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A variety and range of imaginary social relationships with celebrities appearing in television commercials were explored using ethnographic interviews and self‐reflective reports of 60 informants. Interpretation of the descriptions suggests that viewers’ responses to celebrity appearances in television commercials go beyond emulation toward pseudo‐social interactions. These interactions can provide great meaning to a viewer involved in an imaginary social relationship with a celebrity appearing in a commercial. This research demonstrates that even when viewers are skeptical of the advertisement, they may reach beyond the intended message where the confluence of information, gossip, and prior exposure to the celebrity converge. This activity becomes part of the individual's social construction of reality.
Neil Alperstein (Tue,) studied this question.