This section of the report will take a focus on academic literature discovered from previous research. The literature will be used to compare and contrast the workings of World Wide XR and how the academic readings fit into a contemporary setting. 

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The two main theories of my literature include nostalgia and emulation/imitation of audience members. Looking at nostalgia first, Samantha Barbas provides reasoning to a celebrity endorsement. She writes, “Capitalizing on fans’ interest in stars, the film industry, with the help of publishers and advertisers, sold fans a variety of consumer products.” (Barbas, 2001, p.4).  This notion is further supported by Paul Mcdonald when he wrote, “Stars are signs of economic value, assets deployed in the film market with the aim of raising promotion, capturing revenues and securing profits.’ (McDonald, 2013, p.1).  

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It is clear that there is a market for the use of celebrity image within branding, marketing and the selling of products. This marketing strategy is also something that has been used for years, with celebrities being the face of a brand or a product. As Dyer mentioned in his writing that stars are made to sell and to be sold (1986). When referring these writings it is clear that World Wide XR can create a large profit by selling the image rights temporarily of passed celebrities to productions. Whether alive or dead, a celebrity will sell a product, and an example of this can be the Audrey Hepburn Galaxy chocolate advert, as mentioned previously.  

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But what is interesting to look into is why. Why would World Wide XR want the rights to pass celebrities who are nearly 50 years passed their death. According to research, it is due to the audience feeling the sensation of Nostalgia when they see old celebrities revived on their screens.  Nostalgia is described by Simon Reynolds when he wrote, “originally referred to a longing to return through space, rather than across time; it was the ache of displacement… to be seen not just as an individual emotion but as a collective longing for a happier, simpler, more innocent age” (Reynolds, 2011, p.XXV). By using older celebrities and being able to recreate their essence through the likeness of a body double and computer-generated images, World Wide XR is able to provide the feeling of nostalgia to audiences and gain a higher profit for the use of the most iconic names, like James Dean or Bettie Page. Essentially, World Wide XR is fan service. They provide imagery of iconic stars, making fans within the audience feel the sensation of nostalgia once again, making them unlock their need to purchase to connect further to their favourite passed celebrity. D’Rozario’ and Bryant further explain this want of nostalgia in elder generations when they write, “being part of an adorning public that grew up with the celebrity and who now crave the imagery and work of that celebrity … to remind themselves of a bygone, romanticized era, when they were young.” (D’Rozario’ and Bryant, 2013, p.1). Furthermore, they write about the constant circulation of imagery and the growth of the use of old / passed celebrities, proving that the word that World Wide XR carry out is relevant and noticeable. They wrote, “an increasing interest by an ageing baby-boom generation in imagery and experiences from yesteryear.” (D’Rozario and Bryant, 2013, p.1).

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Moreover, looking into psychographic reasoning for the audience want of nostalgia from passed celebrities, Zipporah and Mberia explain, “celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalize on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brands.” (Mwenda and Mberia,2014, p.184).  Thus these examples of academic resources create a connection and reason as to why World Wide XR are successful with their business because the market is there for nostalgia to be indulged upon by audience members.