The Oprah Effect: Investigating the Celebrity-Candidate Endorsement Relationship

Abstract

From 1993 to 2007, Oprah Winfrey ranked in the top three among Americans’ favorite TV personalities (Harris Interactive 2010), and occupied the number one spot 10 of those years. That changed in 2008 when she fell to number four. While that may not seem like a fall from grace, one must ask what happened that could account for, what was for her, an unprecedented decline in popularity. In May 2007, Winfrey announced she was supporting Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency – the first time she endorsed a political candidate. Could that have been the cause for her drop in support? © 2015, Academy of Marketing Science.