Why brands still prefer to continue with seasoned celebrities?

David Ogilvy, the Guru of Advertising, was always of the view that using Celebrities is not the best way to promote brands. According to him invariably the consumer will remember celebrity but will forget the brand. Also, when you do not have a strong idea for your communication then you go the easy way out by using a celebrity. While world over brands use celebrity very judiciously but in India the use of celebrity is quite high in terms of frequency. Celebrities from Bollywood and Cricket rule the space but it is more of Bollywood as compared to cricket or any other sports. More interestingly a celebrity from Bollywood today appears in multiple campaigns for multiple brands so one is not even sure about the effectiveness and return on investment but brands still keep their faith on them if they endorse multiple brands.

Old celebrities still Popular.

Bollywood and Cricket has been ruling the advertising for a long time. While some brands try to bring in fresh faces but invariably most brands land up signing up with the Salman and Sharukh’s of the world in many cases. But remember these are celebrities on the other side of the 50’s and they are losing their glow and shine as India’s new population is now more young and not sure how much of them easily connect with Sharukh Khan and the Amir Khan easily. But brands are still running after them for endorsing their products. While some of them do explore the new entrants but there are lot brands still lean with the earlier celebrities as they still some shine in wooing and engaging audiences.

New Frontline Celebrities:

In the last few years while we had new faces like Ayushman Khurana, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Singh, Alia Bhat, Sara Ali Khan and Ananya Pandey who have made some inroads but it will take some time for them to dislodge the old guards. Many brands such as the JSW Paints and Sketchers moved to signing up with new faces to give the brand that youthful appeal instead of leaning with the old over used faces who in today’s time have become fatigue and are not easily able to identify with India’s teeming young population who live on mobile wherever they are. But some of the old and trusted brands till go for the older celebrities but here again they are very careful in selecting who this should be and are taking minimum risks to safeguard the equity of the brand.

Why brands still trust seasoned celebrities?

Building brands is a long-drawn process and it takes years to build brands and sustain it. Some of the legacy brands safe guard their brands and ensure that when it comes to identifying a celebrity the right brand ambassador is chosen to match the brand.

 One such example is the Levi’s brand known for its original blue jeans which has been revolutionising fashion for over 85 years. They recently announced a strategic partnership to give a brand a good lift by signing up Deepika Padukone a youth and fashion icon. Yes, she is a youth icon but she is a known trusted celebrity also where people will be able to still connect with her.

Commenting on the association with the brand Levi’s Deepika said, “Authenticity, originality and honesty are values that the brand has been built on and are values that I identify with the most. For those unaware I have always been a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. The right pair of jeans not only make me feel comfortable but also confident. I am absolutely honoured and delighted to be associating with one of the world’s most iconic brands. ”

Sharing his views on getting Deepika on the board as global brand ambassadors, Sanjeev Mohanty, Managing Director- South Asia & MENA – Levi’s jeans said, we are absolutely thrilled. Deepika’s personality shines through a balance of being bold, authentic, true and uncompromising that perfectly fits with out brand values. She is not only a style icon but also an inspiration to the youth and women globally. With her on board, we are confident of further strengthening the brand, especially when we are strongly focussing on leading women’s category.

This year Levi’s wants to focus on statement-making shapes like high rises, on trend loose fits and the runaway returning wide-leg bottoms.