Why brands prefer sticking to trusted old guards as celeb brand endorsers

It comes as a sobering thought that most of India’s busiest and most visible brand endorsers from Bollywood are on the wrong side of 50. High on machismo and focussed on the youth TG, Thums Up features Shah Rukh Khan in its latest ‘Toofan’ ad. The 56-year old actor is currently busy shooting his action-packed movie ‘Pathaan’. Thums Up has earlier featured Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, both in their 50s, in its ads.

Upgrad recently roped in Amitabh Bachchan, 79, as its brand ambassador. One of India’s busiest superstars and brand endorsers, Big B exudes an unrivalled mass appeal and trust factor that brands rely on. On opting for Bachchan, Arjun Mohan, CEO - India, upGrad, had said, “Education is certainly a very critical space where we are not just offering learning opportunities, but are also committing towards nurturing lives and building a future. Therefore, we take responsible marketing very seriously, and in that respect, what better than having a personality like Amit ji’s that carries so much faith and respect.”

As per Duff & Phelps’ Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2020, Akshay Kumar ruled at No. 2 with a brand value of $118.9 million. Virat Kohli was at No. 1 with a brand value of $237.7 million. Shah Rukh Khan was ranked No. 4 with a brand value of $51.1 million, while Salman Khan was at No. 8 with a brand value of $45.9 million. Amitabh Bachchan was placed in the 9th rank with a brand value of $44.2 million.

As per TAM AdEx’s report on Celebrity Endorsement Report for the January-June 2021 period, 6 out of the Top 10 celebrities were endorsing more brands in Jan-Jun’21 compared to Jan-Jun’20; viz, Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and MS Dhoni.

According to the report, young female celebrities were preferred over their male counterparts, but the scenario changes when it comes to celebrities of age 35+ group. In the 35-49 age group, the male celeb to female celeb ration is 59%:41%, which widens to 87%:13% in the 50-64 age group and further to 91%:9% in the 65+ age group.

Of course, we find younger stars as brand ambassadors, including Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Karthik Aryan, Tiger Shroff, etc., however, it’s the older stars who steal a march over them. The story is a bit different when it comes to female celebs, where GenZ stars like Alia Bhatt, Ananya Pandey, Janhvi Kapoor, along with slightly older stars like Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone are brand favourites.

When it comes to representing their brands, advertisers are seen to stick to the tried and tested. There’s no doubt that though over 50, these stars command a sizeable following among India’s youth TG, which make them appealing for brands. But as age catches up, will we see a disconnect set in? Will there be a situation when age appropriate celebs will be in short supply for brands?


Giving his perspective, Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, 82.5 Communications, noted, “After the heydays of Amitabh Bachchan, a number of superstars such as SRK and Salman Khan appeared. A little below them in terms of box office cachet were the likes of Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan. But no new superstar has been born after them. In part, this is simply because no actor has caught the fancy of the people to the extent required for super-stardom. It is perhaps also because we are moving into an era where the story, rather than the actor, is the star of more and more movies. This is a departure from an era where movies were used as vehicles to launch actors and propel them to stardom.”

According to Chattopadhyay, the only younger actor that is in the reckoning to potentially become a superstar is Ranveer Singh. This is why he is the face of so many brands. “Until such time that more superstars are born, brands will stick to the old guard because, expensive as they are, they guarantee a return on investment,” he added.

Brands, sign on celebrities or known faces for a variety of reasons. Sharing his views, Abhijit Avasthi, Co-Founder, Sideways, pointed out that these could be because of trust, youthful looks, a terrific sense of fashion, being a health and fitness enthusiast, and so on. “So, if one examines the entire spectrum, I don’t think overall I would pass a sweeping statement that there is a shortage of Bollywood faces. Maybe those brands who are seeking celebrity faces more for credibility, trust, mass appeal, they might be there in that sort of zone and you might feel there is a minority or there is a shortage or there are the same few faces that keep coming up again and again from Bollywood. That’s because these celebrities enjoy trust, credibility and a massive following, which cuts across ages and which is built over decades.  And these are the 4-5 stars who have been around for that long,” he added.

Continuing further, Avasthi noted, “What has happened in the last few years is that equally credible and popular stars have come out of cricket and some other arenas as well. Now, if you expand the whole sort of attribute basis on which people choose whether its fashion being current, contemporary, relatability, etc., then actually there are many faces. In fact, I would say that these days, people like Pankaj Tripathi are seen so much more than some of these big celebs. Besides, youngsters like Ranveer Singh or cricketers, etc., are seen a lot too.”

He believed that there actually were a plethora of people out there and added, “So, I am not entirely sure if I am convinced of this observation.”

According to Kartik Srinivasan, Communication Strategy Consultant &Social Media commentator, the main reason for choosing a celebrity brand ambassador (as against an unknown model) is for the brands to ride on the instant visibility and attention that the celebrities can garner. The number one point of advertising is to be noticed - only if it is noticed could people move to perform the desired (by the brand) call-to-action. And well-known celebrities bring that 'notice-me' advantage.

An Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor may seem less conspicuous as 'stars' in the new Coca-Cola summer 2022 ad given that they are also playing characters, and not themselves, like how a Shah Rukh Khan does in the new Thums Up ad.

 Adding further Srinivasan said that all this applies mainly to interruption-based advertising where the ads interrupt the viewer while they are watching something else, either on TV or on the internet. A new way of consuming advertising is also based on conscious choice - people volunteer to watch advertising, like how they stumble on someone in their online social circle talking about a new ad, the link gets shared and the ad gets watched voluntarily.

For ads with lesser-known stars or fresh faces, if the scripts are interesting, they stand a definite chance to be shared around and watched voluntarily. To some extent, when brands use top celebrities, the result is fairly formulaic, as their films themselves. A Shah Rukh Khan playing an action star in an ad is not something unique.

And then there's a hybrid - brands using top stars, but using them in entirely unusual ways! Disney+ Hotstar's use of Shah Rukh Khan in a self-deprecatory tone last year is an excellent example!

Nisha Sampath, Managing Partner, Bright Angles Consulting LLP feels that some brands like to sign a known celebrity and would never want to take that risk. According to her brands targeting a mass audience primarily through TVCs are hesitant to take a risk with new stars. And the reason is simple – they are mirroring the audience preference. When you ask the common man or woman to name their favourite male stars, it’s significant that the top 3 are almost always the older heroes - like Amitabh, Salman, Akshay, versus the newer stars. Choice of star endorsers by brands mirrors this reality. When you are risking crores, the established stars mitigate your risk. They are more likely to create recall and preference.

Sampath,also pointed out that in contrast, the brands that target a younger, urban, digital friendly audience are often leveraging younger stars who reflect their brand values or brand personality.Sometimes, clients themselves aspire and push to have big stars on board. For regional and family run businesses, this signals their success to their peers in their own business community. And it also brings a huge positive rub off on their brand. Take the ads in the pan masala category which feature big stars like SRK and Akshay. They have helped to make the category seem more glamorous to its users. Now, it is the norm in the category to use top stars.

Vikram Gaikwad, Co-founder &CCO, Underdoghad a different point of view Personally, I don’t think there’s a shortage of new faces in the current era where every actor has come forward as a social media influencer. When we speak about veteran actors like SRK and Mr Bachchan they have a presence which extends far beyond social media - they are known in every household and that’s what a strong brand needs when it comes to advertising themselves in the market.

Gaikwad further noted that brand Managers work on ROI at the end of the day and there is safety in using a celebrity who can make even a bad script curious enough for people to see it once. This is a sad but unfortunate truth. But the scenario has changed a lot over the years and if you look at the ratio you will find it fairly skewed in favour of faces who may not have a very considerable celebrity appeal but are still fairly well-known because of their stickiness across shows on OTT platforms.

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