Celebrity Brand Extensions: Go or No Go?

Celebrities have been examined excessively as endorsers of brands for the last few decades due to their effectiveness in brand communications and a major contribution to the image of the brands. However, there is a research gap regarding studies on celebrities being brands themselves. Moreover, while there are numerous academic studies on brand extensions pertaining to inanimate brands, almost none are on celebrity brand extensions although celebrity brand extensions are quite common in practice. This study tries to fill this gap by examining the feedback effects of celebrity brand extensions on attitudes toward the celebrity. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine the effects of different authenticity levels of celebrities and the different levels of congruency between the celebrity and the extension on attitudes toward the celebrities and purchase intention of the brand extensions. A between-subjects factorial experimental design was used: 3 (authenticity: High/Moderate/Low) x 2 (congruency: High/Low). Data were collected through a survey (n = 438) using convenience sampling. Results show that there is a significant deterioration in post-extension attitudes towards the celebrity. Additionally, it was determined that as the authenticity level of the celebrity increases and the congruency between the extension and the celebrity increases, the post-extension attitudes toward the celebrity, the extension, and purchase intention also increase.