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The use of celebrities, and particularly athletes, to influence consumers and sell products is not a new practice, but one that is gaining considerable steam in the sports marketplace. However, many academics and practitioners have long questioned the means by which celebrity endorsement is measured and evaluated. Through the use of validated surveys among US students and the inauguration of the Celebrity-Hero Matrix (CHM), some of their questions are answered. Being labelled a 'heroic' athlete does, it seems, have tremendous power for marketers, and provides endorsement clout for the athlete.

The purpose of this paper is to perform an integrative analysis, mapping the main areas of the celebrity endorsement literature of the last 20 years, offering a taxonomy of subject subareas and a research agenda for the topic.

The research was divided into two stages: the first was a systematic review of literature, and the second consisted on complementary information based on the generation and analysis of the maps elaborated by the VOSviewer software based on the data collected. The searches for the data occurred between the months of January and March of 2017.

The paper provides a decentralization framework in terms of authors regarding the celebrity endorsement. The country with the largest number of research works in the area is the USA; also, the paper reveals the most cited document, also the main journals about the theme, the main keywords, the main authors and their discussions. Thereafter, the paper presents tables containing the main author’s and respective theme inside celebrity endorsement.

One possible limitation of the research is that it was performed only in the Scopus database, and it may be suggested as future searches that other databases are included as well.

The results of this paper can serve as a facilitating guide for researchers and for managers that want to know more about the topic.

A categorization table was proposed containing the subthemes of celebrity endorsement that were discussed in the last 20 years and a list of their respective authors, including the following subjects: cultural comparison, congruence, adverse effects, efficacy and intention to purchase, marketing destinations, social media, models and reviews, multiple endorsements, social policy, values of brand/economic.

The article aims to illuminate this issue by applying the cultural capital theory to the processes of health production and distribution. It questions social marketing’s role in addressing cultural resources as barriers to and/or facilitators of behavioural change. Social marketing is often criticized for its limited ability to enhance social goals and for aiding the reproduction of social inequalities.

The theoretical framework of this conceptual paper is based on the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of human capital forms. It establishes an association between cultural capital and social marketing in solving social problems.

All social marketing interventions affect cultural resources that people might use in the field of health. The findings endorse the utilization of cultural capital as a strategic analytical tool in social marketing.

The article demonstrates how Bourdieu’s capital theory can be applied to help social marketers make important strategic decisions. In particular, it argues that using specific notions of embodied cultural capital and objectified cultural capital can inform decisions on adopting a downstream, midstream or upstream approach.

A relatively neglected concept in the social marketing field is introduced: cultural capital. It aims to contribute to the theoretical debate with regard to strategic social marketing orientations.

One potential source of pioneer brand advantage is retail buyers’ preference for pioneer brands. A model of pioneer brand advantage with retailers developed in the USA was tested in Japan, as a replication and cross‐cultural extension. This provides the first empirical study of Japanese retail buyer beliefs, attitude, and behavior toward new offerings, and the first direct statistical comparison of US and Japanese retail buying behavior in the marketing literature. Similarities and differences in pioneer brand advantage with retailers between Japan and the USA are discussed. Results from a survey of buyers from Japan’s largest supermarket chains suggest that pioneer brand advantage is about as strong for them as for their US counterparts, though for somewhat different reasons. The survey’s results were analyzed in two ways (through a multi‐attribute attitude model and a PLS causal model), with results that complement and corroborate one another. Data were standardized to deal with potential extreme response style bias.

An interesting issue little explored in the celebrity endorsement literature is whether or not the activities of a celebrity endorser affect company performance. We examine the impact of Tiger Woods’s tournament performance on the endorsing firm’s value subsequent to the contract signing. We do not find a relationship between Tiger’ss tournament placement and the excess returns of Fortune Brands (parent of Titleist). This is likely due to Titleist being a very small contributor to the total market value of Fortune Brands. We also fail to find a significant relationship for American Express suggesting the market does not view a golfer endorsing financial services as credible. We do, however, find a positive and significant impact of Tiger’s performance on Nike’s excess returns suggesting that the market values the additional publicity that Nike receives when Tiger is in contention to win.

Reports on a study designed to analyse the effectiveness of real and created spokespersons in advertisements. Compares male and female spokespersons′ effectiveness by audience gender. Concludes that celebrities can be used to gain attention and maintain sales, while created spokespersons′ effectiveness is in establishing a lifelong link with the product.

Considers the results of recent studies of celebrity endorsers in advertisements. Analyses the results of a particular study evaluating three product categories: bath towels, blue jeans, and VCRs; two endorsers: Madonna and Christie Brinkley; and the product when advertised by each celebrity. Concludes that the endorser tends to pass their own image onto the product, particularly if the product has an undefined image, so it is important that the endorser′s image is consistent with the desired product image.

Examines the use of celebrity endorsement in advertising. Reviews the results of a recent study looking at the effect of a celebrity′s attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise on product purchase intentions, and of one examining the relevance of physical attractiveness and other symbolic attributes of the endorser in relation to product meaning. Considers implications for marketing managers and concludes that further research is necessary.