Celebrity Commodification | Essay

Running head: CELEBRITY COMMODIFICATION
Celebrity Commodification
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

CELEBRITY COMMODIFICATION1
The term celebrity is used to designate a person who is renowned and who is used to
receiving plenty of attention from the public. It is usually people who work in the world of
entertainment who are known to be celebrities (Bifulco 2017). Examples of celebrities include
people who work in the music and television industry, people who work in the movies and
people who hail from the world of sport. The word commodity refers to an economic service or
an economic good which is characterized by substantial or full fungibility. Commodity prices
form an important feature of market dynamics. The wide-scale availability of a commodity is
something that leads to a reduction of profit margins in the market space while a wide range of
other factors such as price, and brand value are also diminished considerably (Daibhowala 2016).
This assignment will take a look at the positive aspects of celebrity commodification. In the
process of doing so, the paper will assess what celebrity commodification is all about along with
the various dimensions of celebrity commodification and will conclude by mentioning some of
the most important benefits or advantages that are associated with commodification from the
point of view of a celebrity.
The commodification of celebrity status is something that has led to celebrities being
accorded immense brand value for the work that they do. This brand value is attached to the
work celebrities do be it endorsing a product or service or simply when engaging in the act of
promoting a film (McManus 2019). The brand value or the commodification of celebrity status is
something that is seen to depend a great deal on the market value of the celebrity. If the celebrity
in question, be it a sport star or a movie star is doing well in the world of entertainment, if his
work in the entertainment industry is attracting the attention that it deserves, then it is more than
likely that the brand value of the celebrity is going to be immensely high (Potter and Hill 2017).
People are going to come forward and see the person in action regardless of what it is that the

CELEBRITY COMMODIFICATION2
person does, because there is so much value that is attached to what it is that this person is
capable of doing. Celebrities who are successful in their field of work, who are doing well in the
sports arena or in the movie industry are people who are prone the most to celebrity
commodification (Potter and Hill 2017). Brands are eager to tie up such celebrities for
endorsements as they know that in the process of doing so they are going to be able to reach out
to a wider target audience than usual. Brands are certain that they can attract a lot more attention
than usual when they sign up successful celebrities to promote their brands than they would be
able to if they signed up celebrities who are not doing too well and who are unlikely to be crowd
pullers the way that successful celebrities are (Potter and Hill 2017).
The commodification of a celebrity is something that is based not just how well it is that
a celebrity is doing in his or her field of specialization, but it is also something that depends a
great deal on how the public perceive the celebrity. There are some celebrities who are not all
that good at what they do but who are controversial by virtue of the lifestyles that they lead and
in the bargain they are able to attract a lot of public attention and public appeal which in turn
contributes to their brand or their commercial value (Root 2018). Such celebrities can be huge
crowd pullers and can raise a lot of money for public and private causes because people desire to
see them all of the time and when they are found endorsing a brand or a product, the product is
something that automatically becomes well received by its target audience. Hence the
commodification of celebrity status or the act of being a celebrity is not as simple as it seems
(Root 2018). While celebrities who are flourishing in their field of work are certain to be signed
up by brands for the purpose of product promotion, there are others who are likely to be signed
up by brands as well, not because of their professional success rate but because of the fact that
they have larger than life personas and lead an interesting lifestyle which is certain to be well