Three-quarters of Americans (74%) say when a celebrity endorser gets involved in a scandal, how they feel about the brands that the celebrity endorses is not affected, according to a new Adweek Media/Harris Poll.

Just over one in five surveyed consumers (22%), however, say they feel worse about the endorsed brands, though 5% say they feel better about them.

Age Differences

Age is a factor in consumers' attitudes toward endorsed brands after a scandal:

  • 81% of Americans age 55+ say a scandal has no impact on how they feel about the brand, as do 77% of those age 35-44.
  • 28% of those age 45-54 say they feel worse about the brand.
  • 11% of consumers age 18-34 say they feel better about the brand after a celebrity gets involved in a scandal.

Overall, gender plays less of a role than age in attitude toward endorsed brands after a celebrity scandal.


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Regional Differences

Consumers in the Midwest are most likely to have a negative attitude toward brands after a celebrity scandal: 26% of Midwesterners say they would feel worse about a brand after a scandal, whereas just 19% of Easterners say so.

About the data: Findings are from the Adweek Media/Harris Poll., for which Harris Interactive surveyed 2,140 US adults from April 23 to 27, 2010.

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Consumers OK With Scandalized Celebs' Endorsing Brands

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