Foreign versus local non-celebrity endorser effects in emerging economies : the role of ideal identity salience

Abstract

Non-celebrity endorsers are widely used in advertising to display similarity or offer affective appeals to an audience. In emerging economies, however, a foreign non-celebrity endorser is typically utilized for status products to arouse symbolic meanings such as social distinctions and modernity, whereas a local non-celebrity is often used for non-status products because s/he could inspire a feeling of similarity in consumers’ minds and thus favorably influence consumers’ attitudes. This study investigates the mediating mechanism of consumers’ exposure to ads endorsed by a foreign versus a local non-celebrity for both a status and a non-status product in emerging economies. Specifically, it compares effects of these four combinations and proposes ideal identity salience as a partial mediator that influences source credibility and consumers’ ad attitudes positively. Experimental results reveal that the interactions of a foreign non-celebrity and a status product and of a local non-celebrity and a non-status product lead to more favorable responses. The mediating role of ideal identity salience and its impact on source credibility and ad attitudes were supported.