Endorsement

Editorial Page Endorsements

Both candidates and sponsors of initiatives and referenda routinely seek editorial support from influential media. Candidates or advocates conduct editorial board meetings to share their positions and to seek editorial support. Endorsements are especially influential and can turn out voters in elections involving local candidates, ballot measures, and nonpartisan races where voters—especially [Page 282]independents—are undecided or otherwise have limited sources of information.

Critics' Endorsements

Reviews by critics play a critical role in programs in the arts, where publicists seek recommendations of performances and exhibitions to create positive “buzz” or word-of-mouth advertising. Positive reviews can stimulate ticket sales, whereas negative reviews can reap ridicule and result in a low turnout. However, popular entertainment such as movies can attract a huge numbers of fans despite being panned by critics.

Editorial Product Endorsements

Reporters and editors routinely recommend products in stories and often create vehicles for making product endorsements that are coveted by organizations. Probably the best-known example is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval accorded to products that meet minimum performance standards (and advertise in the magazine). Other examples include the “Motor Trend Car of the Year,” the U.S. News and World Report rankings of colleges and universities, Top 10 lists of various sorts, and the numerous “best in town” designations of local businesses accorded by local media. In magazines such as Consumer Reports, the product ratings have been shown to correlate with audiences' perceptions of product quality.

Advertising Endorsements

Product endorsements by famous people have become a popular creative strategy for advertisers. The extensive research about product endorsers suggests that celebrities can attract attention and interest to messages, but their personas and experience must be congruent with the endorsed product or service to be compelling. Cynical consumers discount endorsers who are merely selling their name. Nonprofit and political organizations often enlist celebrities to appear in public service advertising and related messages because they are affected by a problem personally or believe in the cause. Celebrities, government officials, researchers or experts in a particular field, and other notables can endorse causes by signing petitions and statements in paid advertisements, issuing statements or proclamations, appearing at special events, or being interviewed by the press.

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