What Place For Celebrity Speakers?
The force of celebrity is undeniable. They sell magazines, papers and encourage us to turn on and tune in day by day. They affect the clothes consumers put on, the shampoo people buy plus the food people eat, or not. What, then, is the place of the celebrity speaker within our undoubtedly celebrity obsessed world? Surely the countless more subtle endorsements, or rather the more conventional kinds, for example TV advertisements and the like, are a reasonable invasion into and influence on our lives without the famous becoming celebrity speaker at nearly anything from political rallies, to store openings to charity dinners?
The celebrity speaker is ever more prevalent and powerful. Whether it’s of their own accord or due to a generous hire payment, it’s more normal than ever to see some public figure or other at events. Notable examples of famous people becoming speaker are that of Bob Geldoff and his band of celebrity crusaders with a conscience, employing their celebrity and influence to boost awareness of the plight of the starving.
More recently than that, celebrity speakers have been seen playing more of a political function. There’s Jamie Oliver and his one-man battle on junk food and even more recently there was the case of Arlene Phillips coming into governmental politics as the dance tsar.
Irrespective of whether we like it or not, then, the celebrity speaker is bigger now than ever. No more do celebrities only affect fashion and beauty; today’s celebrity speaker has a strong message. What use for the celebrity speaker? The young look up to celebrities and also the more grown up individuals among us have to confess to being a bit fascinated with what they have to say. Their celebrity is alluring plus they are role models, whether we like it or not. So if the celebrity speaker is able to drive forward a charity’s cause, send out a clear message to enhance the country’s well being or even stir up a bit of curiosity about politics, then surely they’ve a role. And not just a purpose: a responsibility, to utilize their influence responsibly.