Unfortunately, you often need a celeb to say something before the general public will pay attention. More often than not, celebs are just mouthpieces for some organization. It's pub for the celeb, and the org gets its message out. The celebs that are truly invested in particular issues are out there all the time doing their thing. Unfortunately, what celebs do and say does have an influence, whether they're actually personally invested in what they say or not.
"The best kind of pride is that which compels a man to do his best when no one is watching."