Minor flaws are better: The positive effect of aesthetic imperfection about avatar endorsers on brand authenticity

Empowered by digital technologies, avatar endorsers are prevalent in advertising for their unique benefit. However, consumers tend to perceive a lower authenticity about avatars and brands they endorse, which triggers potential negative consequences. Therefore, how to enhance consumers’ perceived authenticity has become an important issue for marketers. Psychological closeness is an important source of consumers’ perceived authenticity. Consequently, based on social identity theory and several experiments, we find for an avatar endorser with aesthetic imperfection, small flaws inconsistent with aesthetic standards such as small facial blemishes, (vs. aesthetic perfection), consumers’ perceived brand authenticity will be enhanced due to increasing their psychological closeness to this avatar endorser. In addition, in self-improvement product consumption, consumers are more likely to pursue their ideal self-image and move close to a perfect endorser; in this context, the main effect is reversed.