Sports celebrity media reputation strengthens brand favorability - taking Adidas as an example

Based on the "meaning transfer model", this study explores the influence mechanism of media reputation of sports celebrities on brand favourability. Taking the cooperation between Adidas and the track and field athlete Yanni Wu as a case study, we collected 100 valid samples through questionnaire survey method, and verified the hypotheses with reliability analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The study found that: positive media reputation of sports stars is significantly positively correlated with brand favourability, the frequency of social media interaction has a moderating effect on the improvement of favourability, and the risk avoidance strategy of negative events needs to be combined with brand consistency to respond in time. This study complements the theoretical dimension of emotion-driven sports marketing, and provides a practical framework of "image fit - interaction empowerment - risk management" for brands to choose sports celebrities for endorsement.