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Celebrity endorsement of green issues: does it work?

  • by JW

“Famous people are often lauded for using their public image to raise awareness of environmental issues and causes.”

“Would it help East Devon’s efforts to promote green issues and to get people involved if local celebrities also got involved?”

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Looking back at Earth Day, do we need celebrities to promote green issues?

There have been several pieces in the media highlighting what celebs have been doing these last 24 hours:

Eddie Vedder interviews International Space Station crew | faroutmagazine.co.uk

Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez among celebrities to pay tribute to Earth Day 2022 | Daily Mail Online

This week we celebrated Earth Day | dezeen.com

Kevin Bacon shares incredible throwback with wife Kyra Sedgwick to celebrate Earth Day | HELLO!

On Earth Day, Celebrities From Leonardo DiCaprio To Rosario Dawson Urge Climate Action – uInterview

Fox News shows a little scepticism:

Celebrities, politicians who love to lecture America on the environment but rarely practice what they preach | Fox News

And perhaps they are right to be sceptical:

Celebrity endorsements only influence 4% of shoppers, survey says | The Independent

When in 2020 Prince William teamed up with conservationist David Attenborough to launch the Earthshot Prize, Deutsche Welle looked at how famous people are often lauded for using their public image to raise awareness of environmental issues and causes – and asked if these campaigns make any difference:

A Conversation with Sir David Attenborough and HRH The Duk… | Flickr

Awareness is not enough
Many campaigns that feature celebrities focus on raising awareness rather than on concrete action — which, for researcher Olmedo, raises a further problem in identifying effectiveness. “Reach should never be a success outcome,” she says. “Many campaigns say they reached a certain number of people on social media. But there has been a lot of research that shows that simply giving people information does not mean they are actually going to remember it or act upon it.”
But anecdotal evidence from campaigns may suggest reach can make an active difference. “Our VIP video is by far the most watched on our social media channels,” McCormack from German Zero says. “People respond to it very directly. A lot of volunteers of all ages heard about us through that video.”
However, some marketing studies have shown that celebrity endorsement of a cause or product can distract from the issue itself, as people only remember the person, not the content of what they were saying…

Celebrity endorsement of environmental causes: Does it work? | Environment | All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 19.10.2020

Nevertheless, would it help East Devon’s efforts to promote green issues and to get people involved if local celebrities also got involved?

Devon celebrities: 17 famous figures from the county | Great British Life

50 celebrities from Devon – from film stars to musicians – Devon Live