Half of Americans Believe Celebrities Make Little or No Positive Difference on Issues and Causes They Promote

Whether it is Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt discussing the orphans in third world countries, Oprah’s school for girls in Africa or Robert Redford’s environmentalism, many celebrities are in the public eye supporting causes near and dear to them personally. The idea, presumably, is to use that celebrity status to garner even more attention to, or raise more money for, that cause or issue. But does it really make a difference? Americans are pretty divided on that as just over half (51%) say that these celebrities make little or no positive difference to the issue they are promoting while just under half (45%) say they make a large or some positive difference.

The younger one is, the more likely one is to think these celebrities are making a positive difference. Half (50%) of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) and just under half (48%) of Gen Xers (those aged 32-43) say celebrities make a large or some difference compared to 43 percent of Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) and 38 percent of Matures (those aged 63 and older).

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,513 U.S. adults surveyed online between March 11 and 18, 2008 by Harris Interactive^®.

Politically, Democrats are much more likely to think these celebrities are making a difference than Republicans are. Over half (55%) of Democrats believe celebrities make a large or some positive difference compared to just one-third (36%) of Republicans who feel the same way. Looking at Independents, over half (57%) say celebrities make little or no difference while 42 percent say they make a large or some difference to their cause or issue.

One thing Americans say they have not done is support a cause or gotten more information on one because of something they heard an actor, singer or other celebrity say or do. Just 15 percent have done so compared to 85 percent who have not. Again, Matures are the least likely to be swayed by celebrity as just seven percent of this age group say they have gotten more information or supported something because of a celebrity.

Certain celebrities are more effective than others in championing a cause. Among a list of celebrities who are champions of causes or issues, half of Americans (49%) say Oprah Winfrey is very effective at raising awareness of her cause while one-third (32%) say Bono is very effective. Three in ten (31%) say Angelina Jolie is very effective while almost one-quarter (23%) cite the father of her children, Brad Pitt, as very effective. Rounding out the top five is George Clooney as 22 percent say he is very effective and all others are under 15 percent. While age groups may differ in who is the second and third most effective, all four generations cite Oprah as the most effective celebrity.

It is not just causes and issues that celebrities get behind. They also endorse and actively campaign for various candidates. Mike Huckabee had Chuck Norris while John McCain has Sylvester Stallone. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey while Jack Nicholson supports Hillary Clinton. But is this a good or bad thing? Almost half (47%) of Americans say that this celebrity involvement is a bad thing and just three in ten (29%) say it is a good thing while an additional quarter (23%) are not sure.

Perhaps because the more "glamorous" celebrity endorsements seem to go to Democrats, there is a strong partisan divide on this question. Two-thirds of Republicans (66%) say that celebrity involvement in campaigns is a bad thing while almost half of Democrats (45%) say it is a good thing. Half of Independents (48%) also believe this involvement is a bad thing.

One reason people may believe celebrities getting involved in politics is a bad thing is that over half (56%) of Americans believe that the support of a celebrity changes people’s views about which candidate to support. Just one-third (34%) believe that celebrity support does not change anyone’s views. Politically, partisans are on the same page with this issue – over half of Republicans (54%), Democrats (56%) and Independents (59%) all believe celebrities change people’s minds about candidates.

Here, there is also a generational divide. Two-thirds (67%) of Echo Boomers believe this celebrity involvement in politics changes people views as do three in five Gen Xers (59%) and over half of Baby Boomers (55%). Again, Matures are different as just 43 percent of this generation believe celebrity involvement changes views about a candidate while 47 percent say it does not change views.

These findings suggest that some celebrities can sometimes do a great deal to help the causes or issues they endorse. And, some can do better than others. The platform of her daily talk show is probably one of the reasons Oprah Winfrey rises to the top.

"Many times celebrities get involved in various causes, including domestic and foreign policies, as well as the prevention and treatment of diseases. How much positive difference do you believe these celebrities can make to the issue they are promoting?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding

"Have you ever gotten more information or done anything to support a cause because of something you heard an actor, singer or other celebrity say or do?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding

"Among these actors, singers and other celebrities who are currently active in championing a cause, which ones do you believe have been very effective in raising awareness of their cause?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding

"Besides causes, celebrities have become more and more involved in the presidential race, endorsing candidates and appearing at events with them. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding

"Do you believe that the support of a celebrity changes people’s views about which candidate to support?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States March 11 and 18, 2008, among 2,513 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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