Celebrity Endorsements: The Great, The Hollow, and The Wrecker (ft. Aaron Ohmstede)

Welcome back to Let's Talk Media! In Episode 10 of this media analysis podcast, host Vedant Akhauri sits down with former Ithaca College peer Aaron Ohmstede, who is now heading to the University of Florida to study philosophy and political science. This episode delves into the complicated, highly influential world of celebrity endorsements. From pop stars driving voter registration to tone-deaf ads, Vedant and Aaron unpack when an endorsement works, when it completely backfires, and how the internet has changed the game.In this episode, we discuss:The Power of the Unexpected: Aaron explains that endorsements are often most powerful when a public figure steps outside of their usual realm. They highlight Taylor Swift's surprising dive into politics during the 2018 Tennessee midterms, noting how a pop star's endorsement generated massive buzz and donations for her candidate.The Best and the Worst: A breakdown of the most impactful and disastrous endorsements. Aaron praises civil rights leader Jim Clyburn's endorsement of Joe Biden for completely swinging the South Carolina primary beyond what any polls indicated. On the flip side, they tear into Kylie Jenner's infamous Pepsi ad, criticizing both the corporation and Jenner for tone-deafly trivializing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement just to sell soda.The Detrimental Endorsement: What happens when an endorsement actually hurts a candidate?Reaching the Unengaged: While warning against voting solely based on a celebrity's opinion, Aaron defends the practice by noting how artists like Cardi B (who interviewed Bernie Sanders on her IGTV) can engage massive audiences of young people who usually ignore politics. They also discuss the modern king-making power of platforms like The Joe Rogan Experience, where long-form discussions reach the largest audiences in the world.Hollywood Elites: Pushing back against the narrative that celebrities are just out-of-touch elites, Aaron argues that they are still people with a fundamental right to voice their opinions. He urges voters to take celebrity endorsements with a grain of salt, but to actually examine the why instead of dismissing them outright.If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to be notified of future episodes. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava.Audio Remastered: June 8, 2026"Unwritten Return" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/