deleb
English edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
deleb (plural delebs)
- (neologism) A dead celebrity, particularly one whose image is used for promoting a product.
- 2009 October 28, Katie Allen, “Yves Saint Laurent tops dead celebrity earning league”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-11:
- Revenues from delebs are already rising as rights companies become more aggressive about advertising and product deals, says Reeder, whose company represents estates including Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol and Johnny Cash.
- 2012 February 3, Alix Kirsta, “Selling the dead”, in Tony Gallagher, editor, The Daily Telegraph[2], London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-01-06:
- In America, licensing the images, names and voices of 'delebs' (dead celebrities) has become a multi-billion-dollar business.
- 2020, T. Barton Carter, Juliet Lushbough Dee, Harvey L. Zuckman, Mass Communication Law (In a Nutshell), 8th edition, St. Paul, M.N.: West Academic Publishing, →ISBN, pages 129–130:
- The only apparent qualification is that a deceased person's image or persona may be so desirable for commercial exploitation that a transferable property right in the image is created in the dead celebrity or "deleb;" for example, the estate of Michael Jackson took in more than $400 million for licensing his publicity rights in 2018 alone.
- 2023 April 24, Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert, “Twitter's posthumous blue checks look a lot like necro-advertising, the legally questionable marketing strategy that uses dead celebrities to boost sales”, in Business Insider[3], New York, N.Y.: Insider Inc., →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-01:
- Recent changes at Twitter indicate the tech giant may be trying its hand at a form of necro-advertising, users speculated after delebs — dead celebrities — including Kobe Bryant and Anthony Bourdain had verification check marks placed on their inactive accounts, creating the appearance that they've paid to subscribe to Twitter Blue.