Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate consumer attitudes towards brands when exposed to celebrity endorsements in cases where the personality of the celebrity does not match the personality of the brand (inconsistent). Theories used in this research included: Cognitive Dissonance Theory, how consumers are expected to react when receiving information that presents inconsistency; and Schema Theory, how information is stored in the form of schemas. A measure consisting of attractiveness, credibility, purchase intention and likeability was created based on studies by Spear and Singh (2004) and Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta (2010) in order to evaluate consumer attitudes. A survey was given to 200 respondents to evaluate their attitude toward ten advertisements with celebrity endorsements. Five of the ads were consistent between celebrity and personality of the brand and five were inconsistent. Results showed that people had a significantly more positive attitude toward consistent ads compared to inconsistent ads.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Endorsements in advertising--Research; Consumer behavior--Research; Branding (Marketing)--Psychological aspects; Cognitive dissonance

Publication Date

12-7-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Communication and Media Technologies (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Communication (CLA)

Advisor

Patrick Scanlon

Advisor/Committee Member

Kelly Norris Martin

Advisor/Committee Member

Juilee Decker

Comments

Physical copy available from RIT's Wallace Library at HF5822 .V47 2015

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

COMMTCH-MS

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