Abstract
This paper seeks to measure the impact of celebrity endorser attributes on Egyptian private university students’ attitude towards advertisements and whether this attitude will lead to their behavioral intention. Quantitative research techniques were used to test consumer responses to celebrity endorsement of donating money and purchasing of products. Celebrity credibility has the most significant relationship with attitude towards the advertisement, in both the for-profit or not-for-profit sector. Celebrity attractiveness has the least contribution to attitude towards the ad, and is insignificant in the not-for-profit context. Finally, attitude towards the advertisement has a weak relationship with purchase and donation intention. This paper builds on previous work in the field, but proposes a comprehensive model for measuring the effect of celebrity attributes in both for-profit and not-for profit sectors in parallel among private university students in Egypt. The sampling decisions and the use of only an actor as a celebrity are the main limitations of the study. Different sampling methods, a different sample group, and using different types of celebrities are recommended for future studies. This paper gives a comprehensive view of celebrity attribute effects, combining attributes mentioned in previous literature and using the most popular attributes to develop the conceptual framework. This framework is applied to two contexts – not-for-profit and for-profit sectors - indicating a comparison of celebrity advertising in the two sectors. This paper also addresses a less explored region – Egypt, making it useful for future reference when addressing the topic in Egypt and the Middle East.
