For Fans & Friends of BlackLight Radio
Celebrity Endorsements: Does Anyone Really Care?
Edited from a post by Pat Sajak
Originally Posted at: Human Events
...Recently, celebrity endorsements have been making news, with Oprah Winfrey saying she would campaign for Barack Obama and Barbra Streisand making the not-so-stunning announcement that she was supporting Hillary Clinton...
...If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood. It’s one thing to buy an ab machine because Chuck Norris recommends it (he’s in good shape, isn’t he?) or a grill because George Foreman’s name is on it (he’s a great guy, so it must be a great grill!), but the idea of choosing the Leader of the Free World based on the advice of someone who lives in the cloistered world of stardom seems a bit loony to me.
This is America, and we celebrities have just as much right as anyone else to speak up about any issue. The problem is that more attention is paid to what we say because we’re well known. But why should that matter? O.J. Simpson is one of the world’s best-known celebrities, but I can’t imagine anyone following his lead in a voting booth.
I suppose anything that gets people engaged in the political process is a good thing, but the idea that a gold record, a top-ten TV show or an Oscar translates into some sort of political wisdom doesn’t make much sense to me. Trust me, one’s view of the world isn’t any clearer from the back seat of a limo.
Mr. Sajak is the host of "Wheel of Fortune" and PatSajak.com.
Originally Posted at: Human Events
...Recently, celebrity endorsements have been making news, with Oprah Winfrey saying she would campaign for Barack Obama and Barbra Streisand making the not-so-stunning announcement that she was supporting Hillary Clinton...
...If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood. It’s one thing to buy an ab machine because Chuck Norris recommends it (he’s in good shape, isn’t he?) or a grill because George Foreman’s name is on it (he’s a great guy, so it must be a great grill!), but the idea of choosing the Leader of the Free World based on the advice of someone who lives in the cloistered world of stardom seems a bit loony to me.
This is America, and we celebrities have just as much right as anyone else to speak up about any issue. The problem is that more attention is paid to what we say because we’re well known. But why should that matter? O.J. Simpson is one of the world’s best-known celebrities, but I can’t imagine anyone following his lead in a voting booth.
I suppose anything that gets people engaged in the political process is a good thing, but the idea that a gold record, a top-ten TV show or an Oscar translates into some sort of political wisdom doesn’t make much sense to me. Trust me, one’s view of the world isn’t any clearer from the back seat of a limo.
Mr. Sajak is the host of "Wheel of Fortune" and PatSajak.com.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kris k. on -
Celebrity endorsements work in reverse for me. I resent them, actually. Why should I give a rat's patootie when some ditzy dingdong bends over and accepts a check for reading a misleading script favorable to a product or politician I don't need? Screw that. TO THIS DAY, I won't touch a Pepsi Cola -- thanks to michael jackson. Here's something to consider: Dannika Patrick is popping up all over the place, endorsing motor oil and whatever else her agent can dig up, even though she's yet to win a race. She hasn't won a race. Zip. Zero. Nada. But she's a babe, so she gets the advertising gigs. Her endorsements mean nothing in the real world. None of them do, really. It's baloney.
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