Some say it started with Lillie Langtree.
The British actress and socialite, known as “The Jersey Lily,” is credited with being the first celebrity to endorse a product when she became the poster girl for Pears Soap in 1882.
In the Beginning…
Others say it goes back to the 1760s, when Josiah Wedgewood, a British entrepreneur, created a tea set for Queen Charlotte, which people started calling “Queensware.”
“The idea of celebrity endorsements, of course, goes back forever,” said Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. “We probably had a cro-magnon endorsing certain saber tooth tigers over other ones.”
Athletes, actors and celebrities have taken their turn pushing some product or service and, by some estimates, 14% to 19% of advertisements aired in the U.S. featured celebrities that endorsed products and brands.
A Harvard Business School study found that celebrity endorsement increases a company’s sales an average of 4% relative to its competition, and also increases a company’s stock value by 0.25%.
In the early 1900’s sports stars like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Cy Young were used to endorse tobacco companies. Mark Twain endorsed fountain pens, his own co-brand of cigars, clothing and Old Crow Whiskey, among other products.
The celebrity endorsement train has continued rolling right up to the Crypto Era, with the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Jamie Fox, Paris Hilton, Larry David and Matt Damon, all singing the praises of digital…
