Actors Who Play Outlaws Can Be Good for Endorsing Products

Abstract

Negative, or outlaw, characters, such as the drug dealer Walter White from the television drama series “Breaking Bad,” have appeared in advertising campaigns endorsing actual products, despite their fictional status and questionable traits. This research finds that, although these character endorsers are liked and trusted less and are perceived as a worse fit than their real-world actor counterparts (e.g., Bryan Cranston, who plays Walter White), they work equally well. The authors argue that because the characters are better known and understood, they facilitate meaning transfer between endorser and brand, offsetting their drawbacks. Negative characters appear well suited to product endorsement, opening the door to a novel and creative marketing tactic, and may be particularly effective when promoting more controversial products.