CHAMPAIGN–
U of I Professor Cele C. Otnes is being featured on a national TV special: The Story of the Royals.
It will air during a two-night national television special in August. The Story of the Royals is on Wed., Aug. 22 and Thur., Aug. 23 from 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CT both nights. The show, which was produced by People magazine, will document the lives of the British royal family, a subject Otnes has researched extensively throughout her career.
Otnes was interviewed for this special because of her national reputation as an expert on the royal family. In 2015, she published a book called Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture.
Otnes is currently a professor of business administration and the interim department head of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She teaches courses in consumer behavior and promotions and takes special interest in ritual-based consumer behavior (e.g. gift giving, wedding planning), and how advertising and marketing shape those rituals.