Do you have what it takes to be a V.I.P.?

Chris Rojek is considered the "godfather" of celebrity studies. In his book Celebrity, he comments that "although God-like qualities are often attributed to celebrities, the modern meaning of the term celebrity actually derives from the fall of the gods and the rise of democratic governments and secular societies." This is no accident! The increasing importance of the public face in everyday life is a consequence of the rise of public society, a society that cultivates personal style as the antidote to formal democratic equality. 

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The Latin root of the term celebrem, has connotations with both 'fame' and 'being thronged'. There is also a connection in Latin with the term celere, from which the English word accelerate derives. This indicates a relationship in which a person is marked out as possessing a singularity, and a social structure in which the character of fame is fleeting. The French word célébre, meaning 'well known in public', carries similar connnotations. It also ties celebrity to a public and acknowledges the fickle, temporary nature of the market in human sentiments. 

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Celebrity: The attribution of glamorous or notorious status to an individual within the public sphere. What connects a supermodel to a terrorist is cultural impact and public addiction. To reduce it to a crude equation, celebrity = impact on public consciousness (Rojek 2001). 

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Influencer: Someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, or relationship with his or her audience. It is important to note that these individual are not merely marketing tools, but rather social relationship assets with which brands can collaborate to achieve their marketing objectives (influencermarketing 2021).