Celebrity Marketing Companies today spend millions of dollars on celebrity endorsements, reflecting the fact that celebrity dominates our culture. However, doing so presents not only rewards, but also a variety of risks. This paper explores the use of a sports star such as Real Mardrid's David Beckham and pop star Robbie Williams to illustrate why this is true.

According to an article in strategic marketing, the major benefits of using celebrities for marketing are:

Establishes Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the target audience.

Attracts Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.

Associative Benefit: A celebrity's preference for a brand gives out a persuasive message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also benefit.

Psychographic Connect: Stars are adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalize on...

One reason preventing success may be that the image of the celebrity doesn't match the positioning of the product. For example, the use of a sports or pop star might be more appropriate for a sports car rather than a family car. Further, if the celebrity used represents values that conflict with the brand values and positioning, the advertising will create a conflict in the minds of the target audience who may reject the proposition.
Even if the company does a good job of picking an athlete such as Beckham, his ability to serve as a role model for youth may be damaged if he is later caught engaging in some illegal activity…