Cyber echoes to celebrity femvertising on youtube: the case of prada paradoxe

In the current scenario sustainability is reshaping marketing becoming a fundamental part of communication strategy. Companies are shifting from profit-centric narratives to ethical and sustainable practices, which foster meaningful connections with audiences. This is especially true for luxury fashion brands that rely on celebrity endorsements to promote their products and services to a wider audience. Celebrity endorsement is a central advertising strategy for most luxury fashion brands looking to strengthen their global market positioning. Additionally, “femvertising” and the use of female celebrities to reinforce values of female empowerment in advertising campaigns marks a conscious effort by brands to connect with consumers on a deeper, more meaningful level. Digitalization is vital for luxury key players to engage with their customers in the digital world, which will become increasingly important in the future. On YouTube, engagement is manifested through actions such as liking, disliking, commenting, sharing, and uploading videos. Analyzing the comments to the Prada Paradoxe ad campaign, this research aims to identify how viewers on YouTube perceive the ad message. In particular, we want to understand to what extent the visual brand signals, including sustainability cues, conveyed by a celebrity aligned with the brand signals, also in terms of sustainability, communicated by the company in the advertising campaign. Then, the study examines how these visual cues align with consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s sustainability signals.