The document discusses celebrity endorsements and their impact on brands. It defines what a brand and celebrity are, and outlines several factors that influence the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements, including the brand equity, the celebrity's image and relevance to the brand. Celebrity endorsements can boost awareness and sales, but the brand must be strong enough to withstand any risks from the celebrity. Regional celebrities are also being used more to target local markets.

1. Celebrity Endorsement
By
Priyanka Parab - 20
Ishita Puri - 26
Anurag Shukla - 31
Shubham Chourey - 04
N.B Ramakrishnan - 15
V.Shayatri Iyengar - 09
Under the guidance of
Prof. Sameer
A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for Paper VI ,
Brand Building,
at TYBMM
(August 2008)
SIES COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE AND COMMERCE,
SION (W), MUMBAI – 400022
1

2. Acknowledgment
We would like to thank our Prof. Sameer for giving us this wonderful project which
helped us to give us more knowledge on celebrity endorsements. We would like to
thank Mr Rishi Kapoor and Mrs Mahima Chaudhary and also all the people whom
we interviewed and helped us interview other people. We would like to thank Ms
Disha Jhunjhunwala & Ajay Damle for lending their technical help.
2

3. Three of humankind's greatest inventions (cinema, radio, and television) have extended the scope of
endorsement as an advertising technique. Today, use of celebrities as part of marketing communications strategy
is fairly common practice for major firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery.
So to study the impact of celebrity endorsement on brands , one has to first know what a brand is and what
exactly is a celebrity
A brand is a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the
descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey
the essence of a company, product or service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the
accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the
influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the
information connected to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and expectations
among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols and
sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality. The key objective is to
create a relationship of trust.
Branding today is a blend of art and science and the topic is of interest to both academics and
practitioners. Huge amount of money is being spent by marketers to develop brands, with a conviction that brand
building, will create brand differentiation. While the intrinsic value with regard to functionality, is created by the
marketer through the offering, consumer psyche plays a vital role with regard to short and long term effects of
brand associations. Besides brand associations, cultural dimensions plays an important role with regard to both
branding associations and how consumer¡Çs mind adapts to the development of brand associations.
3

4. Building a brand:
Quality
Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. Remember the “core benefits” – the things consumers expect. These
must be delivered well, consistently. The branded washing machine that leaks, or the training shoe that often falls
apart when wet will never develop brand equity.
Research confirms that, statistically, higher quality brands achieve a higher market share and higher profitability
that their inferior competitors.
Positioning
Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a
clear, often unique position in the target market.
Positioning can be achieved through several means, including brand name, image, service standards, product
guarantees, packaging and the way in which it is delivered. In fact, successful positioning usually requires a
combination of these things.
Repositioning
Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market position to reflect a change in consumer’s tastes.
This is often required when a brand has become tired, perhaps because its original market has matured or has
gone into decline.
The repositioning of the Lucozade brand from a sweet drink for children to a leading sports drink is one example.
Another would be the changing styles of entertainers with above-average longevity such as Kylie Minogue and
Cliff Richard.
Communications
4

5. Communications also play a key role in building a successful brand. We suggested that brand positioning is
essentially about customer perceptions – with the objective to build a clearly defined position in the minds of the
target audience.
All elements of the promotional mix need to be used to develop and sustain customer perceptions. Initially, the
challenge is to build awareness, then to develop the brand personality and reinforce the perception.
First-mover advantage
Business strategists often talk about first-mover advantage. In terms of brand development, by “first-mover” they
mean that it is possible for the first successful brand in a market to create a clear positioning in the minds of target
customers before the competition enters the market. There is plenty of evidence to support this.
Think of some leading consumer product brands like Gillette, Coca Cola and Sellotape that, in many ways,
defined the markets they operate in and continue to lead. However, being first into a market does not necessarily
guarantee long-term success. Competitors – drawn to the high growth and profit potential demonstrated by the
“market-mover” – will enter the market and copy the best elements of the leader’s brand (a good example is the
way that Body Shop developed the “ethical” personal care market but were soon facing stiff competition from the
major high street cosmetics retailers.
Long-term perspective
This leads onto another important factor in brand-building: the need to invest in the brand over the long-term.
Building customer awareness, communicating the brand’s message and creating customer loyalty takes time. This
means that management must “invest” in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short-term profitability.
Internal marketing
Finally, management should ensure that the brand is marketed “internally” as well as externally. By this we mean
that the whole business should understand the brand values and positioning. This is particularly important in
service businesses where a critical part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a customer
receives.
5

6. Think of the brands that you value in the restaurant, hotel and retail sectors. It is likely that your favourite brands
invest heavily in staff training so that the face-to-face contact that you have with the brand helps secure your
loyalty.
Brand Awareness :
A gauge of marketing effectiveness measured by the ability of a customer to recognize and/or recall a name,
image or other mark associated with a particular brand.
Examples: In today's most competitive atmosphere, it is critical for retailers to maintain and build on their brand
awareness, as well as reinforce the value proposition of their market.
Perceived quality can be defined as the customer's perception of the overall quality or superiority of a
product or service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives. Perceived quality is, first, a
perception by customers. It thus differs from several related concepts, such as:
a) Actual or objective quality: the extent to which the product or service delivers superior service
b) Product-based quality: the nature and quantity of ingredients, features, or services included
c) Manufacturing quality: conformance to specification, the "zero defect" goal
Brand personality
It is a comprehensive concept, which includes all the tangible and intangible traits of a brand, say beliefs, values,
prejudices, features, interests, and heritage. A brand personality makes it unique.
• Brand Personality describes brands in terms of human characteristics.
• Brand personality is seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand engagement and brand attachment, in much the
same way as people relate and bind to other people.
Brand Image
Images evoked by exposure to a named brand
6

7. Like brand personality, brand image is not something you have or you don't! A brand is unlikely to have one
brand image, but several, though one or two may predominate. The key in brand image research is to identify or
develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent brand communications. The term
"brand image" gained popularity as evidence began to grow that the feelings and images associated with a brand
were powerful purchase influencers, though brand recognition, recall and brand identity. It is based on the
proposition that consumers buy not only a product (commodity), but also the image associations of the product,
such as power, wealth, sophistication, and most importantly identification and association with other users of the
brand. In a consumer led world, people tend to define themselves and their Jungian "persona" by their
possessions. According to Sigmund Freud, the ego and superego control to a large extent the image and
personality that people would like others to have of them.
Good brand images are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost always unique among competitive brands.
Brand image can be reinforced by brand communications such as packaging, advertising, promotion, customer
service, word-of-mouth and other aspects of the brand experience.
Brand images are usually evoked by asking consumers the first words/images that come to their mind when a
certain brand is mentioned (sometimes called "top of mind"). When responses are highly variable, non-
forthcoming, or refer to non-image attributes such as cost, it is an indicator of a weak brand image.
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-
developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. Organizations use this strategy to
increase and leverage brand equity (definition: the net worth and long-term sustainability just from the renowned
name). An example of a brand extension is Jello-gelatin creating Jello pudding pops. It increases awareness of the
brand name and increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category.
A brand's "extendibility" depends on how strong consumer's associations are to the brand's values and goals.
Ralph Lauren's Polo brand successfully extended from clothing to home furnishings such as bedding and towels.
Both clothing and bedding are made of linen and fulfill a similar consumer function of comfort and hominess.
Arm & Hammer leveraged its brand equity from basic baking soda into the oral care and laundry care categories.
By emphasizing its key attributes, the cleaning and deodorizing properties of its core product, Arm & Hammer
was able to leverage those attributes into new categories with success. Another example is Virgin Group, which
7

8. has extended its brand from from transportation (aeroplanes, trains) to games stores and video stores such a
Virgin Megastores.
In 1990s, 81% of new products used brand extension to introduce new brands and to create sales. Launching a
new product, is not only time consuming but also needs a big budget to create awareness and to promote a
product's benefits. Brand extension is one of the new product development strategies which can reduce financial
risk by using the parent brand name to enhance consumers' perception due to the core brand equity.
While there can be significant benefits in brand extension strategies, there can also be significant risks, resulting
in a diluted or severely damaged brand image. Poor choices for brand extension may dilute and deteriorate the
core brand and damage the brand equity. Most of the literature focuses on the consumer evaluation and positive
impact on parent brand. In practical cases, the failures of brand extension are at higher rate than the successes.
Some studies show that negative impact may dilute brand image and equity. In spite of the positive impact of
brand extension, negative association and wrong communication strategy do harm to the parent brand even brand
family.
Product extensions are versions of the same parent product that serve a segment of the target market and
increase the variety of an offering. An example of a product extension is Coke vs. Diet Coke in same product
category of soft drinks. This tactic is undertaken due to the brand loyalty and brand awareness they enjoy
consumers are more likely to buy a new product that has a tried and trusted brand name on it. This means the
market is catered for as they are receiving a product from a brand they trust and Coca Cola is catered for as they
can increase their product portfolio and they have a larger hold over the market in which they are performing in.
Brand loyalty has been proclaimed by some to be the ultimate goal of marketing.[In marketing, brand loyalty
consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a
product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. True brand loyalty implies that
the consumer is willing, at least on occasion, to put aside their own desires in the interest of the brand.
Brand loyalty is more than simple repurchasing, however. Customers may repurchase a brand due to situational
constraints, a lack of viable alternatives, or out of convenience. Such loyalty is referred to as "spurious loyalty".
True brand loyalty exists when customers have a high relative attitude toward the brand which is then exhibited
through repurchase behavior.This type of loyalty can be a great asset to the firm: customers are willing to pay
higher prices, they may cost less to serve, and can bring new customers to the firm. For example, if Joe has brand
8

9. loyalty to Company A he will purchase Company A's products even if Company B's are cheaper and/or of a
higher quality.
An example of a major brand loyalty program that extended for several years and spread worldwide is Pepsi
Stuff. Perhaps the most significant contemporary example of brand loyalty is the fervent devotion of many Mac
users to the Apple company and its products.
From the point of view of many marketers, loyalty to the brand - in terms of consumer usage - is a key factor
Brand Equity:
The equity and the heritage of the brand matters when celebrity advertising is attempted. Omega a few years ago
used a campaign with Cindy Crawford in the Asian markets. The classic image of the brand may have little
association with the flashy image of the celebrity.
Coke uses a number of celebrities in several regions of the Indian market and it has also used many film and
sports celebrities over a period of time since its launch in India. The higher the brand's equity, the more its
immunity to the risks involved in using celebrities. Mistakes do not damage the brand much and it gets time to
correct any it may have made with regard to the celebrity route. Thumps Up, which has used many celebrities
(including Gavaskar) and which was not advertised for a while after Coke was launched in India, still carries
considerable equity. It is also interesting to observe that Thumps Up did not start with a celebrity association,
which it used later to create the `macho' association. It was launched as a substitute for Coke when the latter made
an exit from the Indian markets. Fanta made use of humour a few years ago and it is currently using a well-known
celebrity in some markets.
Several brands in categories of milk, footwear and soaps (regional brands) are also using well-known celebrities
and the objective in such cases could be to generate a short-term demand for the respective brand. Hero Honda is
currently using a celebrity from cricket and it is unlikely that this celebrity, even if changed/substituted, would
adversely affect the image of the brand. Sunsilk used a topical celebrity in certain markets and given its overall
brand image, it can afford to have a reasonable degree of flexibility to try out celebrities.
9

10. A new brand (without a brand heritage) using a celebrity may experience different implications. When Videocon
started its TV advertising in India, the brand used a cine celebrity to launch its picture-in-picture model. While the
model did not pick up, the celebrity certainly enhanced brand recall. This recall occurred when the category itself
was developing during the Eighties - the same celebrity used in a similar situation would not have the same
impact in an evolved market.
Lata, a brand of perfume named after the famous playback singer, seems to appeal to Indians in West Asia and
hence the objective of using a celebrity of this kind was different for this brand.
10

11. What is a celebrity?
A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention.
The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrere" but they may not become a celebrity unless public and mass
media interest is piqued
Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain group of people. Whereas
attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or special skills are just examples and specific common
characteristics cannot be observed, it can be said that within a corresponding social group celebrities generally
differ from the social norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness. This is true for classic forms of
celebrities, like actors (e.g. Meg Ryan, Pierce Brosnan), models (e.g. Naomi Campbell, Gisele Buendchen), sports
athletes (e.g. Anna Kournikova, Michael Schumacher), entertainers (e.g. Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’Brien
Friedman and Friedman (1979) found empirical evidence that, in the promotion of products high in psychological
and/or social risk, use of celebrity endorser would lead to greater believability, a more favorable evaluation of the
product and advertisement, and a significantly more positive purchase intention.
As advertisers pour crores of rupees every year into celebrity advertising, the question arises… is it worth all the
money ?
Well it certainly seems so, given the rise in the products sales and the brand recall achieved solely due to the
More recently, there is a growing usage of regional celebrities to appeal to regional segments - Coke, Vim and a
regional brand such as Jeeva soap are examples. While clear-cut data and the effectiveness of these kinds of
celebrity appeals are hard to obtain, it may be worthwhile to analyse how certain considerations could help
marketers in such strategies.
Nature of the category:
FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) categories by themselves are amenable to impulsive buying habits of
consumers. There is also a large category of consumers who may like to try out variety in a given category while
being loyal to a specific brand. For instance, a consumer may be loyal to a brand of soap but try out several other
11

12. brands during the same period. Celebrity advertising, whether for a national brand or a regional brand in such a
category, would have to have a clear-cut goal of initiating trials and the product (both in terms of proposition and
consumer experience) would have to be superior to other offerings to ensure those who try out the brand stay with
it.
Celebrity usage, especially for a new brand being introduced, should necessarily have a long-term strategy in
place before the celebrity route is taken. During the initial phase, those trying out the brand should be retained and
quickly some form of loyalty programme should be launched to ensure that they do not leave the brand. It need
not be a freebie - it could be a well thought-out plan which adds value to the brand association - in fact, if a brand
has a non-sales promotion programme without the usual `buy one-take two' programme, it is likely to stand out.
Such planning ensures that the initial mileage derived from the celebrity used (in terms of brand trials) is not
wasted.
The problem of using celebrity by a brand in the durable category becomes much more complex as consumers
may not invest a fortune in an expensive durable) simply because celebrities endorse a brand. While this is more
applicable to several durable categories, there may be exceptions such as Santro and Palio in the automobile
sector. Around six lakh cars are sold in the country compared to millions of TVs and the category itself a `niche'
category.
A topical celebrity would certainly attract the attention of a prospective buyer, especially the segment of buyers
who may buy a brand such as Santro. At launch, this brand had a celebrity and this ensured that brand awareness
was created in a market which did not even know the brand. The brand was able to back the awareness created
through celebrity usage with fine performance and within a short time it established itself in terms of market share
as well as positive word of mouth. This was the stage when it introduced the second (an actress topping the
popularity chart) celebrity.
In the case of Palio, which is reported to have registered a rise in sales after the introduction of the famous and
record-creating cricket celebrity, it had revamped the product offering in an attempt to enhance the value
proposition of the offering. A durable would do well to choose a celebrity who has an `expert association' with the
product usage - a microwave using a celebrity known for her expertise in cuisine. A washing machine brand using
a cricket celebrity would offer little advantage unless he has a charismatic presence in a specific region.
12

13. BPL probably gained a lot of mileage in the rural and semi-urban markets using an extremely popular cinematic
Indian celebrity known for his tinsel image reflecting `Robin Hood-like' goodness and good Samaritan qualities.
This company had come out of several campaigns highlighting its hi-tech image before it eventually used a
celebrity.
In the case of categories such as chewing gum or biscuits, celebrity appeal has an impulsive impact on the
consumers and could continue to have this impact as long as the celebrity is a reigning one.
Services could open up a different line of thought with regard to celebrity usage - given the intangibility and the
complexities associated with services, it could provide credibility to the brand by reducing the perceived risk
associated with it. A number of insurance companies have joined the competition against the well-entrenched
LIC. Perceived risk is a major factor which brands need to address and the use of an appropriate celebrity could
achieve the purpose. In the case of other services, for example, banking, which may involve more frequent
interaction with the
organisation/brand, the brand should back up the celebrity `assurance'(endorsement) through excellent service
experience. Without such a strategy, the celebrity appeal would only result in a negative word of mouth.
Long-term brand associations
Any brand, especially those which would like to have a sustained presence in the market, should use celebrities
with a long-term strategy. Gwalior Suitings has been consistent in using a celebrity pair for the last several years.
The Parker brand of pen, which by itself commands equity, used Amitabh Bachchan to probably revitalise not just
the brand but also the art of handwriting, given that the target segment for a brand like this is well into word
processing. But after having created this association between the two `brands', the brand would find it worthwhile
to further this association in an effective manner for long-term benefits. The same celebrity (along with his son,
an upcoming actor) was used by the car Versa. The proposition communicated was the vehicle's spaciousness.
The brand would do well to further the association to derive more mileage for itself in the long run.
A specific strategy is important, especially for brands using celebrities for durables. Tamarind, a readymade
garments brand, which used a popular celebrity, is another interesting example to research the effectiveness of the
celebrity strategy.
13

14. The Business Of Being Kareena Kapoor
Film analyst Indu Mirani grudgingly accepts that in an industry with few female-centric roles, 'Geet's portrayal is
indeed path-breaking.' Mirani, for the record, is no great fan of the actor.
Charging around Rs 2.5-3.5 crore per film, trade analyst Komal Nahta says Kareena's forthcoming films --
including Rajkumar Hirani's Idiots with Aamir Khan , Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan with Shah Rukh , Yash
Raj Films' animation project Roadside Romeo, and others -- are pegged at Rs 130 crore
A top-notch director, on condition of anonymity, informs that Kareena's price has increased seven times since
2005 when she was paid around Rs 50 lakh for a film. According to Nahta, it's a price Kareena could quote easily
for just a special appearance in a song-and-dance sequence today. In the Indian advertising industry, experts are
fast attaching the tag of 'endorsement queen' to her name.
Shveta Brahma, Kareena's endorsement manager at Matrix Bay, says she's one of the very few actors who
combines pedigree with performance. For each endorsement, Kareena quotes Rs 1.5-2 crores and with nine
endorsements already in her kitty and four more planned before the year end (this includes an Airtel ad with beau
Saif Ali Khan that she's reportedly signed for Rs 5 crores), she will comfortably earn another Rs 17 crore.
Collectively, the brands that she endorses have annual marketing campaigns to the tune of Rs 100 crore, at the
very least, including Globus (Rs 20 crore), Emami (Rs 15 crore), Anne French (Rs 10-12 crore), Citizen watches
(Rs 15 crore) and ITC Vivel (Rs 30 crore).
Harish Bijoor, brand specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, goes as far to call hers the 'Mona Lisa face' that
contributes vivaciousness and attractiveness to products. Anand Halve, founder of communications consultancy
Chlorophyll, may feel that Katrina Kaif is fast catching up because brands haven't managed to leverage Kareena's
potential, but most companies are quite content to associate with this fourth generation Kapoor scion.
14

15. "We observed the way Kareena worked on her new onscreen persona to become popular with the youth," says
Vinay Nadkarni, CEO, Globus Stores. "She's a style diva who adds to a brand's value." The apparel brand claims
to have witnessed a 75 percent increase in sales since it signed her on last year.
Celebrity Interviews:
Interview Mr. Rishi Kapoor
Q. Now a days while flipping channels, we see a Shahrukh Khan selling a laptop on one channel, or an aamir
selling a watch on another. The advertising market is full of Celebrity endorsements. What do you think of this
new trend of Celebrity endorsements?
A. Companies want to advertise their products and what better way than the electronic medium. When a celebrity
face gets added to the endorsement, there is an addition of tnyproducts. Not he glamour quotient . People identify
the advertisement easily because of the celebrity. It helps them in Brand recall. For example, the current most
popular Abhinav Bindra can be the next celebrity face to launch many products. He will be the new icon.
Not only an actor, sportsperson or politician.... but any celebrity now a days endorses products.
Q. Do you think that if there is a better match between the Celebrity and the Brand attributes, believability
becomes easier?
A. See this is the celebrity’s individual choice. There are many celebrities who endorse Brands of Gutka,
underwear etc that we are sure that they don’t use these themselves. So I think for a celebrity at the end of the day
it matters how much cash you are drawing in. It is absolutely an individual choice.
The celebrity become sthe destination.
Q. Sir, one of your contemporaries, Mr. Anil Kapoor has said that Celebrity endorsements are a way of cheating
the public. What would you like to comment on this?
A. We are not here to preach. Please tell Anil Kapoor to go preach in a church if he wants to. We are only here to
make things look glamourous. And what better way to do so other than us eof Celebrities?!
Q. When you go to a market as a consumer, do celebrity endorsements influence your buying behaviour?
15

16. A. No never. I will never go buy a particular product because a particular celebrity is endorsing it. Yes he wil
remind me of the eproduct and help in recall but never influence my final decision to buy or not.
Q. Given a chance to join the race of Celebrity endorsements, which Brand would you like to endorse?
A. Yes definitely! Why not, being a part of this industry it is my job. I would like to endorse brands which are not
harmful to children and to adults. Things like gutka, cigarette, alcohol endorsements will not be entertained by
me.
Interview with Actress Mahima Chaudhary:
When We had asked these questions Mahima Chaudhary :
1. What is your View and opinion about celebrity about endorsements ?
2. Have you endorsed any product ?
3. Would you like to be a part of it in near future also ?
Answers
She had given a very positive response while talking about the celebrity endorsements,she said it’s a deal which
gives the benefit to all the three major parts included in it celebrity, organization and consumers,she said not
only india even the whole world is driven by celebrity endorsements.
Regarding the products she had endorsed she said she had started her career with the endorsement as a
model,she had done her first commercial with Aamir khan campaign with PEPSI,after than many like Fem
,Sunsilk shampoo etc.
16

17. For the third question she said yes,she will always like to be a part of endorsements even recently she had
done a jewellery campaign With D’Damas.she had also told about the products which she will be not doing
like alcohol,tobacco apart from this
BRAND MANAGERS’ INTERVIEW
Ms. Deepa Vaidyanath
Brand Executive- HEAD & SHOULDERS
Procter & Gamble
The interview was given by email, the below is the email :
FW: From the students of SIES college
Friday, 22 August, 2008 17:01
From:
"Vaidyanathan, Deepa" <vaidyanathan.d@pg.com>
Add sender to Contacts
To:
17

18. puri_ishita@yahoo.com
Dear Ma'am,
We are students of Mass Media,studying in our third year.This project is given to us by our Brand Building
professor. The main aim of the project is to understand the entire concept of Celebrity endorsements and the role
Kareena plays as a Brand endorser.
1. What are the basic criteria that you take into consideration while choosing a Brand ambassador of a particular
product?
What was the process for selecting Kareena as the new Head & Shoulders ambassador?
1. Determine objective for using a brand ambassador
2. Understand consumer needs through consumer research to identify options for a brand ambassador
3.Ensure that there is a brand fit eg. does the brand ambassador represent the values and attributes
of the brand
4. Arrive at the final decision for a brand ambassador
2. What are the points that you keep in mind, before and after the selection of a celebrity as an ambassador. ?
( eg- changes you make the celebrity undergo in personal/professional life )
w.r.t. Kareena?
While choosing a brand ambassador , great care is taken to choose a brand ambassador who represents the
attributes of a brand at a certain period of time .
2. Before choosing Kareena what was market standing of Head & shoulders and how has she impacted the returns?
Could you please help us with some statistics to assure us of the same.
As per corporate policy , we don't share financial information
18

19. 4. Could you please enligthen us about the concept of the Celebrity Contract? What are the different
clauses set before the Celebrity when he/she joins hands with a company. ?
Is this contract similar for all celebrities.?
Celeb contract has Services, Fees, usage, exclusivity, confidentiality, and media right clauses at the minimum.
5. What are the steps taken when a celebrity breaches the contact?
We have a termination clause , however termination is rare . All our brand ambassadors have been partners in
our success.
Thank you Ma'am for granting us your precious time.
Warm Regards,
Ishita Puri ( on behalf of my entire group)
Ms. Neha Thate
Brand Executive- LUX BEAUTY SOAP
Hindustan Unilever Limited
Q. What is the most important thing about a brand endorsement ?
19

20. A. The most important characteristic of an endorsement is the strategy that has gone in, behind it. A 360 degree
strategy helps the brand reach its target audience in an effective manner. Second to it comes the celebrity aspect
of the endorsement. When a celebrity can be woven in seamlessly into the Brand, it is a successful match.
Q. What are the basic criteria for selecting a particular celebrity for a particular brand. W.r.t. Kareena Kapoor and
Lux?
A. Lux never has to narrow down between actresses while choosing its brand ambassador, because it always
chooses nothing but the best. The Lux Chocolate seduction edition was a limited edition of the soap targeted
towards common Indian women who aspired to be sexy seductresses. Kareena’s new avatar of the ‘hot chick’ of
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham suited their need to perfection. Kareena’s role of sexy Poo was something almost
every girl aspired to be like. Lux capitalized on this image and selected Kareena as its Chocolate Seduction
ambassador.
Q. How important is it for the Celebrities image to match the attributes of the Brand?
A. Bollywood being the main theme for the Lux commercials, the present faces of Lux are Aishwaria Rai and
Priyanka Chopra. It is very essential for the Brand ambassador to have the same attributes as that of the Brand so
as to increase credibility and believability of the product.
For example, if chocolate seduction has to be relaunched today, though Aishwaria is already our ambassador, we
definitely cannot use her because she just does not suit the profile. So matching the image of the celebrity with the
brand is of utmost importance.
Q. What are your comments on Brand mismatch? Why does this happen?
A. For example, Paragon chappals used an A-Class celebrity to endorse their Brand. In such a situation a disbelief
is created among the audiences because they know that the celebrity is in nowhere is the Brand. Feroz Khan
endorsing Gutka pan masala is another example of celebrity- brand mismatch.
Q. In what way do celebrities help the brand? In building- Recall, Image or Sales?
20

21. A. The only thing that can increase sales is strategy. As I said earlier a 360 degree approach strategy is an
effective way of increasing sales. The most important role of the celebrity is in the recall of the procuct. It gives
it an individual identity.
Interviews of the agency Client Servicers:
Mr.Rohan Mascarenhas (Director – Client Services)
Miss. Ruchi Chadha (Client service representative for “Anne French”)
GREY WORLDWIDE
Q 1. What is the basic criteria for selection of a celebrity to endorse the brand?
Ans : (a) Image of celebrity should match with the brand.
Eg. John Abraham with bikes so YAMAHA
(b) Connect an aspiration to target audience
(c) He/she should be familiar with the audience before endorsing.
(d) Reputation or status they have in their Proffesional life.
21

22. (e) Most important is budget.
Q 2. What are the advantages of having a celebrity for brand ?
Ans : There are four main advantages :
1.Notibility
2.Visibility
3.Memorability
4.Imagery
Apart from this it increases the recall value of a brand,increase in sales, and even people gets influence in a easy
way.
Q 3. Which is kareena’s most successful endorsement till now and why ?
Ans : Globus,because kareena came up with a very fresh look (lost the weight) All through the campaign she had
given a great sales,in the competitive market with panataloons she had brought the globus again back in light.
Q 4. Till what extent the celebrity helps the brand to increase the sales ?
Ans : Yes,It helps to a great extent but still it is not the only purpose to the celebrity because celebrities helps to
establish the new brand in the market,to re-position the brand and re-establishing the brand value.
Example : Vodafone with irfan khan
Gadbury dairy milk with amitabh bachan (worms period)
Coca cola with aamir khan ( pesticides period )
Q 5. How the brand “anne French” relates to kareena kapoor ?
Ans : kareena has given a very new look to the product personnaly she is very sensitive about her skin amd
looks,from long time product is having a motherly type of a product but through kareena product gets the young
impression.Earlier this brand was endorsed by deepti bhatnagar.At the same time companies like veet are having
22

23. the brand ambassador Katrina kaif so anne French needed the same level of strong competitor who can take the
brand to the great heights.
Alpa
Account Executive – Vivel
Law & Kenneth (Advertising Agency)
Q. What are the selection criteria for selecting a brand ambassador?
A. Firstly, we narrow down to the top 5 today’s popular stars and out of that the one which suits the brand
personality is selected. Of course this entire procedure about who suits the brand personality and image is
considered after a lot of research and as I said before popularity is as well taken into consideration.
Q. What are the advantages of having a celebrity endorse a brand ?
A. According to us, in vivel, Kareen is a plus point as Vivel is a very new brand i.e. its just 6 months old , so it
has given a recognition to our brand and according to me celebrities are only taken in for recognition and recall of
the brand.
Q. So far, what has been Kareena’s most successful endorsement according to you ?
A. Vivel of course. This is because Kareena’s image has been changed considerably after Tashan.The sexy look
of hers appeals her more and she has endorsed it very well.
Q. Kareena’s contribution by endorsing vivel?
A. Brand recall and recognition.
23

24. Below is a article from Economic Times on the 6th of August 2009 :
Endorsement: India Inc prefers film stars over cricketers
NEW DELHI: Gone are the days when cricketers dominated the advertising scene. The power balance between
sports and the silver screen for celebrity endorsements has shifted almost entirely to Bollywood, a fact revealed
when ET scanned through five-year data collated by media tracking firm TAM AdEx.
Surprisingly, this is despite the huge success of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Here are the hard facts:
The number of brands endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar has dropped from 10 to 6 over a period of five years, Rahul
Dravid’s endorsements have slipped from 12 to 5 and Sourav Ganguly barely has a couple to his credit, down
from9in2003
The only exceptions are MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who have grown their endorsements year-on-year. The
promising younger lot, which was much talked-about during the IPL debut season, hasn’t found any significant
takers either.
Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsements have gone up from 6 to 18 in the same period, Hrithik Roshan’s have increased
from 1 to 11 and Saif Ali Khan’s deals have doubled from 4 in 2003 to 8 now.
Even Big B Amitabh Bachchan, who has gone down the power list in the last two years, has managed 10
endorsements, which is higher than all the cricketers except Dhoni, who has 15 existing deals and is still counting.
24

25. Other Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham
have between 3 and 7 deals in their pockets.
PepsiCo has signed up the maximum number of movie stars this year. The list includes Deepika Padukone,
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. What’s more, the company has dropped Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid from
its list. PepsiCo marketing executive director Punita Lal said: “Pepsi will continue to leverage cricket as a
platform; but it’s a fact that Bollywood is ahead of cricket in terms of endorsements.”
Rival Coca-Cola, a heavy advertiser during IPL, chose Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar for its summer
campaigns and gave cricketers a miss. Max New York Life, another major advertiser during IPL, chose to end its
contract with Dravid even though he was captaining the Bangalore Royal Challengers team.
In such a scenario, it is not surprising that talent management firm Globosport has shifted focus to Bollywood
from cricket. CEO Anirban Das said, “With the exception of Dhoni, it’s the movie stars that connect with the
audiences better across genres.”
Other lower-rung players like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have all but disappeared from the endorsement
circuit, while Anil Kumble hasn’t made any impact. Sehwag and Zaheer, in fact, had as many as 13 and 7 brand
associations respectively few years ago.
25

26. Essentials of celebrity endorsements
Even though to an observer it may seem that Nike’s success is totally based on Tiger Wood’s association with the
brand, nothing can be far from the truth. As a brand, Nike has established a very strong brand identity and a brand
personality over the years. What Nike did was to use celebrity endorsement as one of the main channels of
communicating its brand to a highly focused set of customers. So, Nike’s association with Tiger Woods was one
of the parts of an entire branding process that Nike has been practicing consistently. Contrary to this, most of the
brands in Asia that have used celebrity endorsements have used it as the main brand building tool. Before any
brand signs on a celebrity, they should consider three main aspects.
• Attractiveness of the celebrity: This principle states that an attractive endorser will have a positive
impact on the endorsement. The endorser should be attractive to the target audience in certain aspects like
physical appearance, intellectual capabilities, athletic competence, and lifestyle. It has been proved that an
endorser that appears attractive as defined above has a grater chance of enhancing the memory of the
brand that he/she endorses.
• Credibility of the celebrity: This principle states that for any brand-celebrity collaboration to be
successful, the personal credibility of the celebrity is crucial. Credibility is defined here as the celebrities’
perceived expertise and trustworthiness. As celebrity endorsements act as an external cue that enable
consumers to sift through the tremendous brand clutter in the market, the credibility factor of the celebrity
greatly influences the acceptance with consumers.
• Meaning transfer between the celebrity and the brand: This principle states that the success of the
brand-celebrity collaboration heavily depends on the compatibility between the brand and the celebrity in
terms of identity, personality, positioning in the market vis-à-vis competitors, and lifestyle. When a brand
26

27. signs on a celebrity, these are some of the compatibility factors that have to exist for the brand to leverage
the maximum from that collaboration.
Case Study:
Celebrity Endorsement: An Effective Tool for Building Brands?
Article by - Sadhu Ramakrishna & A Santhosh Reddy,
Research Associate, Research Associate,
ICMR Case Studies and Management Resources.
Abstract
The article focuses on celebrity endorsement and its use by marketers. It also explains the problems that marketers
face when they do not choose the right celebrity for their brands.
Introduction
Celebrity endorsements pull in hundreds of crores every year, and are widely preferred by marketers to promote their
products. Using celebrities for endorsing brands has become a trend for building the brands as well as the company's
image. Who are these celebrities? And what does celebrity endorsement mean? A celebrity is a person who is well
recognized by the public, and has a reputation for his/her expertise in his/her chosen silos. Sports persons and film
stars fit the bill perfectly. Promotion of a company's products through these celebrities is termed as celebrity
endorsement. The company makes use of the celebrity's characteristics and qualities to establish an analogy with the
products specialties with an aim to position them in the minds of the target consumers. Celebrity endorsement, thus, is
one of the powerful tools adopted by companies/marketers to consolidate their brand(s) in the crowded marketplace.
Consumers prefer to own a brand that has a good reputation, and when someone like a famous film star or a sport
star is associated with that particular brand, it is obvious that the consumers will get attracted to it, because the
consumer wants to maintain some status, and feels that using a brand promoted by a star can satisfy that longing.
27

28. Why Celebrities ?
There is a myth that celebrity endorsement is used to give a brand advantage over its competitors. However,
choosing a celebrity for this purpose requires considerable amount of calculations. There should be something
common between the brand and the celebrity promoting it. Let us come to the main question as to why marketers
use celebrities to promote their brands. Is there a real need to associate a celebrity with the product? Yes seems to
be the resounding answer. This is because a company needs to create awareness and interest in the consumers
mind when it unveils a new brand or product. To be successful, brands need to convince consumers that they
carry a different image and value from other competing products. In other words, brands have to show their true
personality to the potential consumer(s).
An effective way to do this is through celebrity endorsements. As MG Parmeswaran, executive director of FCB
Ulka says, "As advertising professionals, we recommend celebrity endorsements when the case is justified. There
are many cases where you need to use the celebrity to break out of a category clutter. At times, celebrity
endorsement is used to build credibility to the brand offer." People always wish to see their favorite stars and
marketers, and advertisers are quick to capitalize on such ideas. Endorsement of a product/service by a celebrity
gives out the message that it is as authentic and credible as the celebrity is. The urge that people have of enjoying
the same recognition and status like their favorite stars is often the main reason for the increasing use of
celebrities for products/services endorsement.
28

29. CREATIVE DIRECTORS’ Interview:
Vivek Rao
Publicis Ambience
Creative Director
Q. What are the advantages so having a celebrity endorse your Brand?
A. Celebrity endorsement largely helps in recall. I f a celebrity and the Brand match, then it may be profitable to
the company. However if you are roping a celebrity for the celebrities sake, then it does not work.
For eg- If you have an Amitabh Bachchan endorsing a brand and he fails in the market, you just cannot relaunch
the brand with another celebrity. Deep research has to be conducted before it.
Q. How doe sthe process of celebrity endorsement work in an agency?
A. The Client has a complete idea about the property, image and personality of the Brand , so it is a must that the
Endorser is decided by them. Once the Celebrity is finalized we think of ways in which the two can be brought
together. The Celebrity must help to take the Brand forward. Thats how its works.
Q. Which endorsements of Kareena Kapoor are you aware of?
29

30. A. I do remember Boroplus. She is good with advertising for the skin category. Also something like Head &
Shoulders works for the Brand.
Q. What do you think of Kareena as a brand ambassador?
A. Kareena has wonderful screen presence. She is known for her beautiful pink flawless skin. There are many
women who aspire to have a complexion like hers. Borolpus capitalized on this insight and launched her as their
Brand ambassador. As you just told me about Vivel.. Again the Skin category and Kareena work. ?Not only skin
personal care will work for Kareena and the Brand.
Q. Would you as a consumer ever be influenced by Celebrity endorsements?
A. No never.. as far as high end products are in question a lot of thought goes in behind it. So there is no question
of getting instinctively influenced. But on the other hand an FMCG product might be on my mind due to a
particular advertisement I saw on TV. So yes there I may be a little influenced. Not otherwise.
Pranav
Sr Creative Supervisor
Mudra
Q. What are the advantages so having a celebrity endorse your Brand?
A. Celebrities today have taken up the role of Opinion leaders. People see them, hear them and soon want to be
like them For example, Amitabh Bachchan is a popular opinion leader. However this period where people would
buy the product because X celebrity is selling it to them, does not exist any longer. Now a days people are more
interested in the product, its looks, its features, its price , affordability etc.
Q. What do celebrities mostly contribute in a Brand?
A. Recall is the only thing that celebrities contribute to. An endorser like amir Khan has maintained his
exclusivity, so when you would think of Coco cola, you would relate it to amir Khan. The Brand and the celebrity
became one. However in the case of Shahrukh Khan or amitabh Bachchan , they are endorsing so many products,
one forgets what Brands they stand for.
30

31. Q. Which commercials featuring Kareena Kapoor are you aware of..??
A. Why Kareena Kapoor??! Ask me about a successful ambassador like Aishwaria Rai for Nakshatra diamonds.
No.. don’t remember any endorsement. May be a hair oil. Not sure!
Q. What do you think of Kareena Kapoor as a Brand Ambasssador?
A. The fact that I did not remember any brand that she endorsed.. I must say she is a bad ambassador. There is
nothing assertive about her that adds to the Brand.
Positive Impact of a celebrity endorsing a Brand
Brands have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time. Across categories, whether in products or services,
more and more brands are banking on the mass appeal of celebrities. As soon as a new face ascends the popularity
charts, advertisers queue up to have it splashed all over. Witness the spectacular rise of Kareena Kapoor, Sania
Mirza and M.S.Dhoni in endorsements in a matter of a few months. The accruement of celebrity endorsements
can be justified by the following advantages that are bestowed on the overall brand:
• Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among
the target audience- this is especially true in case of new products. We had the Shah Rukh-Santro
campaign. At launch, Shah Rukh Khan endorsed Santro and this ensured that brand awareness was created
in a market, which did not even know the brand.
• Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter of
advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.
• PR coverage : is another reason for using celebrities. Managers perceive celebrities as topical, which
create high PR coverage. A good example of integrated celebrity campaigns is one of the World’s leading
pop groups, the Spice Girls, who have not only appeared in advertisements for Pepsi, but also in product
launching and PR events. Indeed, celebrity-company marriages are covered by most media from television
to newspapers (e.g. The Spice Girls and Pepsi)
• Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities of the celebrity with the brand
thereby increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger Woods has endorsed American Express, Rolex,
31

32. and Nike. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is used by T-Mobile and Elizabeth Arden. 007 Pierce Brosnan
promotes Omega, BMW, and Noreico.
• Associative Benefit: A celebrity’s preference for a brand gives out a persuasive message - because the
celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also benefit.
• Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer's confidence in its chocolate
brands following the high-pitch worms controversy; so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the
job. Last year, when the even more controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and
resulted in much negative press, both soft drink majors put out high-profile damage control ad films
featuring their best and most expensive celebrities. While Aamir Khan led the Coke fightback as an
ingenious and fastidious Bengali who finally gets convinced of the product's `purity,' PepsiCo brought
Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar together once again in a television commercial which drew
references to the `safety' of the product indirectly.
• Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to
capitalise on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brand.
• Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic segments (age, gender,
class, geography etc.).
• Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest
among the masses.
• Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant chyawanprash
category and staving off competition from various brands, Dabur India roped in Bachchan for an
estimated Rs 8 crore.
• Celebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for lack of innovative ideas.
Negative impact of celebrity endorsement
Clutter in brand endorsements is very prominent these days and such kind of over-exposure can be bad for
the brand as the recall value drops by a huge margin. A popular drawback of celebrity endorsement is the
'Vampire Effect' or the celebrity overshadowing the brand. Some viewers forget the brand that a celebrity
32

33. is approving. Others are so spellbound by the personality of the celebrity that they completely fail to
notice the brand being advertised. Two new drawbacks can be seen these days what marketers call
Celebrity Trap and Celebrity Credibility. Celebrity trap is when the celebrity becomes an addiction for the
marketing team and the task to find substitutes becomes more and more difficult, leading to surfeit of
celebrities. Celebrity credibility refers to skepticism by the consumers regarding the celebrities, especially
when there is anything negative regarding the celebrity associated with the brand in the news, then brand
is bound to be affected
Multiple product endorsement also has a negative impact on customers' purchasing intentions.
Tripp et al.investigated the effects of multiple product endorsement by celebrities on customers' attitudes
and intentions. They found that the number of products a celebrity endorses negatively influences
consumer perception of the endorser and the advertising itself. It was suggested that when as many as four
products are endorsed, celebrity credibility and likeability, as well as attitude towards the ad, may
attenuate.
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan endorses multiple brands like Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI, BPL, Parker pens,
Nerolac, Dabur, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Hajmola, Tide, Cadbury and a few social messages. It has
worked in some cases, while in some cases it has not. D. K. Jain, Chairman and President, Luxor Writing
Instruments Pvt. Ltd, the marketer of the Parker brand said, "Using Amitabh Bachchan as our brand
ambassador has helped in strengthening our brand image and recall within the target audience". Tarun
Joshi, Communications Custodian, Reid & Taylor said, "Amitabh Bachchan is an icon with universal
appeal and has helped us to reach out to the real 'Bharat.' In fact, agents and retailers have told us that
already customers have started asking about the 'Amitabh wali suiting.'" Incase of Nerolac Paints, which
was endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan, around 80% of the respondents when asked to associate Bachchan
with any paint, did so with Asian Paints, which is the biggest competitor of Nerolac.
33

34. Risks involved in the celebrity route:
The celebrity approach has a few serious risks. The most risky is the reputation of the celebrity after he/she has
been associated with a specific brand - Pepsi, Thumps Up and Hampstead suitings are examples from the Indian
context (even foreign brands have faced such risks). One approach, if it is suitable to the category/brand, is a
change of celebrity. This not only provides a contemporary association but also ensures that the chances of a
chosen celebrity's bad reputation do not have much impact on the brand. Lux is a good example of this approach
over the past many years. Another approach is to have different execution formats - one with celebrity and
another without. But this approach has several complexities and the broader meaning of the brand would have to
be studied in-depth before it could be attempted.
One more alternative is to depend on stereotypes rather than celebrities. The Himalaya brand (formerly Ayurvedic
Concepts) follows this approach. The stereotype is the grandmother who is endorsing the offerings of the brand
and for this brand it is likely to be highly effective.
A rigorous study connecting several aspects of brand's category and the impact of celebrity usage would lay a
strong foundation to plan the overall strategy for a brand rather than an isolated one involving just the celebrity.
In fact, the study would be useful to decide if a celebrity is to be roped in at all, given the celebrity clutter in
advertising across categories.
34

35. AN ARTICLE BELOW THAT HAD BEEN FEATURED IN FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON THE 25TH MARCH
2008 :
Who’s bigger? Brand or celebrity?
casually with my wife, who in all these years has never expressed the slightest interest in cricket, I realised how
keenly she has been following the entire IPL saga as if it were a reality show unfolding on national television.
Ask her any question related to the individual teams, and you will be amazed by the speed at which the response
is delivered, to the extent that she even knows the slogan of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata team. Maybe it’s the
effect of SRK on women. Whatever.
Knowing very well that India is a cricket-crazy country, one would not be surprised by the extent of coverage
these new teams are getting. What does surprise me, though, is how each of these teams has become a household
name. Once a gentleman’s game, cricket has become a topic of household discussion, thanks to the over-powering
presence of celebrities like Shah Rukh and Preity Zinta. Just proves how celebrities have the power to make
something as big as cricket even bigger!
If cricket, which is considered to be second religion in India, can become bigger thanks to the sheer eyeball-
grabbing power of celebrities, why shouldn’t brands? Hence, the deluge of celebrity-endorsed brand campaigns.
Celebrities have been involved in endorsing activities since the early 1980s. The advent of celebrity endorsements
in advertising in India began when Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a
35

36. territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models. One of the first sports endorsements in India was
when Farokh Engineer became the first Indian cricketer to model for Brylcreem.
From then on, there was a spurt of advertising featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige Pressure Cookers), Jalal
Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive shaving cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings).
Moving on from there, one started seeing celebrities take along the brands that they endorsed on the small screen
onto the silver screen. Whether it was Aishwarya Rai swigging Coke in a scene in Taal, or Shah Rukh driving
around in a Hyundai in Don and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, these brands became extensions of the celebrities
endorsing them.
As advertisers pour crores of rupees every year into celebrity advertising, the question is: is it worth all the money
and the headaches of coordinating stars and managing their tantrums? Think of Sachin Tendulkar. He stands for
Pepsi in soft drinks, Boost in malted beverages, MRF in tyres, Fiat Palio in cars, TVS Victor in two-wheelers,
Colgate Total in toothpastes, Britannia in biscuits, Visa in credit cards and Airtel in mobile services. Clearly, an
overload of brands and categories associated with one star.
Does anyone really recall the various brands that Sachin has endorsed over the years? Have there been times
when you cannot distinguish one brand endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan from another? When was the last time
you noticed the brand being advertised because of its features and not because of the good looks of a celebrity
trying to sell it to you? Does the consumer think in categories and slot brands accordingly or is it one big maze of
brands and saliency is dependent on ‘recency’? And finally, does it really help the brand?
This is a debate that has raged on ever since the wave of celebrity brand endorsements swept over the Indian
advertising industry. Ever since, the fine line between the brand and celebrity has blurred to an extent that one
wonders whether it’s the star projecting the brand, or vice versa. Case in point is the Aamir Khan-Innova ad, in
which the star plays multiple roles. One would think that it was an Aamir Khan ad, not so much an automobile
one. Or for instance, would anyone remember that Shah Rukh Khan endorsed a brand of ready-to-eat noodles Top
Ramen. And in the celebrity clutter, chances that the brand and category become difficult to remember for the
average consumer.
On the other hand, these same advertising gurus have given the common man (in this case woman) a face by
introducing a Lalitaji, who epitomised the typical Indian woman for so many years. Then there was Digen Verma,
36

37. a phenomenon no one had seen but everyone knew. And then there are brands like Fevicol, that don’t need a face
to get it noticed.
The creative stands out so beautifully that the brand never needs to depend on one person to give it that boost.
The other question is what happens when a legend is created by a brand? Take beer baron Vijay Mallya. He is a
brand in himself. Yes, he typifies the Kingfisher personality—he’s fun, exciting, irreverent, challenging - but he
won't live forever. In my view, brands associated with a living legend should focus on building the relationship
during their lives in order to sustain momentum.
In the advertising world, celebrity advertising is seen as a substitute for ‘absence of ideas’, and is frowned upon.
Most frequently, celebrities are given as mandates to the agency. And scripts are written around them. What
clients and agencies forget is that if the celebrity is not integral to the brand and the storyline, he/she can stick out
like a sore thumb, leaving negative impact on the consumer’s mind. The oldest reason for using stars in
commercials is that it builds credibility for the brand. But does the consumer really believe that Shahrukh drives a
Santro?
Research conducted by Subhash Kamath of Bates in India that tracked consumer opinion on the ‘relevance and
effectiveness of celebrity advertising in building brands’, urged brands to focus on ideas. Concluding that ideas,
and not celebrities, build brands, the study identified the optimum celebrity ‘fits’ and the cases where celebrities
overshadowed brand-building performance. Whatever the reasons, the reality is that celebrities can—and do—
play a role in building brands. However, there are factors that brand marketers need to bear in mind while
choosing an ambassador:
Personality: It is critical that the personality of the celebrity must match with that of the brand. For instance,
Thums Up has action-star Akshay Kumar performing death-defying stunts, which is a perfect fit between
personalities of the brand and the star.
Values & emotions: Preity Zinta, known for her bold and courageous nature, endorsing the Red & White
Bravery Awar-ds is a perfect example of synergy in the values of the brand and the ambassador.
Code of conduct: If a celebrity reputed for having not-so-positive reputation is roped in to endorse a no-mischief
product (like say Rakhi Sawant for a financial product), it’s sure to spell doom for the brand.
37

38. Creative execution: Creative teams would do well to remember that it is the star who is endorsing a product and
not vice versa.
Finally, making the right choices in terms of personality, values, associated emotions, code of conduct and
creative execution is critical. A wrong choice could be suicidal for the brand. Behaviour, performance and
reputation, are critical.
There is no doubt that celebrity advertising has its benefits -- the four Qs:
Quick saliency: It gets cut through because of the star and his attention getting value. ITC’s Vivel has ensured
high saliency for its brand with the inclusion of kareena Kapoor in its advertising.
Quick connect: There needs to be no insight but the communication connects because the star connects. Kareena
kapoor ensures an easy connect for boro plus with the youth(girls mainly) .
Quick shorthand for brand values: The right star can actually telegraph a brand message fast without elaborate
story telling. Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar seem to have done that successfully for Boost in the early '90s.
And helped to differentiate it in the malted beverages market.similarly kareena is doing it for head and shoulders
these days .
Quick means of brand differentiation: In a category where no brand is using a celebrity, the first that picks one
up could use it to differentiate itself in the market.
Successful celebrity endorsements for a brand- An Indian perspective
The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in India– brands started being endorsed by
celebrities. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons were roped in to endorse prominent brands.
Advertisements, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev
(Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings) became common. Probably, the first ad to cash
38

39. in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was Lux soap. This brand has, perhaps
as a result of this, been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime.
PUBLIC OPINION
Public Opinion
After talking to a number of people about celebrity endorsements and gaining their insights on the same
we have concluded on the following points.
• Indian audiences are becoming more and more literate and therefore their belief in celebrity
endorsements is decreasing rapidly.
• Indians demand a ‘value for their money’. If a celebrity offers it to them, they are more than willing
to accept it.
• When the Celebrity and Brand don’t match a severe fix is created. Audiences look down on such
advertisements. .
• If a certain section of consumers are impacted by celebrity endorsement, the choice of the Celebrity
matters a lot while choosing a Brand in the market.
• Celebrities sometimes offer credibility to the Brand.
Eg- Shah rukh Khan- Compaq, Airtel, Santro.
39

40. 40