Commodification of celebrity endorsements to humanitarian sentimentsa case study of Africa

Abstract

The relationship between humanitarian campaigns and celebrity industry is complex and debatable. The pervasiveness of celebrity led campaigns has recently become a prominent issue in the non-profit sector. The current study is concerned with the mediation of distant Others who are suffering in Africa, and how Western celebrity endorsement through humanitarian sentiments influences this mediation experience. The study relies on a mixed method approach of two qualitative methods (content analysis and in-depth interviews) and one quantitative method (online questionnaire). Appraisal framework has been used in the current dissertation to analyze the verbal/visual resources of the feature humanitarian articles of the 15 selected celebrities. In this respect, a total of 51 headlines, 28 leads and body paragraphs and 30 images have been analyzed. Besides, an online questionnaire has been disseminated among (n=102) respondents to examine the perception of Western celebrities’ endorsement, humanitarian sentiments and the suffering Others. The In-depth interviews confirmed the same research outcomes from the perspective of academics and professionals in the nongovernmental sector (n=4). The analysis uncovers how the articles depict the efforts of the Western celebrities along with shaping the image of the sufferers. It is found that the celebrities are evaluated positively, while the sufferers and Africa are evaluated negatively on the verbal and visual levels.