CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT IN CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING IN GHANA

ABSTRACT The study investigated factors contributing to the usage of celebrities in Ghanaian contemporary advertising. It has been in public perception that advertisers are recognized as major contributors of lies or deception in marketing through the use of celebrities (illustrations and photographs). The study was rooted in both the qualitative and quantitative approaches to seek answers to solve the research problems. The researcher used qualitative approaches to gain in-depth knowledge and principles of involving celebrities in Ghanaian contemporary advertising from selected organizations within advertising industry. The researcher further used quantitative deigns to get responses from large number of consumers segmented within Cape Coast Metropolis. The outcome of the research pointed to a massive popularity in the use of celebrities in the contemporary Ghanaian advertising culture. The reasons for celebrity endorsement in advertising was largely due to their influences on consumers that emanate from the various roles they play in the society and the respect and admiration those roles exude. The study also revealed that there are varied contractual agreements between celebrities, advertisers and the Food and Drugs Authority that are supposed to regulate celebrity endorsement in advertising. It was therefore recommended that celebrities, besides their adherence to rules and regulations governing advertising, should be well vest in Ghanaian culture and values. The study established the need for celebrities to ensure, for instance, that only true messages of a products or service are always conveyed to their targeted audience. There is also the need for permanents by-laws established and regulated by Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG).