With the
US 2016 presidential election creeping every closer, this week Luxe Models
thought we’d ask whether a few celebrity endorsements could swing the result.
Power of celebrity
Celebrities are aspirational
figures. People look up to them, and the role model status of famous faces can
translate into big bucks, as companies often hire celebrities to serve as the
faces of their latest products. The most obvious one we can think of is Cheryl
Fernandez-Versini. Since she was hired as the face of L’Oréal, she has
generated attention, press and above all revenue for the beauty firm.
US election
So we know that celebrities have
power, but do they have the power to influence who’s elected to government? We
may be about to find out. Even though it’s over a year away, campaigning for
the 2016 US presidential election has already begun. The presence of one man
outrage-machine Donald Trump, who’s running to represent the Republican Party,
has already made this contest one to watch!
Speaking of Republicans, they’ve
managed to rack up a few celebrity endorsements so far, but we doubt they’ll do
the GOP any good. Chuck Norris is the most famous person to endorse a
Republican candidate so far. In contrast the
Democrats have attracted heavy hitters including Beyoncé, Lena Dunham Jennifer
Lopez, Snoop Dogg and Kerry Washington.
Oprah effect
So if celebrities have the power
to influence politics then as things stand, the Democrats look set to sweep the
board in 2016. Yet how useful is the endorsement of a celebrity of Beyoncé’s
calibre? This issue was recently analysed
by the Guardian.
The article looked at a study
that was conducted to determine how much of an effect Oprah’s endorsement of
Barack Obama had on the 2008 election, which he won. It found that “Obama did
better than expected in areas where more people subscribed to O magazine.” For
any of you that didn’t already know, O is the personal magazine of Oprah
Winfrey (yeah, she’s that awesome)!
Fame = influence
The study found that the more
famous the celebrity, the more influence they had in the political arena. This
isn’t surprising to us here at Luxe Models because it makes sense; people like
Oprah Winfrey are trendsetters in everything that they do, why wouldn’t they be
able to set political trends too?
For more stories like this, be sure to stay in touch with Luxe Models.
