6 - Non-Fan Perception and Behaviour towards Cosmetics Endorsed by Drag Celebrities in Japan

Summary

Celebrities are people whose names and images are recognized by many audiences in their fields of expertise. Due to their famousness and popularity, celebrities are paid or invited to participate in business and prosocial activities as endorsers to spread information to their audiences and to affect the audiences’ behaviours (Brooks, 2021). Fans’ trust in and relationship with a celebrity can positively affect their perception of, and intention and loyalty towards a business (Kim et al, 2014; Chung and Cho, 2017).

Celebrities, however, are people. In addition to the fans and lovers, there are anti-fans and haters of celebrities (Liew, 2019) who are driven by their anger, hatred, jealousy and ethical standpoint. They may condemn or boycott the celebrities and their endorsed businesses (Braunsberger and Buckler, 2011). Celebrities often avoid these attacks rather than engage in responding activities (Kilvington and Price, 2019), and rarely is a celebrity's involvement with their anti-fans investigated (Chin, 2019). In addition, the relationship between fans and anti-fans is hardly examined as these two groups are often separate (Hill, 2015).

Although there are small gaps in the literature, researchers have thoroughly examined the celebrity/ fan/ anti-fan triangle. They have largely neglected, however, the non-fans or the neutral and ordinary consumers (Gray, 2003). Noticeably, the attitudes of non-fans differ from those of fans and probably anti-fans (Gamboa and Gonçalves, 2014; Delmar et al, 2018), and together the non-fans can form a desirable and influenceable market segment of potential consumers (Duffett, 2013). So, it is necessary to expand the current research portfolio to non-fan consumers, especially their attitudes toward celebrities, fans, anti-fans and endorsed businesses.

Non-fan consumers’ coexistence with fans and anti-fans can be observed with regards to any celebrity, from the more conventional and acceptable ones, such as pretty female singers, to more modern and controversial ones, such as drag performers (Ellis, 2022). The controversy often comes from the public's diverse and sometimes opposite interpretations and acceptance, or not, of what is generally considered (non)stereotypical (Campana et al, 2022). Drag-queen figures, having gone against conventional norms about the male gender, cannot avoid some of this fuss. Such controversies may affect the drag queens’ inducing prowess and the non-fan consumers’ purchasing intentions.