The impact of corporate credibility and celebrity credibility on consumer reaction to advertisements and brands

Advertisers frequently use endorsers or spokespersons as credible sources t o influence consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions. Corporate credibi lity-the reputation of a company for honesty and expertise-is another type of source credibility that can influence consumer reactions to ads and shap e brand attitudes. The present study assessed the impact of endorser and co rporate credibility on attitude-toward-the-ad, attitude-toward-the-brand, a nd purchase intentions. We surveyed 152 adult consumers who viewed a fictit ious ad for Mobil Oil company. They rated the credibility of the ad's endor ser, the credibility of the company, and attitude-toward-the-ad, attitude-t oward-the-brand, and purchase intentions. Path analysis confirmed that endo rser credibility had its strongest impact on Aad while corporate credibilit y had its strongest impact on AB. The findings suggest that corporate credi bility plays an important role in consumers' reactions to advertisements an d brands, independent of the equally important role of endorser credibility .