Extant research has expansively studied the effect of celebrity endorsements on consumer choice and behavior (Amos, Holmes, and Strutton, 2008) and found celebrities to positively influence the endorsed brands. According to prior literature, three fundamental ties between endorser, consumer and product influence the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, namely the endorser-product match-up, the consumer’s identification with the endorser and the consumer’s product category involvement. So far, these have been investigated predominantly in a positive endorser information context (Erdogan, 1999). However, the effect that negative information about the endorser hitting the spotlight has on the brand’s future and the role that these ties play in this context remain widely unknown. This research fills the gap by exploring the effect of negative information about an endorser on consumers’ attitude towards the ad, brand attitude, behavioral intentions and word of mouth. By further integrating the meaning transfer model, social influence theory, the match-up hypothesis and product-category involvement, this research offers deeper insights into the three essential ties between endorser, consumer and product. In an extensive main experiment, with two brands - Nike and Adidas - and 7 celebrity endorser the author finds that a strong fit between celebrity and product, high product-category involvement and high identification of consumer with the celebrity offer beneficial effects for consumer perceptions and intentions. However, when an endorser scandal becomes public, negated meanings get transferred to the brand, leading to less favorable attitudes towards the ad, brand attitudes, behavioral intentions and willingness to recommend the brand. This phenomenon is stronger in case of attitude towards the ad for high product involvement and low identification with the celebrity. Furthermore, a low identification with the celebrity also moderates a higher decrease in willingness to recommend the product in case of celebrity negative information. Thus, marketing managers should keep an eye especially on highly involved and low identified consumers in case of endorser scandals, as this immoral behavior can damage the endorsed brand image and hurt earlier ad expenditures.

• Jovica Breberina(Institute for Market-based Management, LMU)