Who's going to rule brand endorsement world ?

Fickle are the ways of the Indian advertising world and it was not so long ago when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was put on a pedestal by starcrazy brand merchants. Then there's Shah Rukh Khan, face of Pepsi for more than a decade, dropped unceremoniously for being "too old" to sell the drink to a younger generation. Even cricketing god Sachin Tendulkar wasn't spared. With everybody asking for more, the summer time brand battle gets hotter. The beginning of the year saw everybody-who's-somebody signing contracts. In fact, industry watchers predict that the Katrina Kaif-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan rivalry will only get worse this year. No, we are not talking about movies, but advertisements and brand campaigns. Says Prathap Suthan, national creative director, Cheil, SW Asia, "It's a dog-eat-dog world. Brands, to maximise every rupee spent on marketing during slowdown, are trying to find out which celebrity sells best. Battlelines are drawn to see who gets the biggest slice of the Rs 1,000-crore endorsement market."

The country's first scientific method to determine the effectiveness of brand endorsers, CelebTrack, which was launched last month, and it has revealed that Akshay Kumar is a more effective brand endorser in Hindi-speaking markets than Amitabh Bachchan. Despite a preference for southern stars, Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest name in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka . Shahid Kapur makes it among the top five of most persuasive celebrities. Meanwhile, Salman's Kat has meowed Ash away by having signed up for the highest number of advertisers last year. The hostilities began when Kat got the Nakshatra jewellery ad which Ash had endorsed for years. She also became the face of Barbie, overstepping Ash, reportedly approached by the brand.

Sources claim that Katrina may be the new face of Lux. The soap brand already has two former Miss Worlds - Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra, as ambassadors. She also edged out former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen in the Pantene ad. Fresh faces like Genelia D'- Souza, Katrina Kaif, Asin, Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are stealing the thunder. If Sonam replaced Ash as the face of L'Oreal, Genelia pulled the rug beneath Preity and Rani's feet by nicking Perk and Fanta respectively. She also has Samsung, Parker pens with Amitabh Bachchan, Fair and Lovely with cricketer Krish Srikanth and Fanta Apple. South Indian beauty Asin's catching up fast with Mirinda. It's reported that she's also signed Cavin Care, Pril and Big Bazaar with Dhoni. With new girls replacing the veteran queens, the cat fight's definitely gong to get mazedaar. Are brands cashing in on new faces ? "In the fight to be heard amongst the clutter, the ad world has lost the plot," rants Prahlad Kakkar, terming SRK's rejection as the brand's loss "because he's still the king for every Indian; his name spells success."

During the launch of IPL 2, SRK had teamed up with rival Coca Cola to promote Sprite. One's loss, another's gain ? On the secret behind a celeb's persuasive power, Kakkar says, "It depends on the star's ability to strike a chord with the masses. That's why a 70-plus Amitabh Bachchan can still sell chocolates! Indian audiences look for inner grace. The Nakshatra ad needed a trained dancer like Aishwarya. Katrina doesn't have that appeal." Suthan, who handles Samsung's Aamir advertisement, explains further, "A brand doesn't age, icons do. So, one has to move on. But rampant signing of celebs is not the answer. There's no compromise when it comes to the power of creativity. We used the tagline 'Next what' because it tells the audience to watch out for what's next. The bottom line is storytelling and not selling the icon."

According to Suthan, the Idea Cellular ad featuring Abhishek Bachchan and the Zoozoo's films for Vodafone can be termed the best creatives on air. But the big question is, who's going to rule the brand endorsement world ? "Success, impact and price are the main drivers," says Anirban Das Blah of GloboSport, a company which handles endorsement deals for some of the leading celebrities. The stars to watch out for are Aamir (he carries a lot of respect that translates into the brand he endorses), SRK, Dhoni, Saif among the male stars and Katrina, Priyanka, Kareena, Deepika, Genelia amongst the female. Commenting on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Suthan says, "She's no longer the Pass Pass girl. Today she has an appeal which is mature and dignified. She should sell something like Mercs and Longines." "There's no consensus on whether ageing icons should move over. There's enough space and products for all. But we'd suggest they all take it lightly, for all you know it's Vodafone's cute li'l ZooZoo who'll steal the thunder." says Preeti Vyas Gianetti, creative director, Vyas Gianetti Creative.

Courtesy - Televisionpoint