IMPACT OF CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENTS ON
OVERALL BRAND
{Searching for the Right Match}
1
CONTENTS
P.NO.
1. ITRODUCTION
2
2. SYNOPSIS
4
3. DEFINING THE MEANING & SCOPE OF THE TOPIC
7
4. IMPORTANT CELEBRITY ATTRIBUTES
9
5. THE NEED FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
10
6. SCOPE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
11
7. IMPACT OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
13
8. THE PROCESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
18
9. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CELEB. ENDORSEMENT
21
10. CELEBRITY SELECTION
22
11. CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: THE ISSUES INVOLVED 24
12. FRAMEWORK OF ENDORSEMENT PROGRAM
26
13. WHY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FAILS?
32
14. KINDS OF CELEBRITY-HOOD
40
15. RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
42
16. CASES ANALYSIS USING THE FRAMEWORK
55
17. CONCLUSION
58
18. REFERENCES
67
2
INTRODUCTION
The modern world of marketing communication has become
colorful and inundated with advertisements, and it is hard to get
noticed. It is an uphill task for the designer of an advertising
campaign to differentiate itself from others and attract viewers’
attention.
Everyday consumers are exposed to thousands of voices and
images in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards, websites,
radio and television. Every brand attempts to steal at least a
fraction of an unsuspecting person’s time to inform him or her of
the amazing and different attributes of the product at hand. The
challenge of the marketer is to find a hook that will hold the
subject’s attention.In helping to achieve this, use of celebrity
endorsers is a widely used marcom strategy.
In this jet age, people tend to ignore all commercials and
advertisements while flipping through the magazines and
newspapers or viewing TV. But even then, the glamour of a
celebrity seldom goes unnoticed. Thus, celebrity endorsement in
advertisement and its impact on the overall brand is of great
significance. In this process, the companies hire celebrities from a
particular field to feature in its advertisement campaigns. The
promotional features and images of the product are matched with
the celebrity image, which tends to persuade a consumer to fix up
his choice from a plethora of brands. Although this sounds pretty
simple, but the design of such campaigns and the subsequent
success in achieving the desired result calls for an in-depth
understanding of the product, the brand objective, choice of a
celebrity, associating the celebrity with the brand, and a framework
for measuring the effectiveness.
Companies invest large sums of money to align their brands and
themselves with endorsers. Such endorsers are seen as dynamic
with both attractive and likeable qualities and companies plan that
these qualities are transferred to products via marcom activities.
Furthermore, because of their fame, celebrities serve not only to
create and maintain attention but also to achieve high recall rates
for marcom messages in today’s highly cluttered environments.
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Aristotle said, “Beauty is a greater recommendation than any
letter of introduction.” This could aptly summarize why innumerable
products are endorsed by celebrities, with or without a significant
need or benefit from the same.
Similarly every product has an image. The consumer tries to
consume a brand which has the maximum fit with his/her own
personality/image. The celebrity endorser fits in between these two
interactions, where he tries to bring the image of the product closer
to the expectation of the consumer, by transferring some of the
cultural meanings residing in his image to the product.
“The model of Celebrity Endorsement”, is essentially based on the
theoretical framework of Classical Conditioning given by Pavlov.
Upfront, this seems like a very effective weapon in mature and
saturated markets, which differentiates products from those of the
competitors by clearing the clutter and reaching the consumer. But
is the impact so significant, or are the celebrities themselves
adding to the clutter?
Through this paper we primarily try to evaluate the impact of any
celebrity endorsement campaign on the brand by analyzing it
through our “Impact-Analysis Framework” consisting of - brand,
consumer and the celebrity as well as the interactions between the
Consumer - Endorser and Brand - Endorser.
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And finally, is the investment in a celebrity commensurate to the
returns earned by the company?
If the world were full of all wise men and all wise women; we would
have never heard of a term called “advertisement”. And then good
products would have found the right customers and grown to
prosperity. Firms would have worked out a mathematical formula
to sell and succeed. But the buying process isn’t rational; and so is
this world.
Indians are die-hard movie and sport buffs; and this aspect of the
consumers has invited the concept of “Celebrity Endorsement” to
the world of advertisement. The purpose of this paper is to analyze
the role of Celebrity Endorsement in the process of brand-building
by taking appropriate examples from the advertising landscape.
SYNOPSIS
“Successful branding programs are based on the concept of
singularity. The objective is to create in the mind of the prospect
the perception that there is no other product on the market quite
like your product.”
- Al Ries & Laura Ries
Indian advertising started with the hawkers who used to call out
their wares right from the days when cities and markets first
began. With this evolved a strategy that tried to benefit from the
emotional attachment of the admirers or the fans of the celebrities;
in the form of celebrity endorsement.
Paper tries to understand the process of consumer psychology
and impact of celebrity endorsement on the overall process of
brand building. The in-depth study of various models brings to light
the complexities pertaining to celebrity endorsement. A symbiotic
model has been proposed to define: how to make celebrity
endorsement a win-win situation for both the brand and the brandendorser. “Brand” is the most valuable asset of any firm. Any
thoughtless adventure can be like the Sword of Damocles. It’s the
“strong idea” of promotion which is a more strategic means of
brand-building; which can be an economical alternative over
celebrity endorsement.
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“It doesn’t matter how new an idea is; what matters is how new it
becomes.”
- Elias Canetti
“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy
something, it seems to me you should use their language, the
language in which they think.”
- David Ogilvy
This paper rifles through the concept of celebrity endorsement and
provides insights on what it is and how the increasing number of
endorsements, throw a valid question to the consumers. Is there a
science behind the choice of these endorsers or is it just by the
popularity measurement? What are the reasons which lead to
impact of celebrity endorsement on brands?
Through research and analysis, this paper emerges with a 14-point
model which can be used as blue-print criteria and can be used by
brand managers for selecting celebrities, and capitalizes the
celebrity resource through 360 degree brand communication since
our research proposes it as the foundation brick of the impact of
celebrity endorsement. Our study reveals that the impact of
celebrity endorsement is proportional to the 14 factors discussed in
the model.
The success of a brand through celebrity endorsement is a
cumulative of the 14 attributes. Greater the score of the below
greater are the chances of getting close to the desired impact.
The general belief among advertisers is that brand communication
messages delivered by celebrities and famous personalities
generate a higher appeal, attention and recall than those executed
by non-celebrities. The quick message-reach and impact are all
too essential in today’s highly competitive environment.
We put forward certain ideas like ‘positioning by association’,
‘diminishing celebrity utility’ and the Multiplier Effect which show
the triangular relationship between the brand, the consumer and
the celebrity.
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Now, despite the potential benefits derived from celebrity
endorsements, they increase a marketer’s risk manifolds and
should be treated with full attention and aptitude. A brand should
be cautious when employing celebrities to ensure promise
believability and delivery of the intended effect. The growing
importance of mythical characters as celebrities and their sway
over the target segments are ample proof of public demand for
icons to look up to. As the celebrities traverse from a mere
commercial presence to public welfare message endorsements, a
whole new dimension is added to this process and helps us in
achieving a holistic view of the impact which celebrities generate in
every sphere and segment through their well-versed
endorsements.
Celebrities have also been in demand having succeeded in being
effective by rising above the clutter & grabbing the attention and
focus of the consumer. They also succeed in creating an aspiration
in the minds of the consumer to acquire what their favorite
celebrity endorses.
However, the above might be too simplistic a solution for
multitudes of marketing problems in the real world. Hence to
analyse how effective any Celebrity Endorsement campaign is, we
need to look at the various factors which impact its success.
Through this paper, we have developed an analytical structure
called “Impact-Analysis Framework” comprising three main
factors - Brand, Consumer, Endorser and the interaction between
Brand - Endorser and Consumer-Endorser.
Further, we apply our framework to a series of celebrity campaigns
to gauge the reasons for the success and failures of each to check
the validity of our model. In our analysis, we also came across
factors which have impacted campaigns in very specific terms and
hence cannot be generalized; to elucidate the same, we have
presented analysis of some of these unique cases which have
been marked by diverse outcomes.
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DEFINING THE MEANING & SCOPE OF THE
TOPIC
BRANDING & CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
Today, use of celebrities as part of marketing communication
strategy is fairly common practice for major firms in supporting
corporate or brand imagery.
What is a Brand?
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Our
most valuable assets are our intangible assets.” The intangible
asset he was referring to is a brand. The Dictionary of Business &
Management defines a brand as: “a name, term, sign, symbol, or
design, or a combination of them, intended to identify goods or
services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them
from those of competitor”.
DEFINITION OF CELEBRITIES
Celebrities are people who enjoy specific public recognition by a
large number of certain groups of people. They have some
characteristic attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle
or special skills that are not commonly observed. Thus, it can be
said that within a society, celebrities generally differ from the
common people and enjoy a high degree of public awareness.
According to Friedman and Friedman, a “celebrity endorser is an
individual who is known by the public for his or her achievements
in areas other than that of the product class endorsed”. Compared
to other endorser types, famous people always attach a greater
degree of attention, recall and loyalty.
According to Melissa St. James, a doctoral fellow and marketing
instructor at The George Washington University, “Studies show
that using celebrities can increase consumers’ awareness of the
ad, capture [their] attention and make ads more memorable.”
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In this age of intense competition, where capturing a position in the
consumers’ mind space is extremely tough, celebrity
endorsements give an extra edge to the companies for holding the
viewers’ attention. Celebrities can catalyze brand acceptance and
provide the enormous momentum that brands require by endorsing
the intrinsic value to the brand.
“The term Celebrity refers to an individual who is known to the
public (actor, sports figure, entertainer, etc.) for his or her
achievements in areas other than that of the product class
endorsed” (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). This is true for classic
forms of celebrities.
Like actors (e.g., Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya
Rai,, Preity Zinta, Aamir Khan and Pierce Brosnan).
Models (e.g., Mallaika Arora, Milind Soman, Naomi Campbell,
etc),
Television Personalities (Husain, Smriti Irani),
Sports figures (e.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Anna
Kournikova, Michael Schumacher, Tiger Woods, etc),
Entertainers (e.g., Cyrus Broacha, Oprah Winfrey,),
And pop-stars (e.g., Madonna, Shakira).
But also for less obvious groups like businessmen (e.g., Vijay
Mallya, Bill Gates) or politicians.Clebrities appear in public in
different ways. First, they appear in public when fulfilling their
profession, e.g., Vishwanathan Anand, who plays chess in front of
an audience. Furthermore, celebrities appear in public by attending
special celebrity events, e.g., award ceremonies, inaugurations or
world premieres of movies. In addition, they are present in news,
fashion magazines, and tabloids, which provide second source
information on events and the ‘private life’ of celebrities through
mass-media channels (e.g., Smriti Irani being regularly featured in
various publications). Last but not least, celebrities act as spokespeople in advertising to promote products and services, which is
referred to celebrity endorsement.
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IMPORTANT CELEBRITY ATTRIBUTES
While selecting a celebrity as endorser, the company has to decide
the promotional objective of the brand and how far the celebrity
image matches with it. The selection is in fact a collaboration, from
which both the company and the celebrity gains.
The most important attribute for a celebrity endorser is the
trustworthiness. The target audience must trust that a celebrity
carries a particular image and it must match with the product.
The second attribute in order of importance is likeability. The
celebrity also must be accepted as a popular icon by a large cross
section of the audience.
Similarity between the target audience and the celebrity is the
third important attribute. A person well-known in a society can
have greater impact than a celebrity of a different world. If the
endorser and receiver have similar needs, goals, interests and
lifestyles, the position advocated by the brand communication is
better understood and received. Similarity is also used to create a
situation where the consumer feels empathy for the person shown
in the commercial. The bond of similarity between the endorser
and the receiver increases the level of persuasiveness.
Apart from that, expertise is also believed to be another important
attribute.
Definition of Celebrity Endorsement
According to Friedman & Friedman, a “celebrity endorser is an
individual who is known by the public for his or her achievements
in areas other than that of the product class endorsed.” So, in the
Coco-Cola advertisement; actor Amir Khan is the celebrity
endorser for the product or brand called Coke, and this process is
referred to as Celebrity Endorsement. Celebrities might endorse as
a brand ambassador or a brand face.
Difference between Brand Ambassador & Brand Face
A Brand Ambassador would be one who is not only a
spokesperson for the brand or is just appearing as a testimonial for
the brand’s benefits. He/she is an integral part of the brand
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persona and helps to build an emotionale, which goes beyond just
appearing on TV commercials.
He takes up the cause of a Brand Champion and is associated
with every aspect related with the brand. What is more, there is a
significant difference between making just an endorsement for say,
a shampoo or an automobile, and being that brand’s alter ego.
Both parties take the latter far more seriously to the deal. So a
brand ambassador would be involved in press releases, he/she
would be actively participating in any sales promotion, sporting the
Brand all the while. For example, Fardeen Khan is the brand
ambassador for Provogue while he remains a brand face for Lux
Body Wash.
On the other hand, a Brand Face would be the current celebrity
who is just used as a tool to increase brand recall and is only
appearing in the advertisement. It is usually seen that a brand face
is a temporary contract and is very short term at times. An
example would be Sona Chandi Chawanpryash using Sourav
Ganguly for a while in its commercials. Brand faces are easily
forgotten and fades away with the campaign’s end
THE NEED FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
The charisma of the celebrities almost always entices people and
their words are worshipped by a lot of people. Their influence also
goes on the political front, where they are invited for political
endorsement. Eg. Hema Malini for B.J.P. , Govinda for Congress ,
Amitabh Bachchan for S.P..When actor Shah Rukh Khan endorses
Santro-Zip drive; the consumers are made to think that he is giving
his opinion to go for this car. Similarly, actress Rani Mukherjee has
turned the tables for Bata’s ladies footwear brand called Sundrop
as sales increased by a whooping 500%.
Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following
motives:  Instant Brand Awareness and Recall
 Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image
 Celebrity adds new dimensions to the brand image
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 Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage
 Lack of ideas
 Convincing clients
WHY COMPANIES USE CELEBRITIES - THE
CELEBRITY EDGE
 Psychological Factors: Celebrities generally satisfy the 'esteem
needs' of an individual. For example a movie actress is expected
to possess a flawless skin and a blemish free face. Her fans want
to know the secret of her beauty, so she becomes a natural
endorser for beauty related products (cosmetics, soaps, powder).
 propping Up Awareness and Trust Levels: Rahul dravid - bob
 To Communicate a Certain Message about the Company:
Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador gave it the desired facelift and
image for the launch of 'Victor'
 Value for Money:
 To Position their Brand Distinctively: Lux worldwide has positioned
itself as the 'soap the filmstars use'. From Leela Chitnis to Aishwarya Rai,
all top actresses have modeled for Lux.
 Celebrity Standing for a Single Brand:Think Zakir Hussain and you
are reminded of 'Wah Taj' Taj Mahal tea. Ditto with A. R. Rahman for
Airtel.
SCOPE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
The use of testimonials by advertisers dates back to the 19th
century when medicines were patented. Firms have been
juxtaposing their brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers
(e.g., athletes, actors) in the hope that celebrities may boost
effectiveness of their marketing and/or corporate communication
attempts for at least a century. One of the early example is Queen
Victoria’s endorsement of Cadbury’s Cocoa (Sherman, 1985). It
was not until the 1920s, however, that advertisers used famous
people for product endorsements.
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Actresses Joan Crawford, Clara Bow and Janet Gaynor were
among the first celebrities to promote products (Fox, 1984). At that
time, the rationale given by advertising agencies for using
celebrities was “the spirit of emulation” (Fox, 1984, p.90). About a
decade ago, one in three television commercials used celebrities’
endorsements (Business Week, 1978), and today this advertising
approach appeared to be on the increase across all media types
(Sherman, 1985 and Levin, 1988). Friedman (1977) found that
celebrities are featured in 15 percent of the prime-time television
commercials. In the United States, it was reported that about 20%
of all television commercials feature a famous person, and about
10% of the dollars spent on television advertising are used in
celebrity endorsement advertisements (Advertising Age, 1987;
Sherman, 1985). Thus, celebrity endorsement has become a
prevalent form of advertising in United States and elsewhere.
Today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies has become
a trend and a perceived winning formula of corporate image
building and product marketing (Media, July-August 1997). This
phenomenon is reflected by the recent market research findings
that 8 out of 10 TV commercials scoring the highest recall are
those with celebrities’ appearances .
Celebrity Endorsement in India
Phase 1: The Pioneering Phase (1950-1980)
this phase was characterized by: 1. Limited channels of communication
2. Demand exceeded supply
3. Heavy regulation and governmental regulations
some bigger companies from their global experience introduced
the concept of celebrity endorsement. HLL has used Hindi film
stars to endorse their beauty soap Lux since the fifties.
Phase 2: The Growth Phase (1980-1990)
the introduction of television added a variable effective medium of
communication. Indian stars going global with events like Asiads
and World Cup victory. Vimal, Thums-Up, Gwalior and Dinesh are
some of the other brands that used star-appeal in the early days of
mass advertising. There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars
like Tabassum (Prestige Pressure-cooker), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag
Pan-masaala), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil
Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings).
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Phase 3: Globalisation
In highly competitive markets, the following realities about brand
management exist: 1. Product differentiating factors are duplicable and imitable.
2. All long existing and successful brands imbue their products
with a meaning.
IMPACT OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
The increasing number of endorsements throws a valid question to
the consumers. Is there a science behind the choice of these
endorsers or is it just by the popularity measurement? What are
the reasons which lead to impact of celebrity endorsement on
brands?
Through research and analysis, this paper develops a 14 point
model, which can be used as a blueprint criterion which can be
used by brand managers for selecting celebrities, and capitalizes
the celebrity resource through 360 degree brand communication,
since our research proposes it as the foundation brick of the
impact of celebrity endorsement. Our study reveals that the impact
of celebrity endorsement is proportional to the 14 factors
discussed in the model.
The success of a brand through celebrity endorsement is a
cumulative of the following 14 attributes. Greater the score of the
below parameters, greater are the chances of getting close to the
desired impact.
Fit with the Advertising Idea
One of the most successful celebrity endorsement campaigns
which reflect the fit between the brand and the 360 degree
advertising fit is Fardeen Khan and Provogue. Provogue’s
positioning in the apparel market is of a young, active, party-going,
attention-grabbing brand and so is Fardeen Khan. The conjunction
between the two has been immensely impactful and brand
managers have utilised this endorsement through 360 degree
reinforcement.
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Celebrity-Target Audience Match
Smriti Irani endorsing the WHO recommended ORS Campaign in
India. Indian mothers can associate with Smriti Irani through the
facets she projects on screen or in regular life which helps develop
a connect with the target audience since mothers medicate their
children with ORS.
Celebrity Values
Tabu endorsing Tetra Packed Milk, Shabana Azmi campaigning
for AIDS Awareness, Amitabh Bachchan & Shahrukh Khan
campaigning for Pulse Polio or Aishwarya Rai appearing in the
Donate Eyes campaign are few examples, which reflect the
transfer of celebrity values to the brand, creating an impact that
generates recall.
Costs of Acquiring the Celebrity
Recently, a newspaper report showed how cola firms had gone
beyond their advertising budgets to get the best celebrities. Small
firms that use celebrities’ services run greater risks if they invest
large amounts. Although nobody is willing to say exactly how much
celebrities get paid, industry sources say Sachin Tendulkar’s price
is believed to be between Rs. 2.0-2.5 crores per endorsement, and
musician A. R. Rehman, who had signed up with AirTel, is
believed to have picked up Rs. 1.75 crores. Film-star Hrithik
Roshan was rumored to have picked up Rs. 2 crores for the Fly
With Hrithik campaign to push Close-Up, and Shahrukh Khan’s
rate seems to be between Rs. 2.5-3.0 crores. Aishwarya Rai
apparently picks up Rs. 1.25 crores for an endorsement and the
Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly is believed to get between
Rs. 90 lakh to Rs. 1.5 crores, while film-star Aamir Khan
apparently makes Rs. 1.5 crores per endorsement.
Celebrity Regional Appeal Factors
R. Madhavan endorsing Pepsi in southern India or Sachin
Tendulkar endorsing in India are few examples of how celebrities
are chosen to reach out to target audiences for brands in regional
markets.
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Celebrity-Product Match
Cyrus Broacha is the brand ambassador for MTV since both the
celebrity and the brand are considered as friendly, young, moodboosting, humorous and outspoken. MTV’s brand personality
overlaps Cyrus Broacha’s image as a brand.
Some more examples of compatible celebrity product match in
which celebrity brand attributes get transferred to the brand and
increases the brand equity is of Govinda & Navratan Tel,
Aishwarya Rai & Nakshatra, etc.
Celebrity Controversy Risk
The perfect example here is of Salman Khan and the controversy
in which he crushed a man to death with his Pajero when he was
driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, any act on the part of
the endorser that gives him a negative image among the audience
and goes on to affect the brands endorsed. The brand, in most
instances, takes a bashing.
Celebrity Popularity
Celebrity Brand association like Garnier endorsed Tara Sharma &
Simone Singh, Agni Diamonds & Riama Sen don’t get much brand
recall, and even if they do, its difficult to attribute it to the
celebrities’ endorsing the brand.On the other hand, HPCL has had
increased popularity and share of voice due to the endorsement of
the brand through Sania Mirza.
Celebrity Availability
In case of various brands, there are situations in which they prefer
to go without a brand face, since there is no brand-fit between the
celebrities available and the brand. Also, due to multiple
endorsements by certain celebrities, brands refuse to adopt
celebrity endorsement since they fear dilution of the brand image.
Celebrity Physical Attractiveness
John Abraham endorsing Wrangler and Timex Sunglasses are
some examples which portray the celebrities’ physical
attractiveness that helps create an impact.
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Celebrity Credibility
The most important aspect and reason for celebrity endorsement
is credibility. In a research carried out among 43 ad agencies and
companies, most experts believed that the most important
dimensions of credibility are trustworthiness and prowess or
expertise with regard to the recommended product or service. One
of the most obvious reasons of Amitabh Bachchan endorsing
plethora of brands is the credibility of the celebrity and his
recognition across consumers.
To site one of the most successful campaigns in which the
celebrity’s credibility has had an indelible impact on the brand and
has saved the brand is of Cadbury’s. After the worm controversy,
Amitabh Bachchan’s credibility infused into the brand through the
campaign, helping it to get back on track. The campaign has won
an award for the same.
Multiple Endorsements
Not many people can remember all the brands that a celebrity
endorses and the chances of losing brand recall increases if the
celebrity endorses multiple brands. For example, in case of Sachin
Tendulkar people recall Pepsi, TVS Victor and MRF, but might not
remember brands like Britannia and Fiat. Similarly, for Amitabh
Bachchan, consumers remember ICICI, Pepsi, Parker Pens, Pulse
Polio and BPL. They might get confused in the endorsement of
Nerolac or Asian Paints. Thus, for multiple endorsements where
the same celebrity endorses several brands, it boils down to the
strength of the brand and the advertising content.
Whether Celebrity is a Brand User
Various celebrities endorse NGOs and social causes since they
believe in the social message that they need to convey to the
audience. One of the most successful campaigns has been
executed by PETA in which celebrities like Shilpa Shetty, Amisha
Patel, Yana Gupta, Sheetal Malhar, Mahima Choudhary claimed to
believe in PETA’s philosophy, and thereby endorse the brand.
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IMPACT REGIONS OF CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENT:
The illustrations below explain the same: -
Source: Adopted from TOM et al, 1992.
THE PROCESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
The process of celebrity endorsement is more of meaning
translation & meaning application. A deeper insight into this
complex process is provided by the following theory.
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The Meaning Transfer Model
McCracken, the author to this model, has suggested that, “The
effectiveness of the endorser depends, in part, upon the meaning
he or she brings to the endorsement process.” The celebrities’
effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings with
which they are endowed. It is a three-stage process of meaning
transfer that involves the formation of celebrity image, transfer of
meaning from celebrity to the brand, and finally, from the brand to
the consumer.
Figure 1: The Meaning Transfer Model
To explain it with the help of an example, we can take the case of
Rahul Dravid and Castrol. The cricket icon is seen as “Mr.
Dependable”. And when he endorses Castrol, an image of
“dependability” is tagged on to the brand under promotion.
Culture
The celebrities deliver meanings with extra subtlety, depth and
power than anonymous models. Celebrities offer demographic
information with special precision and configurations of range of
personality and lifestyle meanings. They evoke the meanings in
their persona with greater vividness and clarity.
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Celebrities actually own their meanings because they have created
them on the public stage by dint of intense and repeated
performance. They pass these meanings into advertisements
through meaning transfer process. Preity Zinta, for example, is
perceived as a fun-loving, vivacious and modern Indian woman.
Endorsements
The meaning transfer model proposes that the marketing /
advertising firm at first should determine the symbolic properties
sought for the product. Thereafter, they should consult a host of
celebrities and their associated meanings. Finally, after
considering budget and availability constraints, the celebrity should
be chosen to represent the appropriate symbolic properties. The
chosen celebrity will have some meanings associated with it which
is not sought after for the product. The advertisement program
should take care about keeping the unwanted meanings out of the
evoked set and capture only the salient meanings. The
advertisement must be designed to highlight the essential similarity
between the celebrity and the product.
Consumption
Consumers constantly search for the object world which gives
them access to workable ideas of demography, personality,
lifestyle and culture. McCracken suggests that this stage of the
model is most complex, as consumers must claim, exchange, care
for and use the consumer goods to appropriate its meanings.
Celebrities play a major role in this stage as they have created
their own self, which makes them exemplary and inspirational
figure to the consumers. Consumers try to emulate the celebrities
admired by them and try to find out the meaning in the similar
fashion. Celebrities bring the dramatic roles, fashioning cultural
meanings into a practicable form.
In the endorsement process, they make these meanings available
in the material form to the consumers who are keen to bring a self
from them. Thus, celebrities become an essential partner to the
meaning transfer process because they vividly demonstrate the
process by which the meanings can be assembled.
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“If commerce is the engine of our economy, then advertising is the
spark. Responsible advertisers are the drivers who keep us on the
right track, leading to a richer, more benevolent society.”
RISKS
ASSOCIATED
ENDORSEMENT
WITH
CELEBRITY
The concept of “Total Branding” is slowly emerging and many
companies are focusing on that. They are emphasizing on their
best practices, customer relationship management, and employee
training and knowledge management. Internal brand management,
under which the company ensures that employees and channel
partners are convinced about the brand, is becoming particularly
important, for they are the ones who have to deliver. Thus, the
celebrity endorsement can be considered only as a carrier of
what’s inside.
Besides, while designing an ad campaign, one should also keep in
mind that the overuse of some extremely popular celebrities often
tends to confuse consumers and reduce the utility of celebrity
endorsement. Another argument against celebrity endorsement
involves the behavior of the celebrity. The marketing function of a
company should also understand that brands should assume a
much greater space than the celebrities, because their association
may be temporary but the brands are permanent.
The various risks associated with celebrity endorsements are as
follows: •Negative publicity - If the celebrity is strongly associated with the
brand then the occurrence of the negative publicity can spill over
the brand.. E.g., Salman Khan lost his endorsement deal with
Thumbs-Up after his infamous incidents like buck-killing and rashdriving.
•Overshadowing - When celebrity endorser is used, the risk of
consumers focusing on the celebrity and not on the brand exists.
•Overexposure - This risk arises when the celebrity chooses to
endorse several different products simultaneously which might
leave the consumers confused. E.g., Sachin Tendulkar endorses
several brands such as MRF, TVS Victor, Pepsi, Fiat, Boost, etc.
22
•Overuse - Sometimes the company can use many different
celebrities to appeal to different market segment. But multiplicity of
endorser might blur the image.
•Extinction - The favorable response obtained by a particular
brand may weaken over time if the brand gets significant exposure
without the association of the celebrity. If the celebrity contract is
for a considerable period of time, then it can lead to draining out
capital without proper return.
•Financial Risk - The decision for hiring an expensive endorser
may not be always feasible if there is a poor brand fit.
Therefore, for celebrity endorsements to work effectively there are
some fundamental ground rules:  Clear brand promise and brand personality.
 The communication objectives for the campaign should be
frozen.
 Focus must be on the synergy between the brand and the
celebrity image
 Establish explicitly what the celebrity is going to
communicate
CELEBRITY SELECTION
There are various scientific ways in which the right celebrity is
selected for the product endorsement, which are discussed here
after
Stereotyping
Tellis defines stereotypes as perceptions and depictions of
individuals based on simplistic, biased image of the group to which
they belong, rather than on their own individual characteristics. For
example: its better to select celebrities who say are teens for
chocolate advertisements and females for detergent ads, etc.
23
The TEARS Model
The attributes highlighted by the acronym “TEARS” are gauged for
celebrity selection. These are: •Trustworthiness: For example - Legendary actor Amitabh
Bachchan who is an icon of trust; promoting ICICI Bank.
•Expertise: For example - Golfer Tiger Woods for a sports brand.
•Attractiveness: For example - Tennis player Anna Kournikova
who earns 10 Million dollars per year in just endorsement.
•Respect: For example - Former Miss World Aishawarya Rai and
the Eye donation campaign.
•Similarity: For example - a child artist promoting a chocolate
brand.
A celebrity scoring high on all the above attributes can turn out to
be a good endorser for the brand under question.
The No TEARS Model
The “No TEARS” approach is a tool for managers and their
advertisers how to go about selecting celebrities so as to avoid the
pitfalls from making an unwise decision. It gauges the following
information: •
Celebrity & audience match up,
•
Celebrity & brand match up,
•
Celebrity credibility,
•
Celebrity attractiveness,
•
Cost consideration,
•
A working ease and difficulty factor,
•
An endorsement saturation factor,
•
A likelihood-of-getting-into-trouble factor
24
Selecting the right celebrity does more than increasing sales; it can
create linkages with the celebrities’ appeal, thereby adding new
dimension to the brand image. Research conducted by Katherine
Eckel has revealed that “celebrities can get people to make a
better choice but cannot influence people to make a foolish
choice”.
The success of celebrity endorsement in India can be sought from
a market research conducted earlier which found that 8 out of 10
TV commercials scored the highest recall were those with celebrity
appearances. A few examples: Sachin Tendulkar - Adidas, Sourav
Ganguly - Britannia, Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupati - J.
Hampstead, Shah Rukh Khan - Pepsi, Sushmita Sen - Epson, and
Aishwarya Rai - Coke.
CELEBRITY
INVOLVED
ENDORSEMENT:
THE
ISSUES
There are several factors to consider before resorting to celebrity
endorsement. There is no single formula to win in the world of
marketing. A company must analyze the prospect of endorsement
from 360 degrees, prior to product promotion.
Price vs. Profit
The most important issue is that of return on investment (ROI).
Companies need to perform a cost-benefit analysis prior to
endorsement. The process of gauging the effectiveness of
endorsement on the overall brand is but difficult. The companies
expect to bring, in the long run, future sales, revenues and profit
from the present investments on celebrity endorsement. Celebrity
endorsement is an expensive means of brand promotion and the
price burden almost always shifts on to the consumers; if not, then
it narrows the companies’ profit.
Multiple Brand
Endorsement
Endorsement
vs.
Multiple
Celebrity
In the advertising landscape, we find either a celebrity endorsing
multiple brands or multiple celebrities being used to endorse a
single brand.
25
Sachin Tendulkar, for example, in 2002 endorsed 12 brands
(including Pepsi, Boost, Colgate Total, Gillette, Britannia Tiger, Fiat
Palio, TVS Victor, Fiat Sienna, MRF, Adidas, Visa Cards and
Home Trade). Tripp et al, says that the endorsement of as many
as four products negatively influences the celebrity spokesperson’s
credibility and likeability.
Figure 3: Multiple Brand Endorsement (Shah Rukh Khan)
Also, the use of multiple celebrities to endorse a brand may hinder
the meaning transfer process, and thus, lead to confusion among
the consumers.
Figure 4: Multiple Celebrity Endorsement (Adidas & Hyundai
Santro)
26
FRAMEWORK TO MAKE EFFECTIVE
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT PROGRAM
Figure 2: Evolution of Celebrity Endorsements
27
The action plan should be able to answer the following key
questions:  Are the celebrity endorsements programs result driven?
 How to quantify the value generated by the celebrity
endorsements?
 Are customers able to connect the brand with the celebrity?
One can gauge the performance of celebrity endorsement
marketing program across the various stages of development
(Refer to Figure 2). We have attempted to prepare a framework to
build a more effective celebrity endorsement program
1. Align Celebrity Endorsement With Business Objectives.
The attributes of the celebrity should be intrinsically valuable and
aligned with the product, brand and company. Figure 3 suggests
strategies to be adopted by a company depending on its brand
positioning and the brand fit with the celebrity.
• If the brand-celebrity attribute fit is slow, then the company
should adopt “Eliminate or avoid” strategy. The consumers are
unlikely to connect between the brand and the celebrity, and the
recall value is likely to be very low; defeating the entire purpose of
signing the celebrity. This is what happened when Goodlass
Nerolac Paints roped in Amitabh Bachchan as their brand
ambassador.
• When the positioning of the brand is high but the fit with the
celebrity is low, the company should adopt a “Monitor and
evaluate” strategy. The company should continuously track the
effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement through surveys,
monitoring the sales, etc. Though Parker pens had a positioning of
premier pens, the early advertisements (Refer Annexure 1) with
Amitabh Bachchan showed low brand-celebrity fit.
• When the positioning has not been effective, but the fit with the
celebrity is high, the company should adopt the strategy of “Keep
and enhance”. The company has to spot the opportunities to
leverage the celebrity investment and to find more better and
effective ways to communicate with the target audience. The
celebrity attributes align with the company’s brand, strategic
business objectives and primary customer segment. The Narain
Karthikeyan - J K Tyres relationship works well in this category.
28
Figure 3: Brand-Celebrity Attribute Fit Matrix
• In the ideal quadrant when the positioning effectiveness is high
and celebrity fit with the brand is also high, the company should
follow the strategy of “Grow and partner”. In case of Coke, the
brand has firmly established the “Thanda” position in the minds of
the consumer, with Aamir Khan playing the perfect role.
29
By situating potential celebrity on the matrix, companies can
manage the celebrities as portfolios - re-distributing the resources
and marketing efforts to those celebrities with the greatest
potential to increase value, while eliminating those that prove too
costly.
2. Measure and Quantify Performance
The company should have proper metrics in place such as
increase in sales, brand awareness and customer preference, to
measure the effectiveness and the impact of celebrity
endorsement in the short and long term.
The relationship between the endorsement costs and the benefits
is explained further in Figure 4. The endorsement costs are
primarily driven by the endorsement fees and promotion outlays.
The benefits that accrue from such a relationship can be
categorized into two components: • Value of Hard Assets: The benefits derived from the hard assets
are those that have a clear market value such as increased sales
and increase in brand equity. These are the tangible benefits that a
company derives from its endorsement strategy.
• Value of Association: Association value is derived from the
target customers who associate the company / brand with the
celebrity. These are the intangible benefits that the company will
accrue in the long-term.
There are ways to quantify the potential value of hard assets and
association value against their impact on company’s celebrity
endorsement by looking at the following categories: • Incremental Sales: Companies can quantify the effect of the
celebrity programs on sales by performing year-to-year or quarterto-quarter sales comparisons for targeted consumers, geographic
regions, or specific product lines. Primary research can also be
done to reveal the impact of the celebrity on target customer’s
propensity to purchase.

Brand Recognition : One of the objectives of celebrity
endorsement is to increase brand awareness. However, the
companies use popular, though incorrect, survey approach by
asking the respondent which celebrity endorsed their brand.
30
Instead, they should ask the respondent the brands associated
with the celebrity. By gauging the top-of-mind recall can enable the
company to find out if a connection is made between the brand
and celebrity.
 Customer Loyalty: Customer churn can be measured in fixed
intervals before and after the celebrity campaign period to
determine the impact of celebrity on customer retention.
Additionally, primary research can be conducted to evaluate
changes in the customer loyalty, customer preferences, etc.
3. Selection and Renewal of Contract With Celebrities
The ability to align goals and measure the value of brand-celebrity
fit is the first step in obtaining optimal value from a celebrity
endorsement. Value is also derived by revisiting the celebrity
portfolio to determine ways to reduce costs and increase benefits.
Additionally, a company can increase its benefits by re-examining
(and altering, if needed) its promotion strategy to create deeper
brand association, identify new celebrities that are capable of
achieving company goals and negotiate for additional rights from
the existing contracts. A large extent of this can be successful if
the company can develop and execute coordinated, preplanned
negotiation strategy which will enable it to improve the contractual
fees and media commitments stipulated in the contract, as well as
the amount and benefits conferred on the company. A few
guidelines for formulating a well-defined negotiation strategy would
include:
• Understand the Competition of Celebrity: Except for few
venerable celebrities; most of the celebrities quote their price in
expectation of negotiation. The company should benchmark the
contractual fees and benefits against that of comparable celebrities
to ensure the package is equivalent.
• Understand ‘Celebrity’ Clutter: There could be a degree of
clutter with the celebrity endorsing many more brands and
companies. This clutter can impede the ability of the company to
capture the image and awareness required to generate value from
the endorsement. The company needs to understand the risk
associated with the signing of such celebrity and need to devise
strategic opportunities to stay clear of the clutter.
31
Figure 4: Endorsement Cost-Value Relationship
• Include Value-in-Kind Payments: Companies can reduce their
risk and endorsement costs by substituting out-of-pocket cash
payments with value-in-kind, which can be traded at market price.
32
• Protection Against Ambush Marketing: Ambush marketing (or
adjacent marketing) is the reality of the day and the marketing
managers need to be creative to stay one step ahead of the
competition. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan was shown drinking
Thumbs-Up in the hindi movie Kaante, when he is actually brand
ambassador for Pepsi.
WHY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FAILS?
There maybe cases where brands are not able to take-off even
after the backing of celebrities. And this leads to speculations in
the Ad World on the soundness of celebrity endorsement as an
effective communication strategy.
Negative impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the brand
A popular drawback of celebrity endorsement is the 'Vampire
Effect' or the celebrity overshadowing the brand16. Some viewers
forget the brand that a celebrity 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 Credibility17. 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.
The Reasons
According to leading management thinker, Dr. Seamus Phan,
“Many celebrity endorsements fail because they identify a celebrity
they like in an emotive and un-researched manner and then try to
create advertising to force-fit the celebrity into the creative
concept.” Therefore, the advertisers must associate the celebrity to
the advertisement and not vice versa. Thinking on the similar lines,
the advertisers shouldn’t identify the brand to associate with the
celebrity but do vice versa.
33
The success of celebrity endorsement also depends upon the
capacity, knowledge, experience, and qualification to talk about the
product. Failure may be attributed to improper positioning
(Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan & Maruti
Versa), negative perception after use of product / service (inferior
products), misapprehension of the meaning of the endorsement,
etc.
“The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old
observation that every man is really two men - the man he is and
the man he wants to be.”
- William Feather
The Solutions
As discussed, celebrity management is very crucial to avoid the
brand-celebrity disconnect, and subsequently, brand failures. If the
consumers have questions in their minds regarding the quality or
performance of the product then even God cannot save the brand.
The obvious solution to the problem of overshadowing is to make
sure that both the advertisement and the celebrity are focused on
the brand or product. To avoid any bad publicity arising out of
celebrity defames, companies may resort to multiple celebrity
endorsement. For Example: Pepsi while capitalizing on the
popularity of cricket and films in India used several cricketers and
film stars in their ads. So when Azharuddin and Jadeja got
embroiled in the match-fixing controversy, Pepsi severed its
association only with these stars, but its relationship with cricket
continued.
The Symbiotic Model
Based on our understanding of the celebrity endorsement process,
we can propose our own model taking cue from the biological
kingdom. There are various symbiotic relationships that can exist
between two organisms. Similarly, we can visualize two entities
“brand” and “celebrity”. To achieve a perfect success, there should
be absolute symbiosis between the two entities. There may be one
of the six effects to the celebrity endorsement process: Celebrity endorsement is a complex process of balancing your risk
with your gains.
34
“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
- Oscar Wilde
Figure 2: The Symbiotic Model
•
Mutualism (M): Both help each other (Example: Tata and
Narayan Karitiken ,Amir Khan and Titan)
•
Commensalism (C1): Only one among them is benefited
(Example: A failed endorsement)
•
Parasitism (P): One is benefited; other is harmed (Example:
Azharuddin and Pepsi. Also, Home Trade & Shah Rukh Khan,
Sachin Tendulkar)
•
Neutralism (N): None of them benefited or harmed
(Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Maruti
Versa)
35
•
Amensalism (A): Only one of them is harmed; other
unaffected
•
Competition (C2): Both are harmed
IMPACT-ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
According to our study, the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is
not independent, but is moderated by several factors like celebrity attractiveness and credibility, product-celebrity match,
message and product type, level of involvement, number of
endorsements by celebrities, target receiver characteristics and
overall meanings (e.g. personality, values, standards) attached to
celebrities. Besides these factors, environmental factors, regulative
issues and compatibility with overall marketing strategy also
influence the impact of the endorser.
We focus our study on the following categories .
 The targeted consumer
 The celebrity endorser
 The product
None of these factors can independently achieve a positive impact
on the consumer; hence there exists an indispensable need for
these factors to have certain characteristics and a tactical fit
amongst themselves.
Along with factors which directly impact, we also study the
following influencers which have an indirect effect on the way an
endorsement is perceived –
 Market Environment
 Overall Marketing strategy
 Regulative Issues
36
A. Factors
I. Product
Not every brand can and should be endorsed by celebrities. The
brand’s image, personality & the buying involvement of the
customer would determine whether or not a celebrity endorsement
would be effective and also identify its endorser.
37
Research has proved that consumers would react more favourably
to celebrity endorsers as against experts or typical - consumer
endorser in products which are high on psychological and / or
social risk. The celebrity creates a positive image and significantly
impacts consumer’s intention-to-buy. Also, for products having
aspiration value e.g. premium watches, cars, the celebrity creates
the aura of elitism. Furthermore, products with high financial,
performance or physical risk such as mutual funds, medical
equipments, are evaluated more favorably when endorsed by a
professional expert rather than by a celebrity. For products which
are low in all five types of risk, typical consumer - endorsers are
most effective since the consumers can relate to the character
(Hershey H. Friedman and Linda Friedman).
II. Endorser
An Endorser can be defined as, “Any individual who enjoys public
recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer
good by appearing with it in an advertisement”. The following
inherent qualities in the endorser usually impacts the brand  Credibility of image / Trustworthiness (Honesty, Integrity,
Believability)
 Competence / Expertise (in relation to the product)
 Dynamism
 Likeability
 Attractiveness
Impact of Celebrity on the Brand
Plethora of research has tried to explore the effects that a celebrity
exhibits. Celebrity endorsements:  Creates and helps in retaining attention of the targeted
audience.
 Achieves high brand recall in an environment with multitude
of products.
 Transfers of qualities associated with the celebrity to the
product.
 Perceived as entertaining.
 Portrays trustworthiness due to lack of apparent interest
38
III. Consumer
Consumer is the factor being wooed by the company/product using
the endorser. Hence, both the product & the endorser need to
meet the expectations of the consumer, thus making it critical to
understand consumer reactions to a given stimulus and product
category in differing circumstances.
B. Interactions
I. Consumer - Endorser (C-E Interaction)




Sudden change of the celebrity image
Drop in popularity of the celebrity
Loss of credibility due to over-endorsing
Disappearance of celebrity out of media flashlight
II. Brand - Endorser (B-E Interaction)
Every brand has a personality and the traits found in the brands
should be reflected in the celebrity too. A mismatch leads to
confused audience and lack of brand recall.
Worse, in some cases it might even lead to association of the
celebrity with the competitors brand (e.g., Nerolac Paints where
Amitabh Bachchan being a brand endorser of Nerolac paint was
perceived to be associated with Asian Paints).
Is Celebrity Endorsement Always the Best Method for
Promoting a Brand?
Companies in many cases, prefer not to use a celebrity, but
instead go ahead with a spokesperson which has been tailor made
for the product by the company. The following are the advantage
of such a strategy: • Control: Companies control the created spokesperson as it has
been built in conformity with the brand and target audience, and
hence can be ensured with a consistent image. Unlike in case of
celebrities where the celebrity’s persona both present and past
have been created over the years.
• Single utilization of created endorsers: Such spokespersons
are exclusive for a brand and hence avoiding any brand conflict.
39
• Association over a long time period: The spokesperson
creates a permanent image by a long and steady association.
• Focus more on brand and its features: In Non-Celebrity
advertisements the main focus is on the brand and its
characteristics while in celebrity the focus sometimes shifts entirely
to the celebrity’s features and their aura & hence the medium fails
in carrying the main message across.
Examples of such endorsement are Gattu - Asian Paints, FidoDido - 7Up, Hutch - Boy.
C. Influencers
I. Market Environment
It indirectly impacts the effectiveness of a campaign. Celebrity
campaigns create stronger impact in saturated markets as
products lack differentiation and clutter is huge. E.g., Indian soft
drink industry heavily depends on celebrity endorsement for
promotion.
II. Marketing Strategy
Both single celebrity endorsing multiple products and multiple
celebrities endorsing single product at the same time reduces
association of product and celebrity and reduces impact (e.g.,
Pepsi - where multiple celebrities are endorsing the product at the
same time which takes the brand away from getting associated/
dependent on any celebrity. Hence, impact is also influenced by
the marketing strategy followed by the company.
III. Regulative Issues
Promotion of products like Beverages and Cigarettes is tightly
regulated by authorities who impact the effectiveness of celebrity
endorsement (e.g., Beverages in India are being promoted using
surrogate advertisements and hence a celebrity endorses a
secondary product of the brand and not the primary product- Ajay
Devan for Bagpiper Soda). This reduces the effectiveness of the
campaign.
40
KINDS OF CELEBRITY-HOOD - THEIR IMPACT
ON BRANDS
(1) Product Placements
While the movie 'Taal' brandished Coke bottles unabashedly,
(2) Celebrities Co-Owning the Brand
Madhuri Dixit and Emami 'Beauty secrets by Madhuri' range
(3) Fictional Heroes
Shaktimaan has sold Parle-G, and Popeye single-handedly
revived the consumption of spinach in the US.
(4) No More but Celebrities Still
Campaigns created around a dead personality was the 'Kar lo duniya
muthi mein' campaign for Reliance featuring Dhirubhai Ambani
(5) Page 3 Celebrities
(6) Celebrities for a Cause
The Pulse Polio campaign being coordinated by UNICEF for the Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare had Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin
Tendulkar
(7) Spoofing
Mirinda spoofed the Hutch puppy (a celebrity in its own right).
(8) Mascots
Ronald McDonald, the Amul girl
(9) Men are from Mars, Women from Venus
John Abraham lends his rugged image to Yamaha bikes while Priety
Zinta lends her cute dimples to peddle Scooty.
(10) Celebrities Lending their Name to Brands
Sharukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha have perfumes named after
them
41
(11) Company Owners Being Celebrities
Vijay Mallaya and Richard Branson who are walking talking celebrities
and endorse their own brands through their extravagance, their
flamboyant lifestyle
(12) Political Leaders
The 'India Shining' campaign from the BJP and the 'Congress ka haath
aam aadmi ke saath' campaign from the Congress with Vajpayee and
Sonia Gandhi lending their faces
(13) Using a Social Proposition Built Within the Brand
The Surf campaign done by Revathy and Shabana Azmi (in the
south and north respectively) which stressed on the prudent usage
of valuable water was a social proposition cleverly inter-woven in
the brand.
(14) Duration of Usage - Promotional or Long Term Strategy
Short-term example is the Rani Mukherjee campaign for Bata
which is believed to have helped boost sales for the ladie's
footwear brand, Sundrop, by a whopping 500 per cent. The same
Rani Mukherjee has a longer association with Fanta and Munch.
(15) Stealth Advertising
Since a cynical public no longer believes that celebrities actually
use the products they endorse in commercials. Revlon launched
an online marketing campaign targeting female customers via chat
rooms talking about who Revlon's new face would be.
Consequently the announcement of Halle Berry as Revlon's new
face was met with great anticipation.
(16) Foreign Celebrities
Jackie Chan doing a Discover commercial or a Boris Becker doing a
Siyaram commercial
(17) Unintentional Celebrity Endorsements
The year before the late Princess Diana bought an Audi, they sold just
about five hundred pieces in the UK. The following year sales figures
were close to ten thousand mark. John Abraham haybusa
42
SELECTION OF CELEBRITY
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
The purpose is to provide the marketers with a quantitative
method for selection of the right celebrities to optimize the
outcome for their advertising campaigns. We have developed
three matrices, which are:  Celebrity Positioning Matrix, which gives the popularity
and image details of a personality in the market
 Product Positioning Matrix, which is the direct
consequence of the brands competitive strategy
 Area Correlation Matrix, which is the overall measure of
match of brand and celebrity
43
These two matrices are used to develop two variables:  Celebrity Effectiveness Index
 Total Area Correlation Score
The two variables can be used to decide on the appropriate
celebrity for the brand. The model also helps in minimizing the
cost with optimization of effect.
The study is done in two stages, exploratory research involving
personal interviews and focused group discussion followed by
primary data collection and analysis.
Model Development
For the purpose of our study, we divided all companies and
brands into twelve categories mentioned below: 1. Creator / Innovator: Products or personalities famous for
disruptive, architectural, modular or incremental innovations,
e.g., White Goods
2. Caregiver: Personalities or products which give the
perceived benefit of security and care, e.g., Insurance
Companies
3. Jester: Personalities or products positioned for fun and
frivolous activities, e.g., Wafers
4. Magician: Personalities or products which claim to produce
results which are unexpected, e.g., Hair oils for enhancing
growth
5. Hero: Personalities or products that prompt courageously
action, e.g., Red & White Bravery Awards.
6. Ordinary Guy: Personalities or products that have slice of
life execution format, e.g., Peter England
7. Lover: Personalities or products that claim tender care, e.g.,
Beauty Soaps
8. Innocent: Personalities or products that retain and renew
faith, e.g., Johnson & Johnson
44
9. Sage: Personalities or products for guidance and opinion,
e.g., Newspaper
10. Outlaw: Personalities or products that encourage to break
the rules, e.g., Jeans
11. Explorer: Personalities or products that claim self
enhancement through exploration, e.g., Jeeps
12. Ruler: Personalities or products that show how to exert
control, eg., Tires
Archetype matrix for brands and celebrities:
Creator/Innovator
Caregiver
Jester
Magician
Hero
Ordinary Guy
Lover
Innocent
Sage
Outlaw
Explorer
Ruler
Variables Developed
Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI): This is a parameter
defined to evaluate the effectiveness of a personality to
interact with customer and create desired impact. It is the
sum of average score of each archetype for a personality.
Area Correlation Index of Brand and CEI: This we have
defined as the weighted product of corresponding archetypes
of brands and celebrities.
Hypothesis
H1: A brand-celebrity area coefficient is positively related
to audience brand-celebrity connection.
The concepts developed can be used by celebrity clients for
effective decision making. The objective of a client can be
described as follows: -
45
To maximize area correlation of the brand-celebrity rectangle
subjected to: 1. Minimum Costs
2. Minimum Risks
The details of the variable in the above-mentioned objectives
are described below: Costs Associated:
1. Endorsement fees
2. Feature establishing costs
3. Feature enhancement costs
4. Feature sustaining costs
Risks Associated:
1. Mismatch risk
2. Celebrity feature transition risk
3. Celebrity feature mortality risk
The steps involved in testing of hypothesis are as follows: Step 1: Calculate CEI for celebrities and companies
Step 2: Calculate area correlation matrix for the same
Step 3: Compare the success of the campaign with the area
correlation matrix
Methodology
Calculation of Celebrity Effective Index
Respondents were given a name of a celebrity and asked to
rate the personality as against the archetypes defined earlier.
The sampling was convenience sampling and sample size of
hundred for each celebrity.
Ten celebrities were selected for the purpose. The selection
was based on three distinct focused group discussions done
with SEC A, B, C Category of members with 10 members each.
46
The top ten most frequent celebrities recalled or recollected
as brand ambassadors were chosen for the further studies.
Methodology
Primary survey was conducted to list down the brand against
the above-mentioned ten celebrities. The most frequent reply
was recorded. The brands were then subjected to archetype
scoring, and area correlation was calculated. From secondary
data, other endorsees, if existing, were recorded and the
process was repeated. For this other endorsee, the least
frequent or non-existing celebrity was selected from the list
of CEI calculation celebrities.
Celebrity
Brand
Alternate
Celebrity*
Amitabh
Bachchan
Polio
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan
Santro
Preeti Zinta
Sachin
Tendulkar
TVS Victor
Brett Lee
Saurav Ganguly
Sona Chandi
Chavanprash
Mohammed Kaif
Rahul Dravid
Hutch
None
Hrithik Roshan
Tamarind (S. Kumars)
None
Aishwarya Rai
Nakshatra
Katrina Kaif
Kareena Kapoor
Airtel
A. R. Rehman
Saif Ali Khan
Ruffle Lays
Nawab Pataudi
Preeti Zinta
Pepsi
Yuvraj Singh
* The celebrity that was recollected the least by respondents.
47
Results
Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI)
The ten celebrities and the survey results are as follows: 1. Amitabh Bachchan : CEI = 55
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 8
Jester 3
Magician 6
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 5
Innocent 3
Sage 8
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 8
2. Shah Rukh Khan : CEI = 54
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 4
Jester 6
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 9
Innocent 3
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 7
3. Sachin Tendulkar: CEI = 53
Creator/Innovator 8
Caregiver 2
Jester 2
Magician 9
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 9
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 5
Jester 2
Magician 3
Hero 7
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 5
4. Saurav Ganguly: CEI = 42
48
5. Rahul Dravid: CEI = 45
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 5
Hero 9
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 4
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 9
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 8
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 4
Ruler 5
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 8
Jester 2
Magician 3
Hero 7
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 9
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 3
Ruler 2
Creator/Innovator 1
Caregiver 3
Jester 8
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 3
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 3
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 3
Jester 9
Magician 3
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 4
Lover 7
Innocent 2
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
6. Hrithik Roshan: CEI = 50
7. Aishwarya Rai: CEI = 49
8. Kareena Kapoor: CEI = 46
9. Saif Ali Khan: CEI = 44
49
10. Preeti Zinta: CEI = 49
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 8
Jester 8
Magician 2
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 9
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
Thus, CEI calculation was made for the ten celebrities. The
CEI is quantitative measure of: 1. Popularity
2. Image and positioning
Brand Positioning Index for Brands
Polio Eradication Campaign:
Creator/Innovator 1
Caregiver 10
Jester 1
Magician 1
Hero 1
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 10
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Santro:
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 5
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 4
Ruler 7
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 4
Jester 3
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 6
TVS Victor:
50
Sona Chandi Chavanprash:
Creator/Innovator 4
Caregiver 8
Jester 2
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 5
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 3
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 3
Jester 5
Magician 2
Hero 4
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 2
Explorer 1
Ruler 3
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 2
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 8
Innocent 8
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 2
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 3
Jester 8
Magician 2
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 7
Ruler 1
Hutch:
Tamarind (S. Kumar's):
Nakshatra:
Airtel:
51
Ruffle Lays:
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 2
Jester 8
Magician 1
Hero 3
Ordinary Guy 5
Lover 8
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Pepsi:
Thus, the calculation is analogous to CEI but is for companies
or products. The outcome is the direct reflection of company's
positioning strategy.
Alternate Celebrity CEI Calculation
1. Brett Lee : CEI = 45
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 2
Jester 7
Magician 6
Hero 4
Ordinary Guy 5
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 4
2. Mohammed Kaif : CEI = 35
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 2
Jester 5
Magician 2
Hero 3
Ordinary Guy 8
Lover 1
Innocent 6
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
52
3. Katreena Kaif : CEI = 35
Creator/Innovator 1
Caregiver 1
Jester 9
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 8
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 9
Hero 2
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 1
Jester 1
Magician 8
Hero 5
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 1
Outlaw 3
Explorer 6
Ruler 1
4. A. R. Rehman : CEI = 38
5. Nawab Pataudi : CEI = 31
6. Yuvraj Singh : CEI = 37
Calculation of Area Correlation
The corresponding cells of brand and celebrity are multiplied
to calculate what we term as Brand-Celebrity Area Correlation.
53
The following table shows the results of above mentioned ten
brands: Brand
Success
Celebrity
Failure
Celebrity
Polio
224
162
Santro
263
215
TVS Victor
277
186
Sona Chandi
Chawanprash
177
92
Hutch
200
-
Tamarind
186
-
Nakshatra
234
100
Airtel
247
148
Lays
190
70
Pepsi
186
155
We term the celebrity with maximum recall as successful
celebrity and with minimum recall as failure celebrity.
Conclusions & Recommendations of survey
The test of Hypothesis 1 shows that it is 100% accepted for
the ten cases presented. Thus, we can say that area
correlation matrix is a good predictor of success of a campaign.
Moreover, the CEI is also a good predictor of popularity of the
celebrity. Brands generally will have lower CEI than
Personalities due to deliberate attempts to have strong
positioning to fight competition and develop competitive
advantages.
The following recommendations are made to brand managers
and account managers: -
54
1. The cost of an endorsement will be a positive correlated
function of CEI
2. The popularity of the campaign is a function of area
correlation matrix
3. If the right match is found between the brand and
celebrity, popularity of the campaign can be optimized
4. The cost of the campaign can be reduced by involving
celebrities with high polarized archetype value which matches
with the brand
Limitations
The CEI and area correlation are highly time dependent. The
image and archetype of a personality is often volatile and
may change with time. The use of the method involves:1.
2.
3.
Repeated
surveys
for
CEI
calculations.
Keeping
track
of
celebrity
activities.
Continuous search for new and emerging celebrities.
Appendix
Brand
Celebrity
Unaided Comptibilty Trait Fit
Association
Index
Index
Thums-up Salman Khan
93
93
100
Coke
Hrithik Roshan
83
100
50
Adidas
Sachin
73
85
25
Samsung
Tabu
54
68
25
55
Source: Cognito FCB ULKA 2002
Table 1: Compatibility Index & Trait Fit Index of 4 Brands
Aspect of Brand
Image
Elegance
Beauty
Attractiveness
Classy
Celebrity
Renuka
Shahane
Madhuri Dixit
Saif & Tiger
Pataudi
Fardeen Khan
Stylish
Honest
Trustworthiness
Expertise
Amitabh
Bachhan
Tarun Tejpal
Reliable
Sachin
Tendulkar
Knowledge
Sachin &
Sehwag
Qualified
Naina Balsavar
Product
Whisper
Emami
Asian
PaintsRoyale
Provogue
Reid &
Taylor
Tehelka
TVS
Victor
Reebok
Shampoo
CASES ANALYSIS USING THE FRAMEWORK
To test the contribution of an endorser in the light of various
factors, interactions and influencers we apply the following criteria
and see if the results agree with the proposed model  Increased Brand Awareness (In terms of recall of copy
points, ad ratings)
 Attitude towards the brand
 Purchase intent of the consumer
 Believability in the message being conveyed
56
CASE: CELEBRITIES - TO USE OR NOT TO USE
Situation 1: Cadbury has always come up with sweet, emotional,
clutter breaking commercials. Who can forget the lady dancing on
the cricket pitch to celebrate her boyfriend's century. But when the
company was hit with the worm controversy it had to rope in the
national icon Amitabh Bachchan.He embodied the values of
Cadbury as a brand and connected with all of India - mothers,
teenagers, children, media persons and trader partners. The
'infomercial' that followed had Bachchan first voicing his own
concerns, and then assuring consumers that his doubts had been
satisfactorily laid to rest (after the factory visit).This reinstated
customer faith in Cadbury and sales have now touched pre-worm
crisis days.
Situation 2: Asian Paints will always be remembered for its 'Mera
wallah cream' campaign and more recently the 'Wah Sunil babu'
campaign. There have been very forgettable celebrity
endorsements from Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan in the past
(probably people were not able to visualize stars painting their own
walls). This is a case of a company whose non-celebrity
commercials have done way better than their celebrity campaigns
in terms of recall and message delivery.
Cases
1.
Sharukh
Khan
-
Mayur
Suitings
(Positive
Impact)
”Sharukh Mayur Khan” is how this product came to be known,
Sharukh brought to the product his persona of high class lifestyle,
giving the consumer the belief to aspire and good clothing a sure
way to reflect the aspiration. The ad shows a great fit between
what the product stands for, what the consumer expects and what
the celebrity means to the consumer, hence explaining the strong
impact in sales and brand recall.
2. Dharmendra - Rajdoot Motorcycles (Positive Impact)
This strong man from yester years, still resonates as the only
brand ambassador, who managed to sell a motorcycle in each and
every corner of India in the 80’s. Dharmendra’s image of being a
57
brawny man, hailing from the rustic roots of India, gave Rajdoot
motorcycles the perfect brand ambassador it was looking for. He
not only gave to the product a sturdy and robust image, but also
brought to the product trust and honesty which it was trying to build
in its first time buyers.
3.
Amitabh
Bachchan
(Cluttered
Identity)
Our framework argues that exclusivity makes the product-celebrity
association stronger thereby making the product resonates with
the qualities of the celebrity. In cases where the celebrity endorses
multiple products, he dilutes his equity.
There’s no better example in the Indian industry than Amitabh
Bachchan who endorses ICICI Bank, Cadbury, Versa, Dabur, Rin,
Parker Pens, Pepsi, Nerolac Paints and many more. In each of the
cases the ads use some or the other attribute of Amitabh to
endorse the product, but makes no strong link in the minds of the
consumer. Hence in the end the consumer is lost and has difficulty
identifying, what does Amitabh really stand for?
4.
Rani
Mukherjee
-
Hero
Cycles
(Negative
Impact)
Rani Mukherjee endorsing a cycle makes a case where the
celebrity is used only for her popularity without looking for Brandcelebrity fit.
Cycles in India are generally used by men and the target segment
belongs to low income group. By using Rani, the consumers could
not be assured of the product’s qualities and could not relate the
product to the ambassador. Hence, the consumers were not
motivated towards the product and the ad was called back, thereby
emphasizing the need for a brand-celebrity fit.
5. Hutch - The Child and the Dog (Created Spokesperson)
Hutch managed to grab the attention of the consumers, by not
using a celebrity. The child and dog campaign came across as a
fresh initiative at endorsing a product. The child and dog have had
a very high brand recall as they represent only Hutch and have
been created by the company according to the needs of the
product and the message. It communicates to the consumer, “We
are there, wherever you are and that too unobtrusively.” The
58
protagonist says all of the above and creates a strong bond with
the consumer.
6. Mohammad Azharuddin - Britannia (Change of the Celebrity
Image)
Mohammad Azharuddin, at the peak of his career was a brand
ambassador for an assortment of products. But the match-fixing
case besmirched his image and all of the products started
disassociating their endorsements from him.
Thus, a product is sold on basis of the qualities of the endorser
and with a change in the inherent value system of the celebrity; the
bond with the consumer is lost.
7. Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan / Formula 1 Racing (Entering
International
Markets)
A celebrity’s endorsement through various cultural and social
roadblocks is one of the critical applications of our model; Narain is
a case in point. The popularity of F1 as a sport in India owes its
genesis to use of Narain as a brand ambassador of the sport. His
image and persona has been used by the sport and the Jordan
team to create brand awareness in India.
8.
Sachin
Tendulkar
-
Fiat
Palio
(Financial
Viability)
Sachin Tendulkar was paid a huge sum of Rs. 12 Crore to endorse
Fiat Palio, even though Tendulkar as a brand could command
such an exorbitant amount. It’s for the company to evaluate if the
returns generated by the endorsement would commensurate the
initial spend. In this case due to excessive spending and failure of
the product to take-off the advertisements had to be withdrawn.
CONCLUSION
There is an increasing challenge to the marketing manager to
develop and implement an integrated marketing communication
(IMC) plan to realize the true value of the celebrity endorsements.
There is a gradual shift from the traditional approach of showing
celebrities in advertisement to making them the “spokes-person” of
the brand. Companies have taken celebrity endorsement to next
level by projecting brands as a way of life. Smart companies are
59
using their brand ambassadors in other mediums such as movies
to promote their brands.
E.g., Amitabh Bachchan, who endorses the financial instruments
of ICICI Bank, is shown as a branch-manager of ICICI Bank in the
movie Baghban.
Wooing the key existing and potential target customers is the trait
of a successful promotion strategy. However, the marketing
manager should be able to offer significant value propositions in
the services / products offered to the customers. Thus, one needs
to integrate celebrity endorsement with other marketing programs
and ensure that the celebrity attributes align with the overall brand
or company. Companies that succeed in developing such an
integrated IMC plans is the one to succeed in the long-term.
Annexure 1: Story Board of Parker Beta
Amitabh Bachhan gets a warm welcome at an Annual Function of
a college. As he acknowledges the delirious students... ... around
him, a young girl breaks across and runs up to him. “One
autograph please,” she pleads. He obliges smilingly.
He scrawls his signature across the page and stops to examine
the pen. Turning the page, he signs on afresh and clarifies, “Dost
shost ke liye.”
60
He repeats his action and adds, “Bhai shai.” The girl is dumbstruck
and nods wordlessly. One more and he adds, “Padosi to honge.”
Yet another page succumbs, ‘Chachi wachi. What a great pen!”
The girl just nods her assent.
He repeats his action and adds, “Bhai shai.” The girl is dumbstruck
and nods wordlessly. One more and he adds, “Padosi to honge.”
Yet another page succumbs, ‘Chachi wachi. What a great pen!”
The girl just nods her assent.
61
MVO: “New Beta from Parker. Dil chahe likhte jaayen.” The shot of
the auditorium, now deserted... ... except for the girl and her idol.
He continues to sign as she dozes next to him, “Doodh wala,
paper wala, dhobhi...”
Through analysis and research, this paper brings forth the
following insights:  Celebrity endorsements do work in the Indian scenario. The
level and the magnitude of the effect vary with the celebrity
and the product category but most endorsements have a
favourable impact.
 The consumer looks for a variety of aspects from the
endorsement like the credibility and likeability of the
endorser. Credibility also means the fit between the brand
and the celebrity.
 Multiple endorsements do clutter the minds of the consumer.
 When one endorser endorses many brands, then the recall
of the endorsement depends entirely on the power of the
brand. There are definitely some brands that go unnoticed
and the recall for those stands is at a bare minimum. The
company in that case can heighten the advertising content
because that grabs a special place in the mind space of the
consumer.
 It is not just the financial gains from the endorsements that
matter to the celebrity. They also look for the fit with the
brand and what the endorsement might do to their image.
 Professional performance of the endorser is important in
deciding the success of the endorsement. However, the bad
performance should be stretched so as to make sense to the
audience.
 More than the bad performance in the professional field, it is
the association of the celebrity with a controversy or illbehaviour that causes negative impact to the endorsements.
During the match fixing scandal in India, the commercials
featuring Ajay Jadeja and Mohammed Azharuddin were all
taken off air so that they did not have a negative effect on the
brand.
 The celebrities’ accessibility, regional appeal factors,
popularity, attractiveness, belief system are some other
important platforms, which are raised when we study the
impact of celebrity endorsement on brands.
62
Studies indicate that celebrity endorsement has worked well in
some consumer segments while failing in others. Few celebrities
have been more successful than those with almost parallel fame.
So the role of celebrity endorsement in the advertising space is
equivocal and cannot be seen as a assured strategic tool to win
profits, market share, revenues, etc.
Consumers can identify the clear difference between a good script
and a good brand idea. For example, while Pepsi’s Sachin and
Bachchan (kite flying) ad was seen as one with a good script,
Coca-Cola’s Thanda Matlab... was seen as an insightful and
strong brand idea. For all the flak it drew in its vainglorious
attempts to run down competition, Thumbs-Up was seen as the
only example of seamless linkage between brand positioning and
brand celebrity.
Celebrities do not make brands but ideas do. Celebrity
endorsement is also one of the ideas. If not then brands would
have vanished when the hype and hoopla around the celebrities
faded. Thus, the need of the hour is to focus less on your Returnon-Investment, and think more in terms of your Return-on-Ideas.
“There is one thing which is stronger than all the armies of this
world, and that is an idea whose time has come.”
- Victor Hugo
As has been identified in the analysis framework, the impact of any
Celebrity endorsement campaign depends on three factors Brand, Customer and Endorser as well as the interrelationship
between  Brand and Endorser (B-E Interaction)
 Consumer and Endorser (C-E Interaction)
Hence, a celebrity is required to have not just a certain minimum
level of qualities, but there should also be a tactical fit between the
constituting elements of the model. As has been seen in the cases,
celebrity endorsement can impact brands in both positive and
negative manner. It has acted as a panacea for companies such
as Cadbury’s during the phase when the brand was on the verge
of losing its hard owned equity in the same time also has been
used effectively in making the Anti-Polio Campaign a grand
success.
63
Therefore, before designing any promotion, one must study how
each of the factors involved complement and fit in with the other’s
requirement. However, a number of brands have been built without
celebrity endorsement. For some of their brands, Hindustan Lever
and Procter & Gamble do not believe in celebrity endorsement
because they think that consumers, especially housewives, are
more likely to identify with a lay person on screen than a celebrity.
Procter & Gamble launched its 'Rejoice' brand in India with
testimonials from ordinary women in their TV advertising. Few
more examples of this will be Lifebuoy, Wheel, Dettol, Close Up,
Fevicol etc.
FACTS AND FIGURES : Approximately 60-70% of all television commercials feature
famous people.
 Aishwarya Rai had once endorsed 'Fuji-Film' camera rolls. The
company made an agreement with her to endorse their camera
rolls. But, Aishwarya's magic did not work there and they had to
terminate the contract.
 Amitabh Bachhan (AB) was seen endorsing Maruti's Versa Car.
The AB factor worked wonders as far as generating curiosity was
concerned but the actual product couldn't meet the expectations of
people, and hence, the endorsement strategy didn't work. He has
been used very effectively by Parker Pens, ICICI Bank and
Cadbury's to name a few.
 Bata's sales doubled soon after they adopted Rani Mukherjee as
their brand ambassador.
 Magic Johnson lost his endorsement deals when he announced
in 1991 that he's HIV-positive. It wasn't until July 2003 that he
landed his first endorsement deal since the announcement.
 Ticket sales at Wimbledon are known to have shot up
significantly for all matches featuring the latest 'sex-symbol' on the
circuit - Anna Kournikova. An average player who is yet to win
even a single tennis tournament, Anna is known to have earned far
more from endorsements than her tennis career could ever have
given her
64








49 per cent growth in Celebrity endorsement advertising
volumes on TV during 2007 compared to 2006.
Celebrities from Film Industry lead with 81 per cent share of
overall Celebrity endorsement advertising pie on TV during
2007.
'Aerated Soft Drink' was the top category with maximum
advertising volumes of Celebrity endorsement during 2007.
Celebrity endorsement on TV saw a whopping growth of six
times during 2007 over 2003
'Shahrukh Khan' had maximum number of advertisers in his
kitty during 2007.
Film Celebrities had the largest chunk i.e. 81 per cent share
of overall Celebrity endorsement on TV during 2007.
Sports and TV personalities took the second and third rank
with 14 per cent and 5 per cent share respectively during
2007.
Film Actors accounted for 50% share followed by Film
Actress and Sportsmen with 31 per cent and 14 per cent
share of Celebrity endorsement on TV during 2007.
Volume Growth in Celebrity endorsement on T.V.
65
Share of Celebrity Profession on TV during 2007.
Share of Top 10 Categories with Celebrity endorsement
advertising volumes.
66

Top 10 categories share aggregates to 40 per cent of total
advertising volumes of Celebrity endorsement on TV during
2007.
'Aerated Soft Drink', 'Cellular Phone Service' and 'Toilet Soaps'
were at the top three positions of top 10 categories with maximum
advertising volumes of Celebrity endorsement on TV during 2007.
Top three Celebrities Visibility per day on Television
through commercials in 2007.

During 2007 top three position of maximum visible celebrity
on TV was occupied by Film Actors viz. Saif Ali khan,
Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan.
(1 April, 2008)
(Analysis from AdEx India - A Division of TAM Media
Research)
67
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Websites:
16. www.thedayaftertomorrow.com
17. www.synovate.com – 2003
18. www.indiantelevision.com
19. www.magindia.com
20. www.blonnet.com
21. www.rediff.com – article by Country head, O&M India
22. indiainfoline.com – article 'Celebrity Endorsements in
brands.
23. www.coolavenues.com
The End