Immediate and delayed advertising effects of celebrity endorsers’ attractiveness and expertise

Previous research on advertising effectiveness of celebrity endorsers has applied immediate measures only and neglected delayed effects, although the literature suggests that endorser traits, such as attractiveness or expertise, trigger either cognitive or affective processes that do not necessarily occur immediately and simultaneously. In order to fill this research gap, this study applies the affective-cognitive framework and investigates immediate versus delayed effects of celebrity endorsers’ attractiveness and expertise on attitude towards brands (as related to transformational products). The results show that attractiveness is the dominant driver in the immediate condition, whereas in the delayed condition a high expertise exerts its influence. High expertise is particularly effective when the celebrity endorser is highly attractive, whereas the impact of less attractive celebrity endorsers with low expertise can even worsen over time.