PROJECT

ON

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

BY:

SAMARTH ARORA
MBA III
ROLL NO 5545
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any task
would be incomplete without a mention of the people who made it possible and whose
constant invaluable guidance, support and encouragement crown all the efforts with
success.

A deep sense of gratitude and heartfelt acknowledgement goes out to Mrs Ria Sharma
(Lecturer at MAIMS ) for extending the much needed guidance and support during the
time period of the assignment.

It has been quite a learning experience wherein I have benefited from the immense
knowledge and practical insights offered to me under his wishful presence.
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgement

S.No. Contents
1 Executive Summary
2 Objective
3 Research Methodology
4 Data Preparation
5 Introduction
6 Is Celebrity Advertising Effective
7 Benefits of Celebrity Endorsement
8 Celebrities and Consumer Behavior
9 Most Preferred Celebrities
10 Analysis & Interpretation of Data Collected

11 Conclusion
12 Limitations
13 Annexure
14 Bibliography
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In India, today the use of celebrity advertising for companies has become a trend and a
perceived winning formula of corporate image building and product marketing.
Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than perk up brand recall. It
can create linkages with the star’s appeal, thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions
to the brand image.

In a world filled with faces, how many do you remember? Admittedly the ones that evoke
some kind of feel in you, whether it’s humor, acceptance, appreciation or recognition.
These are the faces you’d turn to look at, the ones that would stop you in your tracks.
And that’s when you have more than just a face. You have personality. Personality that’s
reflective of your brand and promises to take it that extra mile. As existing media get
increasingly cluttered, the need to stand out has become paramount - and celebrities have
proved to be the ideal way to ensure brand prominence. Synergising personality with
product and message can create an instant breakthrough. Result? Brand buzz. People
begin to notice, opportunities come about. People want to be a part of the brand. Touch It.
Feel it. Experience it. ‘Celebrities as Brands’ is a concept-selling challenge, as the current
notion of celebrity management is far from ideal — it’s perceived as a business that
merely attaches the celebrity to the brand to get that added advantage. However, the
actual job is not mere brokerage — it’s about selecting a celebrity whose characteristics
are congruent with the brand image. Before we proceed to identify the right celebrity or
personality and test the correspondence bias lets first have a look at the literature survey
done, address a few issues involved in celebrity advertising and understand the
methodology of the study.
 OBJECTIVE

Objective of this project is to find that the use of multiple Celebrity for the Endorsement
of the product is effective or not. Companies spend lots of funds on multiple Celebrity
Endorsement, so whether this kind of promotion process attract the customers or not. So
to find this, a questionnaire is prepared and questions are asked from consumers.
 Research Methodology

In this chapter, the rationale behind the collection of specific information, the way in
which this is carried out, and the reliability and validity of the data will be discussed.

Data Collection methods

The method of personal interviews will be adopted in the data collection. Hence, a set of
questionnaire will be prepared and questions will be presented in the same order and
same wordings to all the interviewees of the different categories of consumers.
The aim here is to receive more accurate answers, relatively high response rate, answer,
which would further be explored as to ‘why’ the particular answers were given. In
addition, the objective was to achieve quantitative as well as qualitative data.
The structured interviews will be based on a set of questions, carefully prepared and
refined until the researcher is convinced for the validity.

Secondary Research
The data will be collected from the various business magazines, Internet & related text
books from the various libraries and also from the ad agencies, to understand the
consumer behavior and role of celebrity endorsee.
The aim of the literature review was to read throughout and appraise what the people
have written about the subject of this report, both descriptive and analytical. In addition,
it would assist in systematic reading of previously published and unpublished information
relating to the area of investigation. Once, the information is gathered, it would assess the
validity of the core concept of this report.
For accumulating research material for the literature review, a number of libraries were
investigated, including Library of New Delhi Institute of Management and other Building
Library.
All necessary theoretical information relating to the subject was initially obtained through
textbooks, review journals, which could be carefully analysed and evaluated. To
supplement these, published studies, academic research journals related to Consumer
Behaviour & Celebrity Endorsement, were also consulted
The sample Size was 30 Respondents.
 DATA PREPARATION

DATA ENTRY

The observations and all the data collected from the questionnaires has been complied in
a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. This spreadsheet was formed with the purpose of
streamlining all the data that has been collected. In the process it was also observed that it
was comparatively simpler to look at the trends and proved to be easier to analyze this
data with the help of this compilation.

DATA EDITING
Editing this data became necessary in the light of missing values as well as inconsistent
answers. This took place because of the way adopted to fill up the questionnaires. The
questionnaires were not given to the customers to be filled up. Instead a conversation was
put up with the customer, which made him more comfortable about answering the
questions and thus the body language and the tone were also observed. Since the answers
were noted down after the whole conversation was completed and usually in a hurry this
led to answers being put in short forms.

This compilation also led to the revelation of a lot of missing data, which was then
corrected by the following means:
• Referring back to the originally filled questionnaires.
• Visiting the venders point whose address had been taken, incase of any
confirmation in the future .

DATA RECORDING
Though the data collected in the schedules was not compiled, anything unusual or any
diversion from the usual, towards better or worse was noted down simultaneously in the
form of Observations. The purpose of simultaneously noting down these observations
was to keep a track of the practices being followed by each of the vendors visited. The
observations were so arranged that all the good observations about all the dealers of one
company were put together and all the bad ones at one place. This made the company
wise practices clearer.

The very purpose of the exercise was to find out the best of the practices being followed
by various companies and also finding loopholes with any of the practices so as to avoid
such mistakes altogether. .
 INTRODUCTION

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Hritik Roshan, Aiswarya Rai, Aggasi, Samphas, Anna Kornikova, Saurav Ganguly &
Rahul Dravid Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Madonna, Bill Cosby Michael Jordan,
these names have become symbols of the role of endorsers in advertising. Firms spend
millions of dollars to sign up celebrities to endorse their products. Some popular
endorsers such as Michael Jordan earn as much as $40 million a year from endorsements
alone. Endorsement contracts are now so lucrative that many professionals in sports and
entertainment direct their careers to this end. In some sports, such as track and field
events, winning at the Olympics has pretty much become a means to subsequent
endorsement contracts.

Firms spend all this money on endorsements because finding the right celebrity endorser
for their products can pay tremendous dividends. For example, some brands such as
Nike's Air Jordan have been built around the image of a star. Nike earned over $200
million from its Air Jordan Lines of shoes and clothes in 1991 alone. Yet as the example
of Madonna suggests, celebrity endorsers cave a powerful means of communicating a
distinct image for a brand to target segment as well as a source of problems for the
advertiser. Other types of endorsers can be equally effective but cost much less.
Advertising pay million of dollars to celebrities, hoping that the stars will bring their
magic to the products and services they endorse and make them more appealing and
successful. Are the dollars well spent? Not always. Although actress Candice Bergen’s
“Dine Lady” portrayal for long-distance phone carrier Sprint was highly successful, and
Jaclyn Smith moved millions to buy her clothing line at Kmart, Cybill Shepered and
James Garner were discontinued as spokespersons for the Beef Industry Council. And a
Pepsi commercial featuring pop diva Madonna that cost mega millions to produce was
aired only once in the United States before being pulled off the air. Why? Why did
entertainer Bill Cosby fail as an endorser for E.F. Hutton despite his success for Jell-O
and Kodak? And what impact did boxing champion Mike Tyson’s rape conviction and
the allegations of child molestation and drug addiction against pop singer Michael
Jackson have on Pepsi, for which both were spokesmen?
These are not only interesting questions, but questions that marketers and advertisers
need answers to as they plan their advertising and make decisions.
 Is Celebrity Advertising Affective

What are the benefits of representing India in the national cricket team? It is an
opportunity to compete with the best in the world and pitch one's talent against the best .It
is an opportunity to travel around the world. It is an opportunity to uphold national pride.
And make good money from every match played.

But there is more -- a ticket to modeling in the advertising world (and a future perhaps in
Bollywood). Not surprisingly it's a very attractive profession. As advertisers pour crores
of rupees every year into celebrity advertising, the question arises… is it worth all the
money and the headaches of coordinating stars and managing their tantrums. Think of
Sachin Tendulkar. He means Pepsi in soft drinks, Boost in malted beverages, MRF in
tyres, Fiat Palio in cars, TVS Victor in two-wheelers, Colgate Total in toothpastes,
Britannia in biscuits, Visa in credit cards, Airtel in mobile services and Band-aid.

Clearly, an overload of brands and categories associated with one star. Does it actually
help each of the brands? Does the consumer think in categories and slot brands
accordingly or is it one big maze of brands and saliency is dependent on 'recency.'
Interestingly, while celebrity advertising is big, few agencies actually present celebrity
advertising as a solution to client problems.

In the advertising world, celebrity advertising is seen as a substitute for 'absence of ideas'
-- and actually frowned upon. Yet it appears again and again. The reasons are quite
insightful. A client hits upon celebrity as a solution when his agency is unable to present
to him a viable, exciting solution for his communication/marketing problem. He then
feels that the presence of a well-known face is an easy way out. A client looks at a
celebrity solution, sometimes, to follow competition. When attacked with a celebrity, a
quick response is to get another one to combat. The result is often, at best, achieving
parity. A third, and often unfortunate, reason for celebrities is a client's desire to rub
shoulders with the glitterati. And signing a celebrity is a passport to that. Most frequently,
celebrities are given as 'fate accompli' to the agency. And scripts are written around them.
It is rare that there is an idea on the table and client and agency mutually agree that the
presence of a celebrity will actually lift the script. This is very similar to Bollywood
blockbuster films where the cast is decided upon and the script either written accordingly
or re-engineered around the cast!

There is no doubt that celebrity advertising has its benefits –

the four Qs:

 Quick saliency: It gets cut through because of the star and his attention getting
value. Goodlass Nerolac has ensured high saliency for its brand with the inclusion
of Amitabh Bachchan in its advertising.

 Quick connect: There needs to be no insight but the communication connects

because the star connects. Sachin, Shah Rukh and their ilk's ensure an easy
connect for Pepsi with the youth.

 Quick shorthand for brand values: The right star can actually telegraph a brand
message fast without elaborate story telling. Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar
seem to have done that successfully for Boost in the early '90s. And helped to
differentiate it in the malted beverages market.

 Quick means of brand differentiation: In a category where no brand is using a

celebrity, the first that picks one up could use it to differentiate itself in the
market. Boost did it in the malted beverage category. And Preity Zinta does all the
above four for Perk -- connecting with the youth and reinforcing the brand's
youthful, spontaneous, energetic values.

Why brands use Celebrities

Brands may use celebrities for a variety of reasons. Getting attention may be one of the
reasons to use a celebrity in a category which is very crowded or in a category where
involvement levels are low. Cema, a brand of bulb, used a well-known celebrity to gain
attention in a category in which there are a number of brands and where differentiation is
hard to achieve. Getting attention leads to recall, especially in categories which have low
involvement and low unit costs (bulbs, commodities). Jaris have a low penetration in
India and involvement levels have been low. HLL uses a sport celebrity for its "Jammy"
TV commercial.
Celebrities may be used to reinforce a popular brand in the durables category. BPL
which started off with industrial products is today one of the top brands in the minds of
consumers when they think of certain durables which rank high in the mindset. BPL
initially created a high-tech image with the 'Home Alone' campaign. Currently it is
competing in different product categories, and has a consumer base of around five million
(using atleast one product of BPL). The semi-urban and rural markets also hold a high
potential for some products like audio systems, TVs and refrigerators. BPL ran a
campaign with a top film celebrity known among the masses. A campaign of this kind
serves two purposes. It reinforces the familiar brand in the minds of the consumers. It
also provides a reassurance against any perceived risk which potential consumers may
experience before going in for a durable. The reassurance lies in the rub-off the
charismatic celebrity provides in his association with the brand. Secondly, the message
of the campaign which had a "Indianess" in it brings in a sense of belonging, as put
across by the celebrity who is rated high by the tarret segment.
The celebrity is from the reference group which casts a significant influence on the
masses (the follower groups). The sense of belonging is the association created with the
leading Indian brand in a scenario full of midtinational brands. In consumer behaviour
terms, the message attempts to bring in a sense of ethinocentrisin. Of course, the
charismatic appeal of the celebrity is more important than the copy (message) for a large
number of people who identify strongly with the celebrity.
* Brands may use celebrities to convey an up-market image. Pataudi the cricket
celebrity with the regal touch has endorsed Royale an up-market brand from Asian
Paints. This celebrity also endorsed Gold Caf6 (an instant coffee launched in the
eighties), Gwalior Suiting and Kohinoor rice. All these brands have targeted up-
market consumers, not masses. Currently the same celebrity endorses the Kohinoor
brand of basmati rice along with his spouse (film celebrity).
* Brands may use celebrities to enhance the brand image in the niche markets. Omega
is an up market brand of watch known for its classic appeal all over the world. It
has only premium ranges. The Indian context after launch of Titan is currently in a
phase where a number of foreign brands are entering. The upper end is also getting
crowled with brands like Rolex, Cartier, Raymond Weil, etc. Titan has, a number
of premium brands (inducing jewellery type of watches) and has, also entered the
global market with it perineum offerings. It is interesting - observe Omega using the
well-known and Cindy Crawford with gift proposition and a jingle which is similar
to the Mozart background score used. All along by Titan. The background of Titan
is almost its brand property. The Omega commercial was frequently telecast on the
CNN niche ever apart from being flashed in a few up-market Indian magazines.
Omega has a classic image nurtured over decades. Titan advocated the gift
proposition for a durable in India. It may be difficult to make use of the proposition
of Titan to become a brand for the masses. However, a well entrenched proposition
could be made use of by a very strong brand to create an impression on a small
niche of up-market consumers. Is Omega attempting to make use of the "anchored
perception" to compete with formidable world class brands (if not directly with
Titan)

Other Situations in which celebrities could be Used

Colgate Total was launched in the late eighties as a triple-benefit toothpaste at a

high premium. Currently it has been A- launched as effective toothpaste offering a 12-
hour protection using, celebrity. Celebrities could be used for relaunching brands along
with other aspects relevant to the situation.
* Celebrities could be used to appeal to distinctive segments which may be
differentiated by life-styles. Limit the lemony drink became popular through the
'zero-bacteria' positioning and the occasion-based positioning during the eighties.
Currently, its' take it easy' positioning targets urban youngsters who have been going
through a modern but stressful life-style. Mirinda which entered the segment
(cloudy lime) recently is using a celebrity-based appeal. There are two TV
commercials with the celebrity, one appealing to the rural adults, and the other to the
elderly population in urban segments.
* A controversial celebrity could also be used to build a brand. Minolta has a number
of camera models. It introduced a model called Rebel which was associated with
Andre Agassi the controversial tennis player.
* TVS mopeds was associated with the film celebrity well-known in the rural parts of
Tamilnadu in a regional campaign.
* In low-involvement products, it has almost became a trend to use celebrity
appeals. This may be more effective if the brand pioneers the celebrity usage. Though
consumers are getting used to the celebrity clutter, there is always a novelty appeal which
a celebrity could generate by being the first to get associated with a brand in the category.
Bru is a leader in instant coffee (chicory based), and all along it has been using the filter
taste as its proposition. BBILs Green Label a competitive brand has started using a
celebrity.
 Celebrities and consumer behavior

Pepsi products are endorsed by twelve celebrities. Philips, Total, Green

Label, Coke, Pantene, Omega, Tortoise, BPL (until recently), Agni (tea brand from Tata),
Boost..... are some of the brands which are using celebrities in the field of sports or films
to promote their products. Gavaskar probably would have added yet another dimension
to his records if one considered the brands/product categories he had endorsed during his
time. Sachin Tendulkar seems to be following suit in this dimension also.

Consumer behavior dimensions

Why do brand use celebrities? What are the basic considerations which are
to be taken into account? What are the specific situations where this aspect is helpful to a
market? What are the situations w'- ere this strategy may not be effective? How should
brands find out whether using a celebrity will be appropriate? These are some of the
important dimensions which could be explored using consumer behavior concept.
Reference group principles are useful in analyzing the usage of celebrities in
advertisements. A reference group is one which influences an individual’s attitudes and
values. There need not necessarily be face-to-face contact between the groups and the
individual. Though there are a number of aspects associated with the concepts, the
principle is simplified in this context. For example, Pepsi's association with cricket
celebrities may result in these celebrities being role models to a number of youngsters
involved or associated with cricket in terms of their accomplishments, attitudes or even
life-styles. It is this aspect which results in a lot of mileage for this specific brand which
is associated with the celebrity. The youngsters may consume more of Pepsi because it is
endorsed by these celebrities.
There are certain basic considerations which matter when brands select celebrities.
Target segments, the type of celebrity chosen and the nature of the brand personality are
some of the important considerations which need to be given a lot of importance. Pepsi's
brand personality (the kind of human characteristics that could be associated with the
brand) is vibrant, fun-loving, young, lively and adventurous. The target segment is of
course the younger generation. Cricket is a sport which is widely followed by the target
segment, and there is always a charisma associated with celebrities who are reigning and
topical. Pepsi entered in the nineties and roped in Sachin Tendulkar who vias not only a
good performer but also celebrity who typified the aspirations of youngsters involved
with cricket. The young age of the celebrity also synergized with the personality of the
brand. This was the starting point of the celebrity plane for Pepsi C 'adventure" and fun
reinforced with the film celebrity TV commercial). The brand brought in a string of
cricket celebrities during the last two years, during which the sport experienced a very
active phase. The brand (in a specific category) -Should use the celebrity in such a way
that it would be difficult for a competitive brand to follow the strategy however popular it
may be worldwide.
Coke latched on to cricket after Pepsi had created a very strong association with cricket
and the celebrities in the field. Currently Coke is attempting the film celebrity route
which has also been pre-empted by Pepsi. It may be recalled that Thumps-Up was the
earliest brand to use cricket celebrities (in cinema halls about two decades back). If the
brand had strengthened its association with the sport, it is possible that Pepsi may not
have chosen the cricket association.

High Involvement Low Involvement

Significance Complex buying Variety seeking

Difference in Brands behavior behavior

Few Difference in Dissonance reducing Habitual buying

Brands buying behavior behavior

Use of celebrities in advertising and their impact on the consumer

behaviour

Marketing communication plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between marketers
and consumers. It is a unique tool in the hands of marketers, which they can use very
effectively and intelligently to persuade their present and prospective consumers to
act in a desired way to purchase a product. Advertising is a part of marketing
communication, which helps marketers to meet customers. Advertising is a vital
marketing as well as a powerful communication tool.
Use of celebrities in advertisements
The latest craze in advertisements seems to be to adopt the formula of "Celebrity
advertising". In their attempts to improve the effectiveness of their advertising, a
number of marketers utilise celebrities to present their ad message. A well-chosen
celebrity can draw attention to a product or brand. The primary advantage of using
celebrities is that they improve product recognition in a promotional environment
filled with hundreds of competing commercials. As competition is increasing at
greater pace among marketers, the need arises for them to attract consumers and they
are adopting this technique of using celebrities in ads. The use of celebrities makes
the viewers move through different stages of consumer adoption or decision making
 process as explained in communication effect model, very quickly at each and every
stage.
The use of celebrities in ads brings faster 'awareness' in the first stage. This is because of
the high recognition a celebrity has. In the second stage, ‘Interest’/’knowledge’ celebrity
ads kindles interest very quickly as, it is endorsed by the celebrity. A celebrity ad makes
evaluation easy for consumers so that the trial is automatic if the product is well
designed. Consumers will try to evaluate it and would like to make a trial because of
belief in celebrity. If the celebrities do not have a high positive image consumers may not
go through this stage. The adoption may be for longer period of time. During post
adoption stage, the use of celebrity reinforces the confidence of consumers, which is
often known as "Reinforcement Advertising".

The choice of celebrity is critical. The celebrity should have high recognition, high
positive effect and high appropriateness to the product. Any celebrity who possesses
these factors will significantly influence the consumer. These factors will help a
marketer a lot in establishing a brand in the minds of consumers. In today's world, where
competing ads try to gain attention of viewers/readers, the formula of celebrity
advertising will click and these ads will have a definite edge over other ads.

Because of high recognition of celebrity among masses, ads carrying celebrity will
make easy for the marketer to make a roadway into the consumer's choice set. Due to
high recognition, celebrity ads will create easy awareness and high recall of brand.
Another factor of high positive effect plays an important role. Because of the high
positive image celebrities have, consumers will feel the genuineness of the product/
brand and their believability will be high, in terms of the product functionality. High
appropriateness to the product is a critical one in arousing interest among consumers.
For this technique to succeed, the celebrity must be a credible source of information for
the item being sold. He/She should have some sort of relationship with the product
being endorsed.

Celebrity Advertising is ineffective when there is no reasonable relationship between the

celebrity and the advertised product or service. It is to be seen how far the celebrity
resembles the product. Robert B. Evans, in his book 'Production and creativity in
Advertising" asserts, " More debilitating still than the absence of connection between the
endorser and that which he/she is endorsing is about the product." Further, he says, the
use of celebrities ill' they don't have a distinct and specific relationship consumer believe
that the celebrity has been bought, and handsomely paid to say fine things about the
product they are advertising, tends to produce the 'Vampire effect": they suck the life-
blood of the product dry; the audience remembers the celebrity but not the product."

Testimonials given by the experts will have a scintillating effect. For a food item being
endorsed by an expert like Sanjeev Kapoor will have a significant effect, as he considered
being an expert in his field. This way of relationship will definitely bring substantial
benefits to the advertiser.
As Alastair Crompton in The Craft of Cop writing, asserts, "if you do choose a star, be
sure he or she has some kind of a relationship with the product'. If this is not always
possible, it is atleast desirable that the star in the commercial should bear some
resemblance to the image not too different from what is cc), Credibility is put on trial if
there is a mismatch. 'One has yet to see any attempt to inject more credibility into
celebrity consumption of the brand."

Further, if the celebrity involves in a scandal it will create a negative image of the
product. The trustworthiness of the product is at stake if such an incidents happen. As
seen in the recent past, some cricketers were found to be involved in match fixing
scandal. And one such cricketer's ads were withdrawal immediately after such incident.
Similarly in a cigarette advertising in which a Hollywood actor, who expired because of a
throat cancer, was also withdrawn.

With the advent of satellite TV Channels, it can be said that there is a substantial increase
in the number of ads. This made more scope for consumers to watch the same ad on
different channels at difference points. Television is a popular and essential media for
ads. But the disadvantage is viewers will be "zipping and "zapping" channels. To take
care of this disadvantage advertiser will resort to "Chameleon advertising Chameleon
advertising refers to devising commercials relevant to the programme during break time.
If live telecast of cricket or a movie is going on and during break time if advertisers show
ads of cricketers or movie stars, such advertising is called Chameleon Advertising. This
kind of technique may bring advantage to advertisers.

As now a celebrity endorses various, different kinds of products, confusion will develop
in the minds of consumers, as to with which product the celebrity is associated. This will
ultimately make consumer forget the product and solely remember the celebrity only.
The real goal of celebrity advertising will be missed. David Ogilivy in his book, "Ogilivy
on Advertising" asserts the same point. He says "Testimonials from celebrities get high
recall scores but consumers remember the celebrity and forget the product".

Most Preferred Celebrity of Today

Amitabh Bachchan: The advertiser’s safest bet

All through the seventies and early eighties, filmmakers in Bollywood regularly
used a surefire recipe for the success of their feature films at the box office: Amitabh
Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan, in equal measure.

Today, more than 20 years since feature filmmakers first woke up to Bachchan’s star
power and used it to their advantage, Indian advertisers are taking a leaf out of that much-
thumbed recipe book. By signing Bachchan on as their brands’ ambassador and star
endorser. The idea, evidently, is to ride on the immense popularity and goodwill that the
actor enjoys, and use the positive rub-off of the association to the brand’s benefit. Be it in
terms of recall or likeability. Or both.

So, in the last five months alone, three big advertisers have struck multi-crore
endorsement deals with Bachchan – Nerolac Paints, Dabur India (for flagship
chyawanprash brand Dabur Chyawanprash), and most recently, Cadbury India. Add to
this list last year’s endorsement contract between the star and suiting brand Reid &
Taylor, and Bachchan’s enduring association with ICICI, Pepsi and Parker. That makes it
seven active endorsement deals. And though not a commercial endorsement in the
strictest sense, one mustn’t overlook Bachchan’s role as ambassador in the ongoing Pulse
Polio campaign being coordinated by UNICEF for the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare. Now add to all this those brands that the actor has endorsed at various times in
the past – BPL (in the mid-nineties, in case you had forgotten) and Maruti Versa – and
one gets a fair idea of l’affaire d’amour that has blossomed between Bachchan and the
Advertiser.

While the list of Bachchan’s endorsements is long – and growing, in all probability – let
us focus on the three most recent endorsement deals that the actor has struck. For the
sheer convenience it affords, true, but more importantly, for the circumstances that might
have led to the contracts being signed. Let’s first take Nerolac, which has been the distant
second to rival Asian Paints, certainly in image terms. Nerolac signed on Bachchan as its
ambassador, and shortly thereafter, unveiled a multimedia campaign featuring the actor
which centred at the theme ‘Yeh rang har kisi ko chhoota hai’. The agency handling
the account (Interface Communications) has been claiming that the campaign is a hit with
consumers, and to be fair to the agency and the advertisers, Nerolac has gained a few
notches in image terms.

In the case of Dabur Chyawanprash, although the brand is the clear leader in the
chyawanprash market, the category has been a victim of flat growth rates for a while
now. And it has been speculated that even Dabur Chyawanprash is in need of a
makeover, aimed at keeping the brand relevant to consumers. The answer, as Dabur saw
it, lay in getting Bachchan to endorse the brand. “The coming together of brand Amitabh
and Dabur Chyawanprash would not only help the brand, but also the category, which has
been witnessing near flat growth rates,”

Cadbury, of course, has the strongest reason for roping in an endorser of Bachchan’s
stature. The company is trying to live down the ‘worm controversy’ that tailed its
flagship chocolate brand Cadbury Dairy Milk for much of end-2003 (the damaging
controversy also caught other Cadbury chocolate brands in its slipstream), and it believes
Bachchan is its best bet in the bid to rebuild consumer confidence in the brand. “This is a
perfect first between Bachchan and Cadbury chocolates – their timelessness, and the love
and trust they both share with people across India, makes this an ideal partnership,”
Cadbury India’s managing director Bharat Puri has been quoted in the media. “Moreover,
Bachchan has a universal appeal that extends to everyone from six years to 60, just as our
chocolates do.”

These endorsement deals clearly point to one thing: Bachchan seems to be something of a
blessing for Indian advertisers when it comes to imparting freshness, vigour and, most
importantly, respectability to brands. Especially to those in need of some sort of image
modification or rejuvenation. But the question is, what makes Bachchan such a safe bet?
And how exactly can brands best leverage the star’s goodwill to come out on top? That
too by beating the burgeoning clutter of Bachchan-endorsed ads?

Cadbury’s Puri may have been speaking about Bachchan’s timelessness and universal
appeal from Cadbury’s point of view, but he might as well have been echoing every
advertiser’s sentiment. “Bachchan is as relevant today as he was 20 years ago, especially
after his reinvention through Kaun Banega Crorepati,” observes Madhukar Sabnavis,
country head, Ogilvy Discovery. “And the best part is his appeal cuts across socio-
economic and age strata. Our generation has grown up on Bachchan, while his current
popularity ensures that today’s generation is also growing up on him.” The fact that one
of 2003’s sleeper hits was Bachchan-starrer Baghban – virtually a one-hero movie –
shows the 62-year-old star is still capable of pulling in the crowds.

Universal appeal is a plus, but what really clinches the deal for advertisers is the trust
factor. “Amitabh is one of the rare celebrities who still enjoys credibility in people’s
minds, especially at a time when the lives of celebrities are becoming more and more
public,” says Rekha Nigam, creative consultant. “By borrowing from that persona, brands
come across as more credible.” Rensil D’Silva, creative director, Mudra
Communications, agrees. “There is great respect for Amitabh among consumers, and his
endorsement lends dignity to the communication.”

Ultimately, a lot depends on the brand being advertised and the figure of speech. Citing
the instances of Nerolac and Dabur Chyawanprash, Nigam says, “If you look at both
pieces of communication, it is clear that both are about brand salience and brand
differentiation in their respective commoditised markets. There is little brand
differentiation in either category, and neither brand is saying anything new. The idea is
just to get the brand to stick in consumers’ minds.” She, however, sees a good
opportunity for Cadbury to leverage the aspect of trust. “Both Bachchan and Cadbury are
trusted names in India, though now Cadbury has come under a cloud. If Cadbury is able
to tap into the trust that consumers have in Bachchan, people will sit up and listen.”

The respect Bachchan commands was used very skillfully in last year’s campaign for
polio eradication (by O&M), an example that almost everyone cites when discussing how
best to use Bachchan’s firepower. “The agency was clear in its thinking, and the
campaign was good as it had a strong idea at the core,” says D’Silva. “Amitabh walked
the fine line between anger, disgust and humour, and it came naturally.” The idea of an
angry Bachchan rapping viewers for not doing their bit towards eradicating polio was
sincere, and the message homed in true.

Interestingly, Prasoon Joshi, national creative director, McCann-Erickson India, insists

that brands have to come across as sincere while leveraging the benefits of celebrity
endorsement. “The consumer is cynical, so you must know how far you can go,” he says.
“Whatever claim your endorser makes has to be believable. The moment you cross the
invisible line, the consumer stops believing in your communication and your endorser –
which is bad for the endorser.” Joshi too points to the Pulse Polio campaign as an
example of clever use of a celebrity endorser. “Amitabh commands respect, so people
listened to him.” He adds that roping in Bachchan was “smart” on Cadbury’s part, as,
“Amitabh’s positive persona can override whatever negatives Cadbury has been exposed
to.”

D’Silva, for his part, also believes that endorsements cease being credible when the
endorser mouths ‘manufacturer speak’. “Often, a brand’s desperation shows when it tries
too hard. Yes, in the short-term, Bachchan might be able to rescue you if you are down in
the dumps, but he cannot be an alternative to a sound strategic or creative idea. If you
don’t have an idea, Bachchan will only be parroting a manufacturer’s claim, which will
ring hollow.” There is a consensus that using Bachchan as an endorser is a good short-
term idea. “Bachchan stands for credibility and brands can benefit from that,” says
Nigam. In the same breath she cautions that celebrity endorsements are not long-term
propositions. “In the long-term, the brand has to be the hero.”
There is, however, one little patch of debate. With the star simultaneously endorsing so
many brands, a Bachchan endorsement has ceased to be a novelty as far as consumers are
concerned. So is an endorsement deal with the actor worth all that money? “There is a
theory going around that multiple endorsements by your ambassador don’t hinder as long
as your endorsement is relevant,” points out Sabnavis. There is some merit in that,
considering Bachchan’s polio campaign cut through all the clutter fairly easily. “Yes, the
question that advertisers and agencies have to answer is whether there is merit in using
Amitabh Bachchan as an endorser,” Sabnavis continues. “But that equally applies to all
celebrity endorsers.”

PRIETY ZINTA
Their other brand ambassador Preity Zinta will continue to be around.
Cadbury India Ltd Managing Director Bharat Puri made the announcement at a press
conference in Mumbai where he also unveiled the strengthened, new 'purity-sealed'
packaging for its flagship product, Cadbury Dairy Milk.
The packaging is in response to foreign bodies, notably worms, being found in its
products.
The issue had ballooned into a major controversy resulting in severe adverse publicity for
the company.
The new packaging is just one part of the corrective measures the company has initiated.
The major thrust is on educating its dealers and retailers on the correct procedure for
storage of chocolates. The company believes improper storage conditions resulted in the
chocolates becoming vulnerable to infestation by foreign bodies.
The company does not claim to have completely eliminated the problem, but is
continuing efforts to provide air-conditioned storage units to its dealers and retailers.
 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

The total sample size is 30.

Are you Quality Conscious or Brand

Conscious

33%

Quality
Brand

67%

Out of 30 respondents 67% of the respondents said that they are Quality conscious.
And 33% said that they are Brand conscious.
This means that two-third of the respondents are quality conscious and for them quality is
the first priority and brand is the next priority.
 Who is benefited more with Celebrity
Endorsement

21%

Customer
50% Company
Both Equally
29%

Out of 30
5 said that customers get more benefit with Celebrity Endorsement.
7 said that company get more benefit with Celebrity Endorsement
15 said that both customers and company get equal benefit with Celebrity Endorsement

Are you in favour of multiple

Celebrity Endorsement

40%
Yes
No
60%

60% of the people are in favour of Celebrity Endorsement.

40% of the people are not in favour of Celebrity Endorsement.
 Do multiple Celebrity Endorsement
influence your purchase

33%

Yes
No

67%

Celebrity Endorsement influence the purchase of just 33% of the people.

Rest 67% of the people are not just influence their purchase by Endorsement of a product
by an Celebrity. They see other factors also while purchasing the product.

Do multiple Celebrities increases the

value of the product

37%
Yes
No
63%

63% of the people thought that Celebrities increase the value of the product in terms of
Reliability, Durability, Performance, etc
Rest 37% of the people thought that the value of the product remains the same.
 Is single Celebrity sufficient to boost
up the sales

47% Yes
53% No

53% of the respondent said that single celebrity is sufficient to boost up the sale of the
products of the company.
47% said multiple celebrity should be used.

Do you believe in the concept that use of multiple

celebrity is a mantra of customer attraction

30%

Yes
No

70%

70% feels that the celebrities are used for customer attraction.
30% are not in favour of that.
 Will it creates confusion for a customer as single
celebrity comes in many advertisements.

17%

Yes
No

83%

Just 17% feels confusion as single celebrity comes in multiple advertisement.

But major portion of the respondents said that it does not creates any confusion.
 Conculsion

1.There is no harm in taking celebrity who is endorsing multiple product.

2.If multiple Celebrity is used for particular product then it helps in building faith
in the mind set of the customer towards the product.

3.If celebrity comes in every god or bad product advertisement company should think
before taking him.
 LIMITATIONS

The limitations of the research study is:

1. The time and money constraints made the survey restricted to only Delhi region.

2. Some of the respondents were unwilling to spare time with us for the survey.
 ANNEXTURE

Questionnaire

Q.1 Are you quality conscious or brand conscious?

Quality Brand

Q.2 Who is benefited more with the celebrity endorsement?

Customer Company
Both equally None of these

Q.3 Are you in favour of multiple celebrity endorsement?

Yes No

Q.4 Do multiple celebrity endorsement influence you to purchase the product?

Yes No

Q.5 What are factors which played a major role in selection of the product?
Rank the above factors in ascending order according to your preference

Goodwill of the company __

Price of the product __
Past experience with the product __
Quality of the product __
Endorsement of a product through a celebrity __
Nature of the substitute and complement goods __

Q.6 Do the celebrity helps in increasing the goodwill of the company’s product?

Yes No
Q.7 Is single Celebrity sufficient to boost up the sales?

Yes No

Q.8 Do you believe in the concept that use of multiple celebrity is a mantra of customer
attraction?

Yes No
Q.9 Will it creates confusion for a customer as single celebrity comes in many
advertisements?

Yes No

Q.10 What is your opinion regarding multiple celebrity endorsement?

Comments________________________________________

Q.11 Personal details

Name:-
Age:-
Sex:-
Occupation:-

Thanks you very much for your time & effort!

Your contribution to this survey is truly and deeply appreciated.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Research Methodology, C.R. Kothari

 www.cadburyindia.com
 www.google.com
 www.altavista.com
 www.domain-b.com