---
title: "What Makes a Celebrity Brand Work"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/0f911052-8689-4617-b8db-9bbddb33af3e
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2024/05/what-makes-a-successful-celebrity-brand"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/business/stack/115f94ce-fec0-4688-a4f5-631afa03ee90
summary: "Celebrities are leveraging their influencer status to create and sell their own branded products, generating significant profits beyond traditional endorsement deals. Examples include Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin, Rihanna's cosmetics, and Serena Williams' apparel lines, demonstrating a shift from brand endorsement to brand ownership."
tags: "celebrity-branding, influencer-marketing, brand-entrepreneurship, consumer-behavior, product-launches, social-media, luxury-goods"
key_entities: "Ryan Reynolds (person), George Clooney (person), Serena Williams (person), Maria Sharapova (person), Rihanna (person), Dr. Dre (person), Ayelet Israeli (person), Jill Avery (person), Leonard A. Schlesinger (person), Matt Higgins (person), Harvard Business Review (organization), influencer-marketing (concept), celebrity-branding (concept), social-media (technology)"
classification: "analysis"
content_hash: "sha256:11c972a0bad78bb9a343192beeeb97023e91543f15395274dee420d25b349979"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 423
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# What Makes a Celebrity Brand Work

Harvard Business Review Logo Marketing What Makes a Successful Celebrity Brand? Stars are using their influencer status to launch their own products and capture more profits for themselves. by Ayelet Israeli , Jill Avery , Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins From the Magazine (May–June 2024) David Milan Spotlight Series / Winning at Influencer Marketing Summary. Celebrities have shifted from endorsing established brands to being influencers for established brands to drawing on their influence to create brands themselves. The authors examine what it takes ... more Post Post Share Save Get PDF Buy Copies Print In recent years Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney earned more money from selling their liquor brands, Aviation American Gin and Casamigos tequila, than from their movie deals. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, retired from sports, now generate significant earnings through the sale of their apparel and skin care lines, S by Serena and Supergoop. Rihanna and Dr. Dre make millions selling their own brands of cosmetics and lingerie and headphones, respectively. Read more on Marketing or related topics Social marketing , Entrepreneurship , Brand management , Trustworthiness , Social media , Consumer behavior , Product management , Personal ethics and Marketing industry A version of this article appeared in the May–June 2024 issue of Harvard Business Review. Post Post Share Save Get PDF Buy Copies Print Spotlight Series / Winning at Influencer Marketing Read more on Marketing or related topics Social marketing , Entrepreneurship , Brand management , Trustworthiness , Social media , Consumer behavior , Product management , Personal ethics and Marketing industry