Replicating the Kaepernick Effect: The Power of Polarizing Frames to Make or Break Consumer Loyalty

This thesis evaluates the ways media frames influence attitude towards brands when the brand endorses a controversial celebrity spokesperson. This research was created with the intent to fill a current gap in communication research, providing original data and addressing the influence that external factors, specifically media frames and political orientations, hold over an audience's perception of spokespeople and the brands they later endorse. This was accomplished through an original, cross-sectional experiment that measured how celebrity athletes, who speak out about partisan issues, function as agents for messaging in brand advertisements. This thesis draws upon the communication theories of agenda setting, and primarily framing, in order to evaluate how impactful media frames of an athlete can become to consumers once the media highlights the spokesperson through a polarizing frame. This experiment attempts to replicate 'the Kaepernick effect,' inspired by the polarizing media coverage of Colin Kaepernick over his 2016-NFL season with the 49-ers, leading up to his partnership with Nike for its 2018 "Dream Crazy" advertisement. The findings from this study reveal that media frames, though carrying some impact, are not the most influential factor in shaping audiences' attitudes towards spokespeople or the brands they advertised. This study contributes new data to the discipline of media effects research, extending the conversation about celebrity athlete endorsers, the influence of media frames on consumer response, and implications for future studies.