Project of Consumer Behavior

ON
C RITICAL ANALYSIS OF USING SAME
ENDORSER IN 3 DIFFERENT PRINT
ADVERTISEMENTS

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr.Deepankar Mukherjee
GR.1.1

Indranil Bhowmick (FT-08-659)

Hirendar marwal (FT-08-656)

Jyoti Prakash Singh (FT-08-665)

 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Words are the dress of thoughts, appreciating and acknowledging those who are responsible
for the successful completion of the project.
Our sincerity gratitude goes to Prof. Deepankar Mukharjee who assigned us responsibility
to work on this project and provided us all the help, guidance and encouragement to complete
this project.
The encouragement and guidance given by Mr. Mukharjee have made this a personally
rewarding experience.
We thank him for his support and inspiration, without which, understanding the intricacies of
the project would have been exponentially difficult.
We are sincerely grateful to our friends who provided us with the time and cognitive
assistance and inspiration needed to prepare this report in congenial manner.

WITH SINCERE THANKS

Indranil Bhowmick

Hirendar marwal

Jyoti Prakash Singh

"A sign of a celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.”
- Daniel J Boorstin

INTRODUCTION

The motif behind total branding may be decocted as an attempt to amalgamate diverse
activities to win customer preference. Apropos to this context, the topic “Impact of celebrity
endorsement on overall brand”, is a significant one. The crescendo of celebrities endorsing
brands has been steadily increasing over the past years. Marketers overtly acknowledge the
power of celebrities in influencing consumer-purchasing decisions. It is a ubiquitously
accepted fact that celebrity endorsement can bestow special attributes upon a product that it
may have lacked otherwise. But everything is not hunky-dory; celebrities are after all mere
mortals made of flesh and blood like us. If a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand,
he or she can also exacerbate the image of a brand.

If I may take the liberty of rephrasing Aristotle’s quote on anger, “Any brand can get a
celebrity. That is easy. But getting a celebrity consistent with the right brand, to the right
degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy.”

Defining a 'Celebrity'

Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain group of
people. Whereas attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or special skills are just
examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observed, it can be said that within a
corresponding social group, celebrities generally differ from the social norm and enjoy a high
degree of public awareness.

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, Rani Mukherjee, Preity inta, Aamir Khan
and Pierce Brosnan), models (e.g., Mallaika Arora, Lisa Ray, Aishwarya Rai, Naomi
Campbell, Gisele Buendchen, etc), sports figures (e.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan,
Sourav Ganguly, Anna Kournikova, Michael Schumacher, Steve Waugh, etc), entertainers
(e.g., Cyrus Broacha, Oprah Winfrey, Conan O'Brien), and pop-stars (e.g., Madonna, David
Bowie) - but also for less obvious groups like businessmen (e.g., Donald Trump, Bill Gates)
or politicians.

Celebrities 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 spokes-people in advertising to
promote products and services, which is referred to celebrity endorsement.
'Celebrity Endorsement'

McCracken's (1989) definition of a celebrity endorser is, "any individual who enjoys public
recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it
in an advertisement (marcoms), is useful, because when celebrities are depicted in marcoms,
they bring their own culturally related meanings, thereto, irrespective of the required
promotional role."

Friedman and Friedman (1979) found empirical evidence that, in the promotion of products
high in psychological and/or social risk, use of celebrity endorser would lead to greater
believability, a more favorable evaluation of the product and advertisement, and a
significantly more positive purchase intention.

Thus, companies use celebrities to endorse their products, however, there are deeper
attributes that are involved in 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
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.

Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following motives:

• Instant Brand Awareness and Recall.

• Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image.
• Celebrities add new dimensions to the brand image.
• Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage.
• Lack of ideas.
• Convincing clients.
The scope of a celebrity on the incumbent brand:

Simply stating, a brand is a differentiated product and helps in identifying your product and
making it stand out due to its name, design, style, symbol, color combination, or usually a
mix of all these.

Before we can scrutinize the effects of celebrity endorsement on the overall brand, we have to
ferret the implicit nuances that act as sources of strong brand images or values:

• Experience of use: This encapsulates familiarity and proven reliability.

• User associations: Brands acquire images from the type of people who are seen using
them. Images of prestige or success are imbibed when brands are associated with
glamorous personalities.
• Belief in efficiency: Ranking from consumer associations, newspaper editorials etc.
• Brand appearance: Design of brand offers clues to quality and affects preferences.
• Manufacturer’s name & reputation: A prominent brand name
(Sony,Kellogg’s,Bajaj,Tata) transfers positive associations

The celebrity’s role is the most explicit and profound in incarnating user associations
among the above-mentioned points. To comprehend this, let us analyze the multiplier effect
formula for a successful brand:

S=P* D*AV --the multiplier effect

Where S is a successful brand,
P is an effective product.
D is Distinctive Identity
and AV is Added values.

The realm of the celebrity’s impact is confined to bestow a distinctive identity and provide
AV to the brand; the celebrity does not have the power to improve or debilitate the efficiency
and features of the core product. Thus, we are gradually approaching an evident proposition
claiming,

“The health of a brand can definitely be improved up to some extent by celebrity

endorsement. But one has to remember that endorsing a celebrity is a means to an end and
not an end in itself.”

An appropriately used celebrity can prove to be a massively powerful tool that magnifies the
effects of a campaign. But the aura of cautiousness should always be there. The fact to be
emphasised is that celebrities alone do not guarantee success, as consumers nowadays
understand advertising. They know what advertising is and how it works. People realize that
celebrities are being paid a lot of money for endorsements and this knowledge makes them
cynical about celebrity endorsements.

Compatibility of the celebrity’s persona with the overall brand image

A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand, but the celebrity
needs to match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link between the
celebrity and the message are musts for a successful campaign. Celebrities are no doubt good
at generating attention, recall and positive attitudes towards advertising provided that they are
supporting a good idea and there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the other
hand, they are rendered useless when it comes to the actual efficiency of the core product,
creating positive attitudes to brands, purchase intentions and actual sales.

Certain parameters that postulate compatibility between the celebrity and brand image are:

Fit with the Advertising Idea

Marketers now seek to adopt 360 degree brand stewardship in which the brand sees no limits
on the number of contact points possible with a target consumer. Advertising ideas, thus,
revolve around this approach, and the celebrity endorsement decisions are made through
these startegic motives.

One of the most successful celebrity endorsement campaign which reflects 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 conjuction between the two has been immensely impactful and
brand managers have utilised this endorsement through 360 degree reinforcement. Provogue
Lounge and extensive phased insertions in print in selective publications reaching out to their
target audience has made it as one of the highest recalled celebrity endorsement.

Similarly, Richard Gere's recent endorsement for VISA in India has gained acclaim due to its
innovativeness and consumer connect. Brand marketers say that research reveals that Richard
Gere was the most popular face across the Asia Pacific region, and would also fit into the
persona of the brand meeting their communication objective to enhance VISA's brand
leadership and consumer preference, and the motive to continue the "All it Takes"
empowerment platform featuring international celebrities.

Celebrity-Target Audience Match

Smriti Irani endorsing the WHO recommnded 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. The inserial placement of the campaign in "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" has won
it an award from PR Week.

Similarly, Irfan Pathan endorsing Hero Cycles has gained the brand immense recall and
embarked through the positve association between the consumer and the brand.

Celebrity Values

Celebrity branding is all about the transfer of the value from the person to the product he
endorses or stands for. There are two concerns here. The first is how long this could last. Can
the person maintain his popularity (i.e., his performance or status ranking)?

The lifecycle of celebrity popularity varies a lot. The second concern is his private life -
personal integrity. If he is implicated in any kind of scandal, that would ruin the brand. "Who
would want to use Michael Jackson to brand their product?" (brandchannel.com)

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

Consequently, companies must have deep pockets to be able to afford the best available
celebrities. 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 crore per endorsement, and musician A. R. Rehman, who had signed up
with AirTel, is believed to have picked up Rs. 1.75 crore. Film-star Hrithik Roshan was
rumored to have picked up Rs. 2 crore for the Fly With Hrithik campaign to push Close-Up,
and Shahrukh Khan's rate seems to be between Rs. 2.5-3.0 crore. Aishwarya Rai apparently
picks up Rs. 1.25 crore for an endorsement and the Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly is
believed to get between Rs. 90 lakh to Rs. 1.5 crore, while film-star Aamir Khan apparently
makes Rs. 1.5 crore 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.

Another interesting example would be of Steve Waugh campaigning for Tourism Australia in
India since he was one of the popular celebrities from Australia and could carry the messge of
Australia as a tourist destination. Other celebrities like Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman from
Australia can be prospective endorsers for Brand Australia but not in the region of India.

Celebrity-Product Match

Cyrus Broacha is the brand ambassador for MTV since both the celebrity and the brand are
considered as friendly, young, mood-boosting, humourous 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 Mallaika Arora &
Freshizza from Pizza Hut, Govinda & Navratan Tel, Sanjay Dutt & Elf Oil, Sunny Deol &
Lux Undergarments, 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

Bipasha Basu' physical attractiveness and her connect with the brand makes Levis Strauss's
campaign through celebrity in India, John Abraham endorsing Wrangler and Timex
Sunglasses are some examples which portray the celebrities' physical attractiveness that helps
create an impact.

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 (Miciak and Shanklin, 2002). 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

The case of multiple endorsements, both in terms of a single brand hiring multiple celebrities
and that of a single celebrity endorsing multiple brands, is often debated. At times, consumers
do get confused about the brand endorsed when a single celebrity endorses numerous brands.
The recall then gets reduced and reduces the popularity of the brand. 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

One of the strongest platforms to discuss this is through NGOs. 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 laimed to believe in PETA's philosophy, and thereby endorse the brand.
On the other hand, while some would understand that Amitabh Bachchan would have never
used Navratan Tel, the target audience that the brands wants to reach out to will be ready to
believe that he used the oil and his endorsement thereby creates an impact.

Successful celebrity endorsements for a brand- An Indian perspective

The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in India– brands started being
endorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons were roped in to
endorse prominent brands. Advertisements, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure
cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar
(Dinesh Suitings) became common. Probably, the first ad to cash in on star power in a
strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was Lux soap. This brand has, perhaps as
a result of this, been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime.

In recent times, we had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign with the objective of mitigating the
impediment that an unknown Korean brand faced in the Indian market. The objective was to
garner faster brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target group. Star
power in India can be gauged by the successful endorsement done by Sharukh for three
honchos- Pepsi, Clinic All Clear and Santro. Similarly, when S Kumars used Hrithik Roshan,
then the hottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they
spent 40 - 50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was as
high as 70 per cent, and even the normally conservative trade got interested.
In the Indian context, it would not be presumptuous to state that celebrity endorsements can
aggrandize the overall brand. We have numerous examples exemplifying this claim. A
standard example here is Coke, which, till recently, didn't use stars at all internationally. In
fact, India was a first for them. The result was a ubiquitously appealing Aamir cheekily
stating Thanda matlab Coca Cola. The recall value for Nakshatra advertising is only due to
the sensuous Aishwarya. The Parker pen brand, which by itself commands equity, used
Amitabh Bachchan to revitalize the brand in India. According to Pooja Jain, Director, Luxor
Writing Instruments Ltd (LWIL), post Bachchan, Parker's sales have increased by about 30
per cent.

India is one country, which has always idolized the stars of the celluloid world.
Therefore it makes tremendous sense for a brand to procure a celebrity for its endorsement. In
India there is an exponential potential for a celebrity endorsement to be perceived as
genuinely relevant, thereby motivating consumers to go in for the product. This would
especially prove true if the endorser and the category are a natural lifestyle fit like
sportspersons and footwear, Kapil-Sachin and Boost or film stars and beauty products.

Some Global Examples:

Globally, firms have been juxtaposing their brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers.
Some successful ongoing global endorsements are as follows:

• Celebrity endorsements have been the bedrock of Pepsi's advertising. Over the years,
Pepsi has used and continues to use a number of celebrities for general market and
targeted advertising, including Shaquille O'Neal, Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, and
Busta Rhymes, who did a targeted campaign for their Mountain Dew product.
• George Foreman for Meineke. He has also sold more than 10 million Lean Mean Fat--
Reducing Grilling Machines since signing with the manufacturing company.
• James Earl Jones for Verizon and CNN.
• Nike golf balls, since the company signed Tiger Woods in 1996, have seen a $50
million revenue growth. Nike's golf line grossed more than $250 million in annual
sales. In 2000 he renegotiated a five-year contract estimated at $125 million.
• Other successful endorsements like Nike—Michael Jordan, Dunlop—John McEnroe,
Adidas—Prince Naseem Hamed, and so on.
• Venus Williams, tennis player and Wimbledon champion has signed a five-year $40
million contract with sportswear manufacturer Reebok International Inc.

Advantages of a celebrity endorsing a Brand

Brands have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time. Across categories, whether in
products or services, more and more brands are banking on the mass appeal of celebrities. As
soon as a new face ascends the popularity charts, advertisers queue up to have it splashed all
over. Witness the spectacular rise of Sania Mirza and Irfan Pathan in endorsements in a
matter of a few months. The accruement of celebrity endorsements can be justified by the
following advantages that are bestowed on the overall brand:

• Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for

that brand among the target audience- this is especially true in case of new products.
We had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign. At launch, Shah Rukh Khan endorsed
Santro and this ensured that brand awareness was created in a market, which did not
even know the brand.
 • Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the
clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.
• PR coverage : is another reason for using celebrities. Managers perceive celebrities as
topical, which create high PR coverage. A good example of integrated celebrity
campaigns is one of the World’s leading pop groups, the Spice Girls, who have not
only appeared in advertisements for Pepsi, but also in product launching and PR
events. Indeed, celebrity-company marriages are covered by most media from
television to newspapers (e.g. The Spice Girls and Pepsi)
• Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities of the
celebrity with the brand thereby increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger
Woods has endorsed American Express, Rolex, and Nike. Actress Catherine Zeta-
Jones is used by T-Mobile and Elizabeth Arden. 007 Pierce Brosnan promotes
Omega, BMW, and Noreico.
• Associative Benefit: A celebrity’s preference for a brand gives out a persuasive
message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also
benefit.
• Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer's
confidence in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch worms controversy; so the
company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, when the even more
controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and resulted in much
negative press, both soft drink majors put out high-profile damage control ad films
featuring their best and most expensive celebrities. While Aamir Khan led the Coke
fightback as an ingenious and fastidious Bengali who finally gets convinced of the
product's `purity,' PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar together
once again in a television commercial which drew references to the `safety' of the
product indirectly.
• Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and
advertisers use stars to capitalise on these feelings to sway the fans towards their
brand.
• Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic
segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.).
• Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet
to generate interest among the masses.
• Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the
stagnant chyawanprash category and staving off competition from various brands,
Dabur India roped in Bachchan for an estimated Rs 8 crore.
• Celebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for lack of innovative ideas.

Disadvantages of a celebrity endorsing a brand:

The celebrity approach has a few serious risks:

1. The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has endorsed the product:
Pepsi Cola's suffered with three tarnished celebrities - Mike Tyson, Madonna, and
Michael Jackson. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects on the brand, celebrity
endorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands they endorse.
2. The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of a celebrity
overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency between the celebrity and the
brand, then the audience will remember the celebrity and not the brand. Examples are
the campaigns of Dawn French—Cable Association and Leonard Rossiter—Cinzano.
Both of these campaigns were aborted due to celebrities getting in the way of
 effective communication. Another example could be the Castrol commercial featuring
Rahul Dravid.
3. Inconsistency in the professional popularity of the celebrity: The celebrity may lose
his or her popularity due to some lapse in professional performances. For example,
when Tendulkar went through a prolonged lean patch recently, the inevitable question
that cropped up in corporate circles - is he actually worth it? The 2003 Cricket World
Cup also threw up the Shane Warne incident, which caught Pepsi off guard. With the
Australian cricketer testing positive for consuming banned substances and his
subsequent withdrawal from the event, bang in the middle of the event, PepsiCo - the
presenting sponsor of the World Cup 2003 - found itself on an uneasy wicket
4. Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would lead to overexposure: The
novelty of a celebrity endorsement gets diluted if he does too many advertisements.
This may be termed as commoditisation of celebrities, who are willing to endorse
anything for big bucks. Example, MRF was among the early sponsors of Tendulkar
with its logo emblazoned on his bat. But now Tendulkar endorses a myriad brands
and the novelty of the Tendulkar-MRF campaign has scaled down.
5. Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor): Sainsbury’s
encountered a problem with Catherina Zeta Jones, whom the company used for its
recipe advertisements, when she was caught shopping in Tesco. A similar case
happened with Britney Spears who endorsed one cola brand and was repeatedly
caught drinking another brand of cola on tape.
6. Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the brand: Celebrities manifest a
certain persona for the audience. It is of paramount importance that there is an
egalitarian congruency between the persona of the celebrity and the image of the
brand. Each celebrity portrays a broad range of meanings, involving a specific
personality and lifestyle. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a tough, intense and
modern women associated with the lower middle class. The personality of Pierce
Brosnan is best characterized as the perfect gentlemen, whereas Jennifer Aniston has
the image of the ‘good girl from next door’.
CELEBRITY: DHONI
The young, handsome, self controlled, composed, autonomous cricket captain of Indian
young Brigade is one of the most famous images in Indian market. In India cricket is religion
and cricketers are placed among the33 crore gods of Indians and obviously the cricket
Captain is the king of Gods. So Dhoni has his appeal to Indians in general. Dhoni is a brand
in himself and a attractive choice for the marketers as a brand endorser.

Dhoni has been successfully used indifferent advertisement as a brand ambassador.

Few of the brands that Dhoni is endorsed are, the famous Youngastan advertisement of Pepsi,
Rebook’s ad of Your Move and funky ad of Lays with Saif Ali Khan.

BRANDS ENDORSED BY DHONI

1. PEPSI: YOUNGISTAN MERI JAN

Pepsi has always tried to tap the young segment of India through their promotions. Beginning
from the famous “Ahaa” series of ads to the “Yah Dil Mange More” to today’s “Youngistan
Meri Jann”, Pepsi has always made ads to attract the youth. They have always chosen the
young stars, may not be established, as a face of young India. So the main reason of using
Dhoni is same in case of the latest Youngistan Meri Jann ads.
BRAND PERSONALITY:

1. The brand is vibrant, energetic. It doesn’t want to be looser.

2. Pepsi is a intelligent brand which attach itself with fun and enjoyment.
3. It also shows its daring attitude, mischievous behavior and outgoing nature.
4. There is nothing opaque about the product and brand.

ENDORCER’S PERSONALITY

1. Dhoni is a youth with dareing personality.

2. He is intelligent yet humble and full of life.
3. He is the leader of young team, fun loving young gentleman with transparent
character.

Now, Pepsi has chosen Dhoni as they think…..

• Celebrity’s fit with the brand image: (5/5)

As mentioned earlier, the virtue of Dhoni matches with the embedded traits of the soft
drink. Either of the personalities, be it Dhoni’s or be it Pepsi’s, joins as two
consecutive part of a jigsaw puzzle. So Dhoni is a perfect match for Pepsi’s brand
image

• Celebrity—Target audience match: (5/5)

The person has achieved one post which is called ‘next to president’ in India. Young
generation of India love Dhoni, warship the man, Salute his virtue and get thrilled to
experience his presence. The young generation nowadays prefers to be like Dhoni if
not Sachin. So Dhoni is a idle to the young generation of India and using Dhoni as a
brand endorser is a master stroke by Pepsi.

• Celebrity associated values: (5/5)

The value associated with Dhoni is very high. Even the parents wants their offspring
to be as prudent, as smart, as performer as Dhoni. Dhoni’s attitude, his transparency,
maturity acted as a magnet which attract not only the youth but also the older
generation. So Dhoni’s presence in an advertisement creates a positive vive for the
product in the mind of consumer which force them to think about the endorsed
product.

• Costs of acquiring the celebrity: (3/5)

Cost to use Dhoni as the endorser of Pepsi is very high but as a multinational
company it is insignificant if they consider the gamut of brand awareness they are
creating through Dhoni.

• Celebrity controversy risk: (5/5)

It is nil as Dhoni is known as good boy among the celebrities. So low controversy
level increase the brand image of self as well as of Pepsi.
 • Celebrity popularity: (5/5)

It is already mentioned that Dhoni is one of the most popular person oIn India. One
can find a man who might not know how Prativa Patil looks like, but he must be a fan
of Dhoni. This popularity reduce Pepsi’s half of job as an advertiser.

• Celebrity physical attractiveness: (4/5)

As a sportsman he possesses an athlete type of physic. But in addition to that he is

manly looking and with a macho image and a deadly smile, which make him more
attractive and appealing.

• Celebrity credibility: (5/5)

Celebrity is being judged that whether he has the right to appear in the advertisement
and indirectly advice the consumers what to do and what not to. Dhoni is captain of
Indian cricket team and not only that, he has proven his capability of performing
under immense pressure several times which is obviously created creditworthiness.

• Celebrity prior endorsements: (4/5)

Prior advertisements with several companies has proven the spontaneity, acting ability
and confidence in front of camera.

So as all the points that make an Ad popular and successful among the target audience is
above average. So there is an ample amount of chances that the ad published in the print
media, get the success.
2. REEBOK: YOUR MOVE
Reebok is the most visible and remarkable sports brand of all time. it makes innovative
products which are making a lot of difference to consumers and athletes worldwide. As all
the persons related to sports are its target market, reebok has been using different sport
celebrities for its promotion. DHONI’s “YOUR MOVE” is a famous advertisement of
reebok.

LAYS

BRAND PERSONALITY:

1. The brand is related to sport wear.

2. Reebok attach itself with an active & athletic image.
3. An sport person is uncomplete without Reebok’s products.

ENDORCER’S PERSONALITY

1. Dhoni is a young sport personality.

2. He has a fit & healthy body as well as attitude..
3. He is the leader of Indian cricket team.
4. He has achieved a remarkable position in cricket in a young age.
Now, Reebok chose Dhoni for this advertisement for following reasons…..

• Celebrity’s fit with the brand image: (5/5)

As Dhoni is the captain of Indian cricket team, he leads the cricket society in india
these days. Reebok needed a sport personality who has a remarkable position in sports
world as well as different image than predecessors. So it completely match to fulfill
the need of promotion of a brand having speciality in sport products.

• Celebrity—Target audience match: (5/5)

The target market of Reebok is sport persons. Its product’s price are also high because
of high quality. As Dhoni is a benchmark for new entrants in sports, so he totally
match to the audience’s dreams. They will supposed to buy reebok products because
they want to reach to the level of Dhoni. And according to him, it is difficult without
sport products of as much quality as Reebok have.

• Celebrity associated values: (5/5)

The value associated with Dhoni is very high. Because Dhoni’s image is of a big sport
celebrity as well as youngest Indian cricket team’s captain. If audience thinks Reebok
as Doni is, then it shows that Reebok has as much quality as Dhoni has. Dhoni’s
leading capacity reflects Reebok leading behavior in quality and standards.

• Costs of acquiring the celebrity: (3/5)

Cost to use Dhoni as the endorser is very high but for a multinational company it is
insignificant. And when the profit to brand image of Reebok is measured because of
Dhoni, then the cost seems very less in comparison of that profit.

• Celebrity controversy risk: (5/5)

It is nil as Dhoni is known as good boy among the celebrities. So low controversy
level increase the brand image of self as well as of Reebok.

• Celebrity popularity: (4/5)

In India, cricket is most famous sport and it is played and watched by a big portion of
whole population of india. As cricketers comes just after god for Indians, so it can be
easily asses how much an Indian cricket team captain should be popular.

• Celebrity physical attractiveness: (5/5)

As a sportsman he possesses an athlete type of physic. But in addition to that he is

manly looking and with a macho image and a deadly smile, which make him more
attractive and appealing.

• Celebrity prior endorsements: (4/5)

Dhoni’s prior endorsements show the positive results of his image to the brand. He
looked confident and effective in different advertisements.
So from above analysis we see that the brand personality matches with the image of Dhoni.So
people can easily relate the brand with Dhoni as he is a sports person and reebok can easily
get attached with it. So as all the points that make an Ad popular and successful among the
target audience is above average. So there is an ample amount of chances that the ad
published in the print media, get the success.

3. LAYS: Use your tongue

Lay's is the brand name for a number of potato chip (crisps in British English) varieties as
well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in 1938. Lay's chips are
marketed as a division of Frito-Lay, a company owned by PepsiCo Inc. since 1965. Other
brands in the Frito-Lay group include Fritos, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos and Rold Gold
pretzels.

M S Dhoni joined Fritolay as ambassadors,Saif Ali Khan and Juhi Chawla also to launch a
mega portfolio promotion - Chala Change Ka Chakkar - in February.The FritoLay Division
of PepsiCo India Holdings, the makers of ready-to-eat snack brands Lays, Kurkure and
Cheetos, has signed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as their new brand ambassador to launch a new
promotion called 'Chala Change Ka Chakkar'.The new promotion would have the three stars
swap one day of their lives with the contest winners giving the customers a unique never
before experience.Deepika Warrier, director (marketing), PepsiCo India Holdings (Fritolay
Division), said: "We are proud to welcome M S Dhoni into the Fritolay family. His pan-
Indian appeal, confident, can-do attitude and responsible-yet-fun image can create a positive
vive in the mind of consumer.

The ad shows Dhoni showing his tongue to the audience to confirm that the new variant of
Lays is to satisfy the taste of consumers. The crazy ad created to gain the attention of the
customer and to let the consumer aware about the new variant from the famous brand.
BRAND PERSONALITY:

1. The brand is vibrant, energetic. It some time portrait itself as a crazy personality.
It doesn’t want to be looser.
2. Lays is an intelligent brand which attach itself with fun and enjoyment.
3. It also shows its daring attitude, mischievous behavior and outgoing nature.
4. The product i.e. the new variant is a new launch in the market. Hence people lack
any idea about the new variant that Lays is launching.

ENDORCER’S PERSONALITY

1. Dhoni is a youth with dareing personality.

2. He is intelligent yet humble and full of life.
3. He is the leader of young team, fun loving young gentleman with transparent
character.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Target segment is mainly youth section of India. The youth means the young generation of
both urban and rural setting. The advertisement shows the battle between politicians with
rural accent, which was meant to attract the rural segment also.

Now, fritolay has chosen Dhoni as they think…..

• Celebrity’s fit with the product image: (1/5)

The virtue of Dhoni does not match with the embedded traits of the brand. The
Advertisement did not show the main strength of Dhoni, i.e. confidence, self
motivation and performance. Dhoni’s character does not match with these types of
crazy things as it matches with Saif or Srisanth. So it is a perfect mismatch with the
product campaign and endorser’s personality.

• Celebrity—Target audience match: (3/5)

The person has achieved one post which is called ‘next to president’ in India. Young
generation of India love Dhoni, warship the man, Salute his virtue and get thrilled to
experience his presence. The young generation nowadays prefers to be like Dhoni if
not Sachin. He is also from small city of Jharkhand. So Dhoni is a idle to the young
generation of India and using Dhoni as a brand endorser is a master stroke by Lays.
But the for crazy youth or crazy people Dhoni may not be the perfect choice.

• Celebrity associated values: (4/5)

The value associated with Dhoni is very high. Even the parents wants their offspring
to be as prudent, as smart, as performer as Dhoni. Dhoni’s attitude, his transparency,
maturity acted as a magnet which attract not only the youth but also the older
generation. So Dhoni’s presence in an advertisement creates a positive vive for the
product in the mind of consumer which force them to think about the endorsed
product. But the question with the ad campaign is whether the celebrity associated
value is properly encashed in the campaign or not.
 • Costs of acquiring the celebrity: (3/5)

Cost to use Dhoni as the endorser of Lays is very high but as a multinational company
it is insignificant if they consider the gamut of brand awareness they are creating
through Dhoni.

• Celebrity controversy risk: (5/5)

It is nil as Dhoni is known as good boy among the celebrities. So low controversy
level increase the brand image of self as well as of Pepsi.

• Celebrity popularity: (4/5)

It is already mentioned that Dhoni is one of the most popular person in India. One can
find a man who might not know how Prativa Patil looks like, but he must be a fan of
Dhoni. This popularity reduce Lay’s half of job as an advertiser.

Celebrity physical attractiveness: (4/5)

As a sportsman he possesses an athlete type of physic. But in addition to that he is

manly looking and with a macho image and a deadly smile, which make him more
attractive and appealing.

• Celebrity credibility: (5/5)

Celebrity is being judged that whether he has the right to appear in the advertisement
and indirectly advice the consumers what to do and what not to. Dhoni is captain of
Indian cricket team and not only that, he has proven his capability of performing
under immense pressure several times which is obviously created creditworthiness.

• Celebrity prior endorsements: (1/5)

Prior advertisements with several companies has proven the spontaneity, acting ability
and confidence in front of camera. But he was never done any ad that does not
consider his strength or quality but he really has to “act” to project himself as a funky
and unorthodox personality, which affected his “performance” in the Ad.

So as all the points that make an Ad popular and successful among the target audience are,
cumulatively, below average. So there are chances that the ad published in the print media,
may not get the success.
CONCLUSION

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 etches 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 ill-behaviour 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.

The illustrations below explain the same: -