Celebrity Athlete Endorsements and Consumerism – Teaching Kids the Realities

Whether we like it or not, one of the most powerful tools that the consumer media machine has at its disposal is the power of the celebrity endorsement. We don’t necessarily pretend to understand it, but we’re also not immune from it. Put the right celebrity in front of us and even the most ardent Postconsumers will find themselves listening and being influenced. And one of the most popular types of celebrity endorsement is that of a sports celebrity or figure. While all celebrity endorsements are effective ways for consumer brands to build brand awareness and ultimately sell product, kids and teens tend to be particularly influenced by sports celebrities. And talking to your kids about why a sports celebrity endorsement shouldn’t be the reason they buy a product can be a confusing road to navigate. We’ve compiled some of our favorite tips on how to master this conversation.

Keep In Mind That Your Child Idolizes This Sports Celebrity

We’re going to entirely bypass the complications and potential let downs of being a child with a sports celebrity as your idol. The important thing to remember here overall is that your child does idolize this sports celebrity, and (in most cases) you don’t want to take that special idolization away. It’s an important part of most childhoods. So don’t approach the conversation by telling your child that the celebrity who endorses the product doesn’t matter. Because it does matter to your child. Instead, work to give context using the tips below.

Ask Your Child If He or She Understands That the Sports Celebrity Was Paid

Depending on your child’s age, he or she may not even realize that the sports celebrity is getting paid to endorse the product. In fact, it’s likely that your child truly believes that the celebrity sports figure uses the product. So begin by having a conversation where you explain to your child that part of how an athlete makes money is by agreeing to sell products that they may not actually use. It’s important to contextualize this so your child doesn’t think that the sports figure is doing anything wrong. Explain it as though the sports figure is being an actor for a day, and it doesn’t mean that he or she is a bad person or a liar. It’s just a job like other actors in television commercials. But be sure to say that just because the sports figure has taken a job in a commercial, it doesn’t mean that he or she uses or even likes the product that’s being advertised.

Use This as a Teachable Moment

You won’t come across many more organic moments to talk to your child about advertising and the consumer media than one opened up by a sports celebrity endorsement. This is a perfect opportunity to explain to your child how using celebrities of any kind can be a way that companies get you to buy products that you don’t want or need. Again, you want to be gentle with this conversation. It’s very important that you don’t approach it as though it’s about the celebrities selling out – your child has plenty of time later on to learn the harsh realities of celebrity culture! What you do want to do is plant the seed of ensuring that your child knows that the information conveyed in commercials is not typically to be believed at first glance. You want your child to begin to understand that selling is a culture and that it’s separate from the lives and achievements of the people used in commercials. Now is a great time to talk about the presence of actors in commercials and how the point of advertisements and commercials is to make things sound better than they are. You don’t need to go overboard or be overwhelming. Again, your child will have an entire lifetime to figure things out – but you can begin to plant the seed.

Make Your Child Give a Reason for Buying the Product Other Than the Celebrity Endorsement

If your child still wants you to buy the item, insist that they come up with a valid reason why they want to buy the item other than the fact that the sports figure endorsed it. You may find that their reason is still couched in something that they heard in the advertisement, and that’s okay. The point of the exercise is to get your child to think about why he or she wants the item rather than just react to the endorsement. Even if the reason still seems covered in consumer messaging, at least you have planted the seed of thinking about why you need something. That may be the most significant part.

Navigating your child through the consumer society that they’re essentially immersed in every day while trying to get them to look at it from other angles can be challenging. And while “I want it because my favorite sports celebrity said I should have it” may seem like a frustrating thing to hear, it’s ultimately a great open door to begin discussing consumerism with your kid. In the postconsumer world, lemonade always trumps lemons!

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