Tsiolkas Loaded and Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra

Tsiolkas Loaded and Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra One of the key concerns at the heart of communities is the notion of inclusion and exclusion. Loaded and Antony and Cleopatra Tsiolkas Loaded, and Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra present a primary protagonist, both conduct themselves outside of the social norms expected of them. Ari, the character in Loaded and Antony from Antony and Cleopatra will be compared. A review of their behaviour and response at times of inclusion and exclusion in society. Fukuyama suggests inclusion is, the expectation that arises within a community of regular, honest and cooperative behaviour, based on commonly shared norms (Fukuyama: 25). Ari and Antonys self-expectations differ from community shared norms, which exclude them; though in moments of compliance to the expected behaviours are included to which both authors represent the protagonist in a non-socially-destructive light, compared to following individualistic desire. TsiolkasAri connects his sense of community in the main narrative within the drug scene, clubs, secret homosexuality and music. Tsiolkas introduces a day and night with a 19-year-old Ari as the narrator, and the main protagonist as the reader follows to witness Aris dramaturgy, in his dialogue and behaviour depending on his social interactions. A self-confessed interloper of the social norms expected by the family structure he states, What I am is a runner. Running away from a thousand and one things, that people say you have to be or should want to be. (Tsiolkas:180). The reader can be confused just like the protagonist as Ari enjoys others company and has the brotherly love to be concerned about his Sisters relationship and protects his older Brother from their sometimes cantankerous Mother. Furthermore showing empathy towards his mothers home situation, even enjoying the connection with his mother when drinking, and enjoying Greek music with friends and family. He considers his Th ea (Aunty) during a coffee cup fortune reading, has mindfulness of his friend Joes uncomfortableness of homosexuality and Aris though struggling with Joe growing up he chooses to remain without external comment on these matters. Moreover, the acceptance of Johnno (Yianni) Toula as a valid member of society, to which Ari himself admires Johnnos (Yianni) strength to transform himself into Toula, a brave move within the Greek community and Australia at the time. Although the reader is witness to Aris interactions, internal and external dialogue, comparatively Ari through action versus his inner dialogue towards family and friends presents the desire to be included. The paradox, Ari in Loaded is an agent of his exclusion, throughout Loaded, Tsiolkas failure to adhere to mainstream morality and sexuality meant exclusion from the immigrant communal experience. (Frangos:13) Moreover, portrayed by Aris choice by not conveying his homosexuality his Greekness or Australianisms, to himself nor his parents. Inclusion is only on his terms during a period of emerging into adulthood, understanding his sexual and cultural identity while additionally conducting himself in self-destructive binges of unprotected sex with strangers, drug and alcohol use, as he divides of his home city into negative quarters to which he does not identify as an actual community. Thus, Aris denial of identity in a time of confusion and rebellion as a teen verging on adulthood. He denies himself of social inclusion which notably he replaces with his walkman playing selected soundtracks to survive the everyday. Although at brief moments Ari is compelled to be included within his so cial network of family and friends he shifts from the Greek music, contemporary music and movie loving teen to A dedicated non-conformist, he rejects media culture for its second-rate quality, levelling effect and mass appeal. He also abhors the shackling traditions of his Greek community, which he harshly criticises. (Vernay:44) Tsiolkas, therefore, presents Ari to the reader with secret identity issues and self-abuse during a difficult period of growing up showing how destructive self-exclusion from the community can impact on the personal perception of self. Additionally, though the community is not a utopia when included can bring with it belonging. Shakespeares Antony in Antony and Cleopatra struggles between Roman Stoicism and Egyptian Epicureanism, fuelled by a social and internal conflict between his love for Cleopatra and the expectations from the Roman Empire. Antony, formerly a Roman hero who won his position and admiration of the Roman community as one of the three leaders of Rome. Although, Shakespeare introduces Antony proclaiming his love for Cleopatra denouncing the Roman empire and his role within it. To which the next scene Antony is struggling with this proclamation, fearing the loss of his Roman identity while idle and enjoying the luxury Alexandria has offered him, recounting the glory days of his heroism, as a leader of Rome. Shakespeares use of two ideological and geographical places represents the opposing directions of the individualistic desire of Antony and the conflict between his reason, loyalty, and social expectations of both locations. Antonys duty, desire, socially expected obligations to Rome and hi s need to be indulgent of socially undesirable behaviour cause Antony to question his inclusion in both places but also his Roman-ness, the value he places in honour, as a part of his identity. Antony, nevertheless, participates in a deconstruction of his own not Antony identity at the opening of the play by resisting, ignoring, or attempting to replace his Roman-ness with a reconstruction based on his own desires and plans. (Galante: 9-10) Antony, recalls the joy and admiration of his inclusion in Roman society as a heroic champion of Rome, where is spontaneity and love of indulgence are celebrated and excepted, though frowned upon at times where his desires superseded the role Rome expected him to take. To assist Antony to his former glory, the arranged marriage of Octavians sister Octavia brought temporary peace, although Antony could not honour his marriage and returns to his desires back to Alexandria and Cleopatra; which Octavian himself questions Antonys loyalty: No way excuse his foils when we do bear So great weight in his lightness. If he filled His vacancy with his voluptuousness, Full surfeits and the dryness of his bones Call on him fort. But to confound such time That drums him from his sport and speaks as loud As his own state and ours, tis to be chid As we rate boys who, being mature in knowledge, Pawn their experience to their present pleasure And so rebel to judgment. (1.4.3) Shakespeare) While battling between self-desire and indulgence Antony is defeated by both Cleopatra and Octavian to which Antony is forced to face himself, and the exclusion he had created. The reality of Antonys fickle and unstable identity is an amalgamation of the opposites, he doesnt seem to have control over himself and is tantalised by discourses cruel play, he is not the engineer of his identity, and every contingent event drives in different directions. (Mohamadi:19). In defeat in battle and love, the struggle of only knowing victory as a part of identity excludes Antony more so, complaining to his attendant Eros, he feels himself changing, transitioning from one character to another as he attempts to restore his esteem and former identity to himself. Defeated, with false information on Cleopatras death sent by Cleopatra herself, rather than amending his character and social inclusion which incorporated loss. His choice to attempt to restore his identity as a unvanquished hero is by suici de believing his honour would be restored, and his name and story, therefore, included in Roman society as a legend of Rome. Shakespeares tragedy of the fall of Antony, the hero, shows as Fukuyama suggests inclusion is only successful when a person conducts themselves within the shared norms of society, Antonys waywardness and loss of what included him within Roman society ultimately created a self-righteous suicide. Comparatively, Ari is at a crossroads, at a confusing time while transitioning into adulthood, discovering his sexuality while struggling with cultural identity resulting in his extreme behaviour and exclusion from the community, through drug use and nihilism, though still enjoying his self-selected inclusion. Antony formerly had inclusion which gave him power and options, to which by choice excluded himself to pursue his desires, only to espouse the inclusion of his homeland he once had. Both protagonists have control of their inclusion and exclusion within their community both choosing to exclude themselves due to desire and resulting in both losing their identities, connectedness, and ultimately wanting a place of belonging. Moreover, Loaded ends knowing Ari is out there lost within himself and disconnected; the reader is left hopeful he will find inclusion socially and with self. Unfortunately, Antony story ends with his death; the reader is left to ponder if he lived could he ha ve brought back the heroic Antony from the lessons learnt. Tsiolkas Loaded, and Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra are from different eras and are of a different genre, but both present geographical separation and the impact society has on self and expected norms for inclusion. The Authors allow the reader to witness the tension individualism creates when it excludes those against the social standards of the community, and the joy that acceptance can bring when the personal desire is put aside to embrace community expectations in return. Bibliography: Frangos, Marina. Diaspora is a Greek Word: Words by Greeks on the Diaspora. Irish Journal for Culture, Arts, Literature and Language, Vol. 1: Iss. 1, (2016) Article 3. Fukuyama, F. Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press (1995). 25 Galante, Paul. Yet cannot hold this visible shape: Antonys Roman identity crisis in William Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra . Theses and Dissertations. (2001) Paper 691. Mohamadi, Abolfazl. Constructive Power and Discordant Discourses in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Online: [SciPress Ltd., Switzerland and University of Tehran, Iran] Vol. 58, (2015) 18-24. The Shakespeare Head Press. The complete works of William Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. Wordsworth Editions, Clays Ltd, St Ives plc (1996) 924-964 Tsiolkas, Christos. Loaded. Random House Australia: ePUB ISBN: 9781742743882 (2011) 1-162 Vernay, Jean-FrancÃÅ' §ois. Only Disconnect-Canonizing Homonormative Values: Representation and the Paradox of Gayness in Christos Tsiolkass Loaded. Antipodes, Vol. 20, No. 1 Wayne State University Press (2006) 41- 45. Additional references Crane, Mary Thomas. Roman World, Egyptian Earth: Cognitive Difference and Empire in Shakespeares Antony  and Cleopatra. Comparative Drama, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2009) 1-17. Hauthal, Janine.Writing back or writing off? Europe as tribe and traumascape in works by Caryl Phillips and Christos  Tsiolkas, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Vol.51, No. 2, (2015) 208-219. Ricard, Nathalie Effects of Social Exclusion and Inclusion on Basic Needs Satisfaction, Self-Determined Motivation, the Orientations of Interpersonal Relationships, and Behavioural Self-Regulation. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing [ProQuest Dissertations and Theses] (2011) 1-159.

Celebrity Endorser Influence Essay

Celebrity Endorser Influence on Attitude Toward Advertisements and Brands Bahram Ranjbarian Associate Professor of management, Department of Management The University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: Bahram1 r@yahoo.com Zahra Shekarchizade Master Student of Business Management, Department of Management University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: Shekarchi_2020@yahoo.com Zahra Momeni Master Student of Business Management, Department of Management University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: za.momeni@yahoo.com Abstract Purpose- This study aims to analyze the celebrity endorser influence on attitude toward advertisements and brands. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model is developed and tested with a sample of 193 students in University of Isfahan in 2009. Structural equation modeling was used with LISREL 8.50 and the maximum likelihood (ML) method. Findings – The findings show that attitude toward celebrity endorser can influence on attitude toward brand directly or indirectly. In indirectly approach, attitude toward advertisement is as a mediator between attitude toward celebrity endorser and attitude toward brand. On the other hand, attitude toward celebrity endorser has not significant effect on purchase intention. Originality/value – This paper provides a model connecting attitude toward celebrity endorser, attitude toward advertisement and attitude toward brand that has been examined and validated using a sample of students in University of Isfahan. Paper type- Research paper Keywords: Endorsement, Celebrities, Brand, Attitude, Advertisement Introduction Today one of the most prevalent forms of retail advertising is through using of celebrity endorsement (White et al, 2007). In fact celebrity endorsers are being used in about 25 percent of all television advertisements in order to promote brands (Erdogan et al, 2001).These endorsers are being paid by about 10 percent of advertiser’s budgets (Agrawal and Kamakura, 1995). Marketers invest huge amounts of money in contracts with celebrity endorsers each year, since they believe that celebrities affect the process of selling of their brands or products (Katyal, 2007). A celebrity endorser is a wellknown person (e.g., actors, sports figures and artists) because of his successes in a special field other than the endorsed product class (James, 2004). Celebrity endorsers are used by firms who want to 399 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3 (2010) support a product or service (Amos et al, 2008). Since presence of celebrity endorsers affects purchase decisions of consumers positively, producers and retailers have always preferred to use celebrity endorsements in order to sell their products (Stafford et al, 2003; Erdogan, 1999; Kamins, 1990). Kaikati (1987) believes that using of celebrities in advertisements could have many benefits and advantages including: 1) facilitating of brand identification 2) changing or impressing the negative attitude towards a brand 3) repositioning an existing brand 4) global marketing or positioning of a brand or product 5) affecting purchase intentions of consumers. Although using of celebrity endorsers as brand messengers is impressive, but it could have some risks. For instance, celebrities who are known to be guilty because of negative events (e.g., accident) may have harmful effects on the products that they endorse (Lou ie and Obermiller, 2002). Studies reveal that using of attractive celebrity causes to increase attitude towards advertisements. Such attitude towards advertisements is defined as â€Å"mental states which are used by individuals to organize the way they perceive their environment and control the way they respond to it† (Haghirian, 2004). There is a considerable correlation between desirable attitudes with regard to advertising and rating of certain advertisements by respondents as being likeable, irritating, delightful, etc (Bauer and Greyser, 1968). Celebrity endorsers enhance awareness of a company’s advertising, create positive feelings towards brands and are perceived by consumers as more amusing (Solomon, 2002). Thus using of a celebrity in advertising causes to influence brand attitude and purchase intentions of consumers in a positive way. Celebrity endorsement has a strong effect on consumers’ memory and learning approach too. Most consumers are not in a purchasing situation when they are encounter with message of the brand. Marketers use celebrity endorsement in order to help better storage of information in consumers’ minds which they can easily remember in purchasing situations (Schultz and Brens, 1995). However, there are many studies about celebrity endorser, but it seems that there are limited researches about the relationship between celebrity endorser and attitudes. The purpose of this study is to specify the impact of using celebrity endorsers in Iranian advertisements on attitudes of students in University of Isfahan toward those ads and brands. Literature Review Some properties such as likeability, expertise, trustworthiness and similarity cause a celebrity endorser to become a source of persuasive information and this creates a sense of certainty which has been revealed in many studies (Suranaa, 2008). Also physical attractiveness of the endorser is considerable in effectiveness of a message (Khatri, 2006). Acceptance of a message by a receiver could be influenced by celebrity endorsers as believable sources of information about a product or a firm (Amos et al, 2008). Using of celebrity endorsers to support products is explained by balance theory principles too. According to this theory, successful companies establish an emotional relation between the observer and endorser and a relation between endorser and brand too (Mowen, 2000). Before proceeding conceptual model, we describe the main constructs of this study. Celebrity Endorser McCracken (1998) has defined celebrity endorser as â€Å"any individual who enjoys public cognition and who uses this cognition on behalf of a consumer by appearing wit in an advertisement†. Moreover, celebrity is used as testimonial, endorsement, actor or spokesperson by the firm. Research has demonstrated that celebrity endorsement affects consumers’ feelings in general and it could affect the attitude of consumers towards the advertisement and brands too. This could result in enhancing of purchase intentions and as a result enhancing of sales. Some properties like credibility, physical attractiveness and likeability of celebrity endorser influence the ability of one person to impact other person (Amos et al, 2008). Source credibility is referred to identifying of communicator’s positive properties which influences acceptance of a message by the receiver (Ohanian, 1990). This consists of two main dimensions of expertise and 400 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3 (2010) trustworthiness. Source expertise refers to the degree which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertion (Roozen, 2008). Source trustworthiness refers to faithfulness and reliability of the spokesperson (Khatri, 2006). Source attractiveness is the personality, likeability and similarity of endorsers to the receiver, thus to the perceived social values of the source (Solomon, 2002). Physical attractiveness of the source include being attractive, beautiful, elegant and charming. According to the studies in this ground, expertise dimension is more significant than physical attractiveness for matching of a brand with a suitable endorser (Brian and Michael, 1998). Likeability is referred to the positive or negative feelings that consumers have towards a source of information. We can define likeability as affection for the source because of its physical appearance and behavior (Erdogan, 1999). Though some research results reveal effectiveness of celebrities as endorsers (Freiden, 1984), but other researches suggest that celebrity endorsement may have different degrees of effectiveness depending on other factors like the â€Å"fit† between the celebrity and the advertised product (Till and Shimp, 1998). Celebrity Endorsers’ Effect on Aad and Ao Marketers are especially interested in consumers’ attitudes towards advertisements and brands. Essentially, attitudes are our predispositions with regard to things. An attitude shows whether we like something or not. Attitudes have three basic components: affective, cognitive and behavioral. Affective is related to our liking or feelings about an object. Cognitive is referred to beliefs about an object and behavioral component regards actions we take about that object (Severin and Tankard, 2001). Attitude towards advertisement is defined as â€Å"a learned tendency to respond in a consistently desirable or undes irable approach toward advertising in general† (Haghirian, 2004). On the other side, attitude towards the advertisement (Aad) is whether the consumer likes an advertisement (Ad) or hates it. Determinants of Aad consist of attitude towards the advertiser, assessment of the Ad execution itself, the mood evoked by Ad, and the extent to which the Ad affect viewer’s encouragement. Assessment of brands could be influenced by attitudes towards Ads. Of course what causes an advertisement to be impressive will change noticeably cross-culturally (Arnold et al, 2004). In performed studies, Aad is focused on as a mediator of advertiser’s effects on brand attitudes and purchase intentions (Suhere and Ispir, 2009). In recent studies, this issue has been proved that using of celebrity endorsement has a positive impact on attitudes of the consumer towards products and brands with which they are associated brand (Seno and Lukas, 2005). Agarwal and Malhotra (2005) have defined brand attitude as consumers’ general evaluative judgment of a brand based on brand beliefs. Such beliefs concern product-related attributes, like practical and experimental benefits. A successful endorser is able to enhance intentions and preferences towards brands directly or indirectly. An endorser who has major source factors of credibility (like expertise, trustworthiness and effectiveness) is able to impress purchase intentions of the consumer considerably (Liu et al, 2007). Information from a credible source can impress ideas, attitudes and behavior through a process called internalization (Belch and Belch, 1993). Internalization occurs when the receiver is motivated to have an issue. The receiver learns and accepts the idea of the credible spokesperson, since he supposes that information of this person represents an accurate position on the issue. Therefore, if such spokesperson who is known to be an expert endorses a product, consumers will more probably have a desirable idea about that advertisement and brand and they will consider it in their shopping list the next time they go shopping. Researchers have used the identification process of social influence in order to explain the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers (Basil, 1996). This theory suggests that if an individual identifies with another individual, then he is more likely to accept an attitude or behavior of that individual or a group. The internalization process of social influence is occurred â€Å"when an individual accepts influence because the induced behavior is congruent with his value system†. An individual accepts the influence, since it provides a solution to a problem (Daneshvary and Schwer, 2000). In the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), individual’s level of motivation to process central message arguments is represented which is one of its key factors that affects the relative impact of 401 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3 (2010) central and peripheral processing (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986). When applied to an adverting context, ELM suggests that consumers’ motivation to centrally process brand-relevant aspects of an advertisement is enhanced, the impact of central processing on brand attitudes should be enhanced, the effect of peripheral processing on brand attitudes should be reduced and the effect of brand attitudes on purchase intentions should be enhanced (Lafferty and Goldsmith, 1999). In this theoretical model, the endorser serves as cue just during peripheral processing. Therefore, the effect of the endorser should be reduced while central processing is enhanced. Mackenzie and Lutz (1989) have stated that advertiser credibility is a central processing cue more than any other thing. Credibility of the source is considered important in influence acceptance. A consumer will accept the accurate influence (information) and apply it if there the source is perceived to be credible. It is accepted because it is â€Å"demand† by ones own values. Therefore, a product’s endorsement by a credible source may impress purchase behavior (Danwshvary and Schwer, 2000). As a result, celebrity endorsement can increase the process of recalling and consume assessment of products (Khatri, 2006). On the other hand, celebrity endorsement has a severe effect on learning approach and memory. Researchers in the field of marketing and social psychology have studied the manner of impressing of purchase decision by celebrity endorsements. Various hypotheses have been proposed including having recall of the product by celebrity endorsement, celebrities have credibility on expertise that makes the product more desirable or increases perceptions of quality; the celebrity endorsers’ image is transferred to the product so that those who use the product are associated with the image. Experiments suggest that celebrity endorsement can increase recall and consume assessment of the products in certain situations (Clark and Horstman, 2003). Most of the times, making connection with the brand message is occurred when consumers are not in a purchasing situation. Marketers use celebrity endorsement so that information will be kept in consumers’ minds better and in the case of purchasing situation, they can easily retrieve it (Surana, 2008). A successful endorser strategy can enhance the level of consumers’ recalling towards product information, reinforces consumers’ recognition to endorsed brands, positively influences consumers’ attitude to low-involved products and even enhance consumers’ purchase intention and preference towards brands (Liu et al, 2007) Therefore, hypothesizes of the study are as follows. H1: Attitude toward ad is positively affected by attitude toward celebrity endorser. H2: Attitude toward brand is positively affected by attitude toward celebrity endorser H3: Attitude toward brand is positively affected by attitude toward advertisement. H4: Intention to buy is positively affected by attitude toward celebrity endorser Method Data Collection Information was obtained from randomly selected students from University of Isfahan through survey questionnaires during September- November 2009. University of Isfahan is one of the major universities in the fields of science, human science and engineering. A total sample of 193 participants was obtained. The sample was composed of 137 women (71 percent) and 56 men (21 percent). A cluster sampling procedure with age and degree as main control variables was applied. The age of the respondents ranged from 19 to 30 years, with a mean of 24. All questionnaires were self-administered by the participants without interference from researchers. Measures The study uses multi-item scales to measure the constructs in our model. All items in the questionnaire were measured on a five-point Likert-type scale anchored from â€Å"strongly disagree† (1) to â€Å"strongly agree† (5). Some of the measures were available in the literature, though most were adapted to suit this European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3 (2010) particular context. To measure attitude toward celebrity endorser we used ten items. Attitude toward advertisement and attitude toward brand were measured with six items and five items, respectively. In order to measure reliability of questions in the questionnaire, 30 questionnaires have been pre-tested through pilot studies. Then, amount of confidence coefficient has been calculated by method of Cronbach’s alpha for which 0.83 % is obtained. This number shows that the applied questionnaire enjoys confidentiality or in other words the necessary reliability. Results Measurement Model Measurement model Structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.54 and the maximum likelihood (ML) method was used to analyse the data.. LISREL is a structural equations modeling technique that traces structural relations in a set of data (Eriksson et al, 2004). Structural equation modelling was used because it allows to estimate multiple and interrelated dependence relationships and unobserved factors can be represented in these relationships. Additionally, measurement error in the estimation process is accounted for (Hair et al., 1998). The model is assessed with the comparative fit index (CFI), standardised root meanresidual (SRMR), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and Akaike’s (1987) information criterion (AIC). The measurement model provided a good fit to the data: (CFI = 0:98, SRMR=0.058, RMSEA = 0.015 and AIC =396.22). All values of CFI, SRMR, and RMSEA meet the standards suggested by Hu and Bentler (1999): 0.95 for CFI, 0.08 for SRMR, and 0.06 for RMSEA.There are no Guidelines for the AIC but lower values indicate better fit. The fit of the structural model is good and is reported in Table I. In the following we will test our hypotheses and consequently report the standardised path coefficients. As shown in Table I, three of hypotheses are empirically supported and one of them is not confirmed. The effect of attitude toward celebrity endorser on attitude toward advertisement is significant (standardised path coefficient = 0:49). This shows that the higher the attitude toward endorser, the more the attitude toward advertisement. Attitude toward celebrity endorser also have significant effect on attitude toward brand (standardised path coefficient= 0.24), but this effect is comparatively weaker than its effect on attitude toward advertisement. On the other hand, the effect of attitude toward advertisement on attitude toward brand is significant (standardised path coefficient = 0:56). This clearly shows that attitude toward advertisement has the highest standardized path coefficient and therefore has the strongest influence on attitude toward brand. The results show that the effects of attitude celebrity endorser on Purchase intention is not significant (standardised path coefficient = 0.11). This means that attitud toward celebrities, does not necessarily always translates into purchase intentions. Discussion The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship among attitude toward celebrity endorser and attitude toward advertisement and brand. Effects of a celebrity endorser on respondents’ assessments about advertisements and products endorsed by celebrities have been studied previously. There are some interesting findings for using of celebrity endorsers in Iranian advertisements. Attitude towards a celebrity endorser has a direct positive effect on attitude towards advertisement. Attitude towards advertisement has important effects on attitude towards brands, too and its effect is comparatively stronger than the effect of celebrity endorser. But the effect of attitude toward celebrity endorser on purchase intention is not considerable. Results of this study demonstrate that attitude towards celebrity endorser has an indirect effect on attitude towards brand. This result confirms outcomes of the previous research by Agarwal and Kamakura (1995), Till and Busler (1998), and W hite et al (2008). When there is a â€Å"fit† between the   European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3 (2010) endorser and the endorsed product, endorser’s image helps construct the image of the brand in consumers’ minds. In fact, using of an attractive endorser has a positive impact on consumer attitudes towards a brand, because attractive endorsers have a tendency to get more attention than less attractive ones. On the other hand, experience of celebrity’s negative information can have an undesirable effect on the endorsed product. Transfer of negative information between the celebrity endorser and the endorsed product could be facilitated through cognitive relational pathway. We have considered social position of artists because people have more positive attitude towards artists. So, they distribute attitude towards artists to attitude towards endorsed brand. The association between attitude towards celebrity endorser and attitude towards advertisement has been shown in numerous studies, as the relationship between sports celebrity endorsements and retail products’ adverting are reported (White et al, 2008) and sports celebrity endorsements are being used in advertisements to impress brand selection. It is recognized in one study that attitude towards advertisement is considered as an interagent that influences attitude towards brand (Suhere and Ispir, 2009). Results of our study reveal that attitude towards advertisement is as an interagent between attitude towards celebrity and attitude towards brand. In our opinion, Iranians are interested in artists and know them as credible sources. So, ads makers use artists as celebrity to impress viewers’ attitudes towards advertisement and thereupon attitude towards brand. According to previous studies about the effect of the celebrity endorser on purchase intentions, such as Kamins (1990), Ohanian (1991), Liu et al (2007), we expected that positive attitude towards celebrities impressed purchase intentions. But results of this study confirm research outcomes of O’Mahony and Meenaghan (1997). According to this study, attitude towards celebrities does not necessarily always interpret in to purchase intentions. It seems that Iranian’s consumer tendency for buying is influenced by other various items such as age, gender, income and education too. Limitation This study has some limitations. The primary limitation of the present research relates to generalizability. The sample was restricted to students in University of Isfahan and this limits our results to be generalized, too. Another relevant consideration is that numerous girl students in university of Isfahan are more than its boy students. Also, this study relied exclusively on questionnaires to assess influence attitude toward celebrity endorser on attitude toward advertisements and brands, whereas this relationships need to be more investigated. On the other hand, this paper could not estimate effect of attitude toward celebrity endorser on purchase intention. In addition, our results are relational and not causal; therefore, it can not be concluded from this study whether attitude toward advertisement and brand is only cause or result of attitude toward celebrity endorser. Conclusion In this study the goal was to indicate the influence of using celebrity endorsers in Iranian advertisements on attitudes of students in University of Isfahan toward those advertisements and brands. The result of this study showed that the positive and significant relationship between attitude toward celebrity endorser and attitude toward advertisements and brands. By analyzing the output resulting from testing hypotheses, it can be concluded that attitude toward celebrity endorser has directly or indirectly influence on attitude toward brand. Consequences suggested that attitude toward advertisement was as a mediator between attitude toward celebrity endorser and attitude toward brand. On the other hand, attitude toward celebrity endorser hadn’t significant influence on purchase intention. So, future researches should put more effort into making strong believable explanations for how celebrity endorsers are able to have significant influence on consumer intention for purchase. References [1] [2] Agrawal, J. and Kamakura, W.A. 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History and Influences of Mexican Americans and the United States Essay

Looking around the United States, it is not hard to see the influence that Spanish-speaking nations, namely Mexico, have had on us. Every day we see signs in Spanish. We hear it as we walk through the streets of Madison and Milwaukee. We feel the impact it has on us in our public school system. We also see the controversy it causes on the news. What I will be attempting to explore in this paper is the origins of Mexican Americans and their continuing influence on the United States. I believe it is important to first understand the history of the relationship between Americans and Mexicans to understand the preconceived notions many Americans have towards Mexico. Although both nations are technically â€Å"Americas†, for the duration of the paper I will refer to the United States as America. After winning its independence from Spain, Mexico first had large-scale contact with Americans during the early 1800s when Americans were migrating farther west to what is present day Texas. Mexico allowed these citizens to reside despite the tension and friction that was building between Whites, Indians and Mexicans in these territories. Texas citizens declared themselves an independent nation, and due to the United States recognition of such, a war was prompted between the United States and Mexico. Mexico lost the war as well as its territories in North America. Mexican citizens who stayed behind in the lost territories became American citizens (Marger, 2012). One of the things that always confounded me about racism in the south, and states like Arizona, is the complete indifference or ignorance of this fact. I have always wondered how the White Supremacist mindset works when Mexican Americans have a natural ancestry in these states and were the first citizens of these states. How can we still see bumper stickers that say â€Å"Learn English or Go Home†, or â€Å"Go back to your own country† when the first citizens of these states were Mexicans? I believe that a cause for this is the lack of emphasis of early Mexican American history taught in schools. I I believe that if this were emphasized, these specific ethnocentric arguments would be dispelled sooner. Immigration of Mexicans and other Hispanics to America is not going to stop, so to ignore their political influence would be foolish. Demographics are showing that the Hispanic population is on the rise. There are an estimated 6. 6 million illegal immigrants from Mexico alone residing in the United States (Marger, 2012). The European American population, although still the largest in size, declining. (Marger, 2012). Since there are an increasing amount of people in the United States who are a mixed race, such as myself who is part Mexican American, true numbers of those who identify as part Hispanic are not yet known. (Marger, 2012). I believe that due to this, it is more crucial than ever to understand what kind of influence Mexican Americans will have on the socioeconomic and political structure of the future America. As much as certain groups of people would want to deny the influence of Mexican culture, as well as that of other Spanish-speaking ethnicities on the United States, the population statistics, (as well as the 2012 Election results, in my opinion) prove otherwise. Hispanics are the largest minority group (Naumann, Benet-Martinez, Espinoza 2013), and it is estimated that by 2050, 46% of the United States population will be Hispanic. (Marger, 2012). Insofar as political influence is concerned, 2008 held 19. 5 million registered Hispanic voters, and it is estimated that 23. 7 million registered voters were Hispanic in the 2012 election. To more specifically cite the influence of Mexican Americans in today’s voting world, there are 33 million Mexican Americans in the United States and 73% of them were born in America (Naumann, et al 2013). Despite attempts of the Republican Party to capture the vote of Hispanic Americans, 70% of them are still voting Democratic. (Naumann, et al 2013). Although Cubans tend to vote primarily more for Republicans, the larger population of Mexican Americans is still voting for Democrats. (Naumann, et al 2013). By analyzing these data, I can only conclude that the dire need for the Hispanic vote from the GOP is the sole purpose of the existence of Marco Rubio in modern politics. A question arises, as much as Mexican Americans influence us, how much do we influence them? The answer would have to depend on how in favor they are of assimilation. Studies have shown that most Mexican American youth would prefer a â€Å"biculturism† form of acculturation, preferring to hold on to their ethnic customs but also to embrace new American ones (Naumann, et al 2013). It was also shown in these studies that the more deep-routed Mexican Americans tend to be in their ethnicity, that the likelier they are to vote liberally (Naumann, et al 2013). Understanding Mexican Americans role in the workplace currently will also help explain motivations as to how they vote and continue to influence the rest of America. A study published in 2005 showed that Mexicans, while living in Mexico, have fewer expectations for advancement in the workplace, including to upper-management positions. This leads them to believe there are less forms of discrimination based on age, sex and ethnicity (Bennington, Wagman, Stallone, 2005). Although these studies were done for Mexicans, not Mexican Americans, I believe that during the newest wave of immigration this attitude could carry over, which could explain at least one reason that despite the large population, there are not heaping amounts of Mexican Americans in upper-level positions. For work life itself, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mexican Americans have at large suffered the same impact of the recession other ethnicities have suffered, having Unemployment peaking strongly in the 2009-2011 years and just now in 2013 starting to make a recovery (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). I believe this relates to the influence Mexican Americans have on us because since newer immigrants do not seek power as quickly as other ethnic groups, it can lead to certain prejudices of them being unmotivated, which in turn would influence behavior of White Americans to treat them as subordinates. In summation, I believe that educating the true history of Mexican Americans (such as their origin as joining the US as citizens after the Mexican War), can help stop certain forms of prejudice, as well as helping Americans to realize that they are an ever-increasing demographic that is not going away anytime soon. Their influence is growing in US Politics, and this will have to be recognized if certain political groups wish to survive in the new century. I believe that if there is more respect given to them while they are a minority group, the more respect they will give to White America once Whites lose their status as the dominant ethnic group.

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