Celebrity Endorsement

Today it is common to see celebrities endorsing all kinds of products. The movie star FanBingbing is a spokewoman for L'Oreal. Huang Xiaoming endorses Men's Olay Products. YaoMing advertises cellular service for China Unicom. And, of course, Jacky Chan shows his face almost everywhere: cars, cameras, beer, Pepsi and shampoo, to name a few.

Unfortunately, this practice encourages customers to buy without thinking carefully. Ofcourse, companies do not consider it to be a problem. However, when a celebrity's pictureunintentionally appears on medicine, food or even sports equipment that may be harmful to people's health, his popularity increases the potential damage ofthe product exponentially.

In my opinion, celebrities should be banned from endorsing medicines, since medicine should be purchased only atter the customer considers carefully whether it is truly necessary. In addition, the celebrity endorsement of any personal care products and food products should be closely monitored by the govemment agencies responsible for the public healthand safety.