Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how vicarious role models such as television celebrities and entertainers influence purchase intentions of teenagers in Botswana.

Design/methodology/approach
– A survey research design was used. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 200 senior secondary school students using a structured questionnaire. The measures used in the questionnaire were adapted from previous scales.

Findings
– The results reflected that there is a relatively high level of vicarious role model influence of television celebrities and entertainers among teenagers in Botswana. Similarly, the results of regression analysis demonstrated that television celebrities and entertainers as vicarious role models positively influence teenagers' purchase intentions, especially their switching behavior and response to the problem.

Research limitations/implications
– By examining how vicarious role model influence of television celebrities and entertainers affects the purchase intentions of Botswana teenagers, this study has not only studied a cultural context that has not been investigated before but also enriches the existing body of research on how young consumers acquire purchase-related behavior.

Practical implications
– Based on the findings of the current study, marketers could safely use vicarious role models such as celebrities and entertainers when designing television advertisements aimed at the teenagers segment.

Originality/value
– It is widely held that teenagers learn a significant proportion of their purchase behavior through direct and indirect contact. Hence, various socialization agents that influence teenagers' purchase behavior have been studied using western samples. The paper is one of the few that have contributed knowledge about how the purchase behavior of teenagers in an African context is influenced by television celebrities and entertainers as socialization agents.