Celebrity Food/Drink Endorsing: An Ethical Perspective
Is Money More Important to Celebrities Hawking Unhealthy Products Than the Health of Their Fans?
Over the years, marketers have used multiple gimmicks and strategies to entice consumers to buy their products, but one method that always shines brightly to these executives is the use of celebrity endorsers. Marketers use celebrity endorsers to build a positive image of the brand, using the power and reputation of the celebrity to influence consumers.
About 16 percent of all advertising globally uses celebrities, but certain events such as the Super Bowl have a much higher use of celebrities… because celebrities bring attention and interest and thus they attract more attention to the advertising.
The use of celebrities has been part of marketing strategies for decades, but really took off in the U.S. in the 1980s, partly due to the proliferation of television channels that made it harder to reach a larger audience (back when there were only about six channels).
Celebrities and stars always bring attention, but now with the widespread use of social media, there are also “social media celebrities” that bring thousands and thousands of fans into the equation.
Typically, when discussing celebrity endorsers, the big ethical question was one of whether the celebrity actually used the product or service they were endorsing.
Today, the bigger ethical issue is whether the celebrity endorser should use their celebrity status to endorse products of questionable safety or value… it puts the ethical burden on the celebrity, begging the question: Is money is more important to them than the health of their fans?
For example, should an elite athlete be hawking fast food, or worse, a sugary or diet beverage?
There is no question that the massive increase in ultra-processed foods since the 1980s, resulting in the huge increase in consumption of these food-like products since that time, has led to an unprecedented worldwide health crisis – a health crisis that is killing people prematurely, spiking many chronic health conditions that are preventable with proper nutrition (which is lacking in most ultra-processed foods).
If the concept of ultra-processed foods and their dangers is new to you, I suggest reading my article, Are Ultra-Processed Foods Killing You?
If your favorite movie star, singer, or athlete is selling unsafe, unhealthy ultra-processed junk foods, please do NOT buy the endorsed products. Ideally, comment on their posts and educate them on the dangers of endorsing products that are toxic, dangerous, and slowly killing us.
It’s my personal and professional belief that celebrities have an ethical obligation not to greedily obtain as much money as possible while they have the fame, but to only endorse safe and healthy products that are beneficial to their fans.
