Celebrity Advertisement for Indian Rural Buyers: A Myth for Success

Abstract This study analyses the effect of the different dimensions of celebrity endorsement that is trustworthiness, effectiveness, attractiveness and, respect on the buying intentions of the Indian rural buyers for purchasing the handwash products. Several studies elaborate the effect on consumer’s buying intention for various FMCG products. However, there is a paucity of the examining the effect of celebrity on the buying intention of rural buyers especially for a growing Indian rural market. Therefore, study’s aim was to examine the role and influence of a celebrity endorsement on the rural buyers. After concluding from various theories of celebrity endorsement and conducting experimental research with 560 rural respondents and conductive multiple regression analysis, the result exhibits that only three dimension of celebrity that is trustworthiness, effectiveness and attractiveness influenced the buying intention while respect was found insignificant in model. Hence, the study concludes that celebrity as a whole has positive impact on the buying intention of rural buyer.