Introduction: the 'Era of Consent'

In his book, Celebrity Sells, Hamish Pringle discusses the ‘era of consent’. What does this mean? Businesses are finding that their audiences have more control over the messages they receive from businesses and corporations through ads and marketing. This is because of either ‘personal or technological intervention’. Audiences today are more sophisticated and can filter or ignore the messages they receive through ads and marketing. In addition, technology such as TiVo and Sky Plus make it easier to do so-one can just press fast forward and not have to watch adverts of any sort. The only brand that can survive this ‘era of consent’ and get people to pay attention to what they have to say are the most desirable brands. This is where celebrities come in, ‘in establishing the necessary customer trust and credibility it seems likely that celebrities, who themselves have a high standing in the public eye, could be one of the more powerful tools for brands in gaining the necessary customer permission’.
Celebrities are often used in ad and marketing campaigns, they endorse and promote products ranging from trainers to perfumes. In many cases they have proved instrumental in selling products. But does celebrity endorsement really work? Is it really useful for big businesses in the long run? What are some of the pros and cons of celebrity endorsements? These are some of the questions I will discuss in this blog in the next weeks.