in the sense that the consumers pay too much attention to the celebrity and neglect hereby the advertised product. In our article we present the results of an eye-tracking experiment about the attention of the consumers to different elements in an advertising with endorsed celebrities. The results of our research show that the female film industry celebrity gains most the attention of the consumers. She is preferred in comparison to the male sports celebrity and to the advertised product. Both celebrities gains more the attention of the consumers in opposition to the advertised product hold by them.