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Celebrity endorsements are a time-tested tactic, but marketers have added a twist: endorsements featuring not actors as themselves but as the characters they play in film or television. In two experiments, the authors investigate these "character endorsements." Study 1 establishes that a construct that is new to endorsement research, certainty of meaning, helps to advance understanding of how character endorsements operate. Study 2 shows that character endorsers buffer a paired brand against scandal. The authors conclude by discussing theoretical and managerial issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four experiments investigate consumers' moral judgments of a firm's brand reputation when given information about an employee's non-workplace transgression. To the extent that the employee is perceived to have power in the firm (i.e., control over resources and decisions), the employee's offensive action damages the firm's reputation and decreases consumers' purchase intentions. These effects occur even though the action occurs in the employee's private life and is unrelated to product quality. The results replicate for three types of products and three types of offenses. The employee's perceived power in the firm provides the most consistent explanation of customers' negative responses and is a better predictor than the alternative explanations tested (e.g., perceived status). Results also show that after an offense comes to light, firm reactions that decrease or eliminate the employee's power in the organization-such as reducing decision-making responsibilities or firing the employee-can help restore the firm's reputation., Author(s): Allison R. Johnson [sup.1] , Valerie S. Folkes [sup.2] , Juan Wang [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 1936 8884, grid.39381.30, Ivey Business School, Western University, , 1255 Western [...]

Although we find Gangestad & Simpson's argument intriguing, we question some of its underlying assumptions, including: (1) that fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is consistently heritable; (2) that symmetry is driving the effects; (3) that use of parametric tests with FA is appropriate; and (4) that a short-term mating strategy produces more offspring than a long-term strategy.