Branded food spokescharacters: consumers' contributions to the narrative of commerce
| Date | 30 May 2008 |
| Published date | 30 May 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420810875061 |
| Pages | 143-153 |
| Author | Jordan L. LeBel,Nathalie Cooke |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Branded food spokescharacters: consumers’
contributions to the narrative of commerce
Jordan L. LeBel
School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, and
Nathalie Cooke
Faculty of Arts, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine the nature of consumers’ relationships with branded spokescharacters by drawing upon brand
personality theory and reader-response theory, focusing specifically on food trade characters. We aim to show that the persuasive power of these
characters resides not only in their appearance, but also in the complex narratives consumers project (sometimes unwittingly) onto the spokescharacter.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the results of a survey – blending quantitative and qualitative methodologies – designed to
document consumer perceptions, affective responses and spontaneous associations to different characters (i.e. Aunt Jemima, Robin Hood, Betty
Crocker, Uncle Ben, Poppin’ Fresh the Pillsbury’s Doughboy, and M. Felix and Mr Norton, characters created by a Montreal-based cookie company).
Findings – The results revealed that consumers associate spokescharacters with distinct personality profiles. Also, a connection was found between
spokescharacters and narrative: a relationship where the characters become part of a larger narrative paradigm and more importantly, a relationship
where the consumer is cast in a specific role
vis-a
`-vis
the spokescharacter.
Practical implications – These results should invite brand managers to stay current with the variety of associations that consumers form and how
these associations influence the perception of their brand’s personality. The results further underscore the need to understand the role into which
consumers are cast
vis-a
`-vis
a branded character. Future research should examine cross cultural differences in the perception and narratives of branded
characters, especially since many multinational companies use branded characters across cultural divides.
Originality/value – The paper shows how consumers play an active role in rendering a spokescharacter likeable, credible, and even memorable and
documents the narratives that engage consumers and are both constructed collaboratively with them and propagated by them.
Keywords Brands, Food products, Marketing communications
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Food marketers have long known and exploited the fact that
consumers do not relate to their products simply as bundles of
nutrients. Instead, more often than not, consumers forge
complex and profound emotional relationships with their
favourite food brands. To create these relationships, marketers
never rely on mere assertion of their products’ benefits;
rather, they use elaborate tactics intended to engage
consumers’ emotions. One such tactic, used for more than a
century now, has been the creation and integration in
marketing strategies of branded spokescharacters that are
designed to instil trust and enliven a brand’s personality and
claims.Aspopularandfamiliarasmanyofthese
spokescharacters have become, we know relatively little
about how consumers respond to such persuasive visual
imagery (Scott and Batra, 2003). Our paper explores the
relationships that consumers form with these characters.
While prior inquiries into the effectiveness of
spokescharacters have focused on their physical attributes
(e.g. Callcott and Phillips, 1996), we believe that the appeal of
these characters depends in n o small measure on the
expectations and experiences of consumers, and the
complex narratives that consumers project (sometimes
unwittingly) onto the spokescharacter. The persuasive power
of these characters owes much to the interpretations,
emotions, and choices that they model and elicit from
consumers. In other words, consumers play an active role in
rendering a spokescharacter likeable, credible, and
memorable. In so doing, consumers partake in, and
contribute to, the commercial narratives spokescharacters
are created to embody. These narratives are so engaging that
some characters have entered the shorthand of popular
culture and reached celebrity status in their own right, at
times even becoming objects of desire. Recall, for example,
the episode of the Simpsons where Marge entertained a
personal fantasy about Brawny, the masculine endorser of the
paper towel by the same name[1]. Therefore, it is necessary to
understand how consumers respond and relate to these
spokescharacters. In this article, we mobilize arguments from
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
17/3 (2008) 143–153
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610420810875061]
The authors would like to thank Shelley Boyd and Andrew Clelland for
their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript and graciously
acknowledge the support of an internal Faculty Research Development
Grant from Concordia University and of a team grant from the Social
Sciences and Research Council of Canada.
143
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