Celebrity Endorsements that Matter

In a recent episode of Entertainment Tonight, Michael J. Fox was spotlighted as a sufferer of Parkinson’s disease. As Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disorder that is connected to the insufficient formation of dopamine in the brain, it is widely thought that stem cell research may be able to treat and retroact the effects of the disease. As embryonic stem cell research is an issue of growing controversy in the United States, Michael J. Fox is one celebrity who has taken a very personal stance on pushing for greater understanding and acceptance of this topic. The article available on Yahoo Entertainment at http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20061024/116174406000.html

Discusses the reason Fox is such a great choice for political ads that address this issue.

"The reason that he's powerful is that he's comparatively young," says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director for the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. "As a result, a lot of people in that age range can look at him and say, `If that can happen to him, it can happen to me.' This is a great example of someone who has a stake in the political issue at hand and engages in the issue to the point of being in political ads which are available for viewing at YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=McCaskill+ad&search=Search.

Although the messages at hand are delivered in an advertisement, this was part of a strategic communication plane involving television as a medium of communication which was very effective in reaching target audiences. Unlike some political ads that reach no one or the failed message of Sean Penn’s fake support of Hurricane Katrina victims in order to get publicity, this celebrity endorsement was successful in delivering the key message and reaching the target voting population.