Celebrity endorsement advertising has been recognized as a “ubiquitous feature of modern marketing” (McCracken 1989; Keller 2008). Furthermore, celebrity endorsement activity has increased in recent years (Biswas, Hussain & O'Donnell 2009). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay From 1984 to 1999, an eleven-fold increase in sponsorship spending was reported, representing $23.16 billion or 7.0% of the worldwide advertising budget ( Meenaghen 2001; Papa, Voges & Brown 2009). Some estimates suggest that a quarter of all commercials shown in the United States include celebrity endorsers (Till & Shimp 1998). Athletes, both amateur and professional, but also musicians, television and film stars, and even animated characters, such as Mickey Mouse, usually promote and raise awareness of products and services through sponsorship campaigns. The main goal of using celebrities in advertising is to generate publicity and attention to the brand (Biswas, Hussain & O'Donnell 2009), as well as influence consumers' perception of the brand resulting from their knowledge of the celebrity (Keller 2008). This requires that the celebrity must be well known to have the desired effect (Keller 2008). Kaikati (1987) expressed five benefits of employing celebrities to endorse products: attracting attention, crisis management, brand repositioning, global marketing and increased sales. Biswas et al. (2009) found that reasons for remembering celebrities included popularity, status symbol, attractiveness and glamour, likeability, and recall value or familiarity of celebrities. The increased awareness and attention resulting from celebrity advertising is believed to combat the challenge of advertising clutter and bring instant credibility and brand recall to consumers. Pope, Voges, and Brown (2009) found that sponsorship positively influences an individual's perception of a brand's quality and image. Products that may be lower quality than the competition or have fewer features can benefit from using a high-profile celebrity to introduce them to consumers. When selecting spokespersons you need to consider the target market of your campaigns and whether a celebrity is the best way to reach them. Biswas et al. (2009) found that people between the ages of 18 and 25 have the greatest ability to recall brands following celebrity advertising compared to older age groups. The main reason for this result is that the older age group looks for more product information in advertisements, while celebrity campaigns focus on consumer feelings and perception. Furthermore, the placement of celebrity ads on sites like youtube.com or metacafe .com, where the majority of viewers are relatively younger, information-rich, and Internet-savvy, suggests that celebrity-based ads are no longer limited to traditional rural media (Biswas et al. 2009). This helps overcome the problem that younger age groups typically change channels during television commercials or use disruptive technologies such as TiVo and DVR to bypass commercials (Biswas et al. 2009). Different cultures react differently to the use of celebrity spokespersons. Developing economies, such as India's, have very different cultural dimensions, as highlighted by Hofstede (1997). Using Hofstede's framework, Biswas et al. (2009) suggest.