Cover Story

Can They

Sell ?
airports: people go in a tizzy whenever there is a cricketer or a Bollywood star around. To state that Indians are starstruck would by no means be an exaggeration. We are an obsessed nation, keeping a tab on what our stars do, what they eat, what they use Little surprise then that celebrities know their power and use them smartly too and the game is known as celebrity endorsements. The trend caught on in the late eighties or so, when television truly arrived in India. It was then that advertisers started using celebrities (namely film stars) to increase awareness for their products. And just after the Indian cricket team trounced West Indies at Lords by 43 runs to pick up the Prudential Cup in 1983, advertisers knew they had 11 more people to peddle their products. Thus, Kapil Dev was signed up for a host of advertisements ranging from BSA SLR bicycles to Palmolive shaving cream (Palmolive da jawaab nahin) and so were his other teammates.

Celebrities seem to be peddling everything, from innerwear to hardware, but can they make you part with your moolah when it comes to a PC or a mobile?

he air was laden with nervous excitement at Ballroom 1, Taj Lands End in Mumbai. It was an unusual sweaty February afternoon and yet the room was full of journalists and the rest. The press invite promised premiere of Compaq Presarios latest blockbuster starring Indias biggest superstar. The corporate communications people would not reveal anything else, preferring to keep that you will be shocked and bewildered kind of smug expression on their faces. The event started, HP Indias head honcho spoke briefly about the achievements and emphasized how historic the day was. The music and lights at the back went berserk for a brief while and out of the prop emerged Shahrukh Khan, the reigning Bollywood star, in a black leather jacket. A hush descended upon the gathering, with the flashbulbs bursting ever so rapidly. Shahrukh muttered a few words on Compaq and its affordable PCs for the Indian mar- A Heady Concoction ket. Posed for a few more photo-ops, answered a few ques- Over the years, celebrity advertisements as a trend gained tions and zoomed away presumably to his posh villa next solid ground and evolved into celebrity endorsements. door, leaving the gathering much content and overawed. The difference between the two, endorsement and adverThis is the effect celebrities have on Indian audiences. tisement, is minor but significant. By endorsing a prodEven sane and serious individuals are known to swoon in uct, the celebrity not only appears in the adverts (like in the presence of celebrities. The effect is most evident at advertisements) but also becomes a brand ambassador
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of sorts. He or she is supposed to know about the product and is often seen at Peaks and Pitfalls different company events. Endorsements are pretty common for white goods (like consumer Using a celebrity is like treading a fine line, as there are durables) or the FMCG sector, as the products require a a variety of things one needs to assess before going in for higher brand recall. Thus a Coco Cola needed Hritik to such endorsements. Do celebrity endorsements make counter Pepsis Shahrukh. sense for IT products? They do make sense. If it is an But an IT product company like HP signing on a ceAmitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan or Hritik Roshan, it lebrity is indeed a surprise. The dynamics of the industry surely makes sense, as they are known to be quite discernare quite different; a person would buy a laptop based on ing in nature. Take Aamir Khan for that matter, who is two main criteria, cost and configuration. Hence, debates quite a clever guy, you could put him on a forum with a were plenty on whether Shahrukh would help Compaq. bunch of industrialists and he will hold his own against Some even suggested that the move Celebrity endorsements do was a defensive one, in response to a Chinese companys push into Indian make sense for IT products. market.

endorsing 35 different products. The result is there for all to see, says Deepak Advani, senior VP and chief marketing officer, Lenovo. Lenovo was one of the first few IT companies in India to use celebrities in a big way. Meanwhile, HP also seems to be pretty happy with the response to the Shahrukh adverts. Shahrukh is the right choice as his popularity cuts across gender, age, geographies. He is a technology buff, and a content Compaq user. The association helped us to leverage his popularity among the masses to educate on the proposition of empowering people with their PCs, mentions Shuchi Sarkar, head (Marketing), Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard India.

Quite a Saif Choice

In 2005 a relatively unknown company from China, Lenovo, created a buzz across the world by buying out IBMs PC division for $1.25 bn. Suddenly it was in the big league, and yet it was not widely known. While in the Western markets the transition happened quite steadily, the story in India Prahlad Kakkar, CEO, Genesis was a wee bit different. Thanks to the dumping of products by Chinese companies; the made in them. These guys are very savvy in terms of hardware, China tag reads cheap and unreliable in India. computers, IT, etc. In fact Amitabh Bachchan is a known To counter this impression in India, Lenovo decided collector of sophisticated toys, they enamor him to the to enlist the services of Saif Ali Khan. After quite many extent that if you give him a new gizmo, he will sit with it years, Saif had found his foothold in the Indian film in- for hours to figure out how it works, says adman Prahlad dustry and was finally in the reckoning for the big league. Kakkar, CEO, Genesis. He has been associated with ceAlso, he had a much cleaner image in comparison to his lebrities for a long time with ads like Pepsi, et al. peers. Lenovo snapped him on, with sister Soha Ali Khan, A celebrity does not guarantee success. The main issue and splashed them all over town. is the idea. I think Lenovo has done a fine job in bringing The association with Saif is great. He has a healthy im- the idea out and there is not much dependence on Saif. age and, more importantly, is choosy about endorsing prod- He is a part of the whole story and not merely peddling a ucts. We did not want to associate with a celebrity who was product. Take for instance the face recognition commerDATAQUEST | dqindia.com | A CyberMedia Publication February 15, 2007 | 37

If it is an Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan or Hritik Roshan, it surely makes sense, as they are known to be quite discerning in nature. These guys are very savvy in terms of hardware, computers, IT, etc

Cover Story

What the Gurus say

Prahlad Kakkar
On celebrity Obviously, it works. Otherwise they would not be used as endorsements
regularly. Though, let me tell you, that a great majority of advertisements are not celebrity driven, I have a feeling that not more than 10-12% are actually celebrity driven and the rest are your everyday ads. Now look at the power of celebrity endorsements, the perception today is that 90% of all ads are celebrity driven though it is quite the opposite. That means that the only ads that one remembers are the ones that have celebrities in them. Thus, celebrity endorsements do work, otherwise people would not be paying that kind of money to a celebrity, the difference is too huge. Celebrity endorsements do pay otherwise businesses would not shell out so much money for them.

Piyush Pandey
On IT and Celebrity and computers are quite a credible match, as everyone celebrity
uses a computer. The important issue is the idea.

Big money at stake

If you are paying that kind of money, you should be working very hard on it. It is like having a bad movie script and signing on Amitabh Bachchan. As no Mr Bachchan can really save you if your script is really bad. So all depends on how good is the match between the brand and the celebrity and what is the best balance between the brand, the celebrity and the idea.

Celebrity endorsements in Lot of celebrities are used in America, ditto for South East Asia. It India
is like this, if you have a good idea, who would not want a good actor? But yet again, let me emphasize on the need for a good script otherwise nobody benefitsneither the brand nor the celebrity. When a celebrity gets accolades for those lovely ads, take the case of Abhishek Bachchan for Motorola, then you feel it is a win-win situation for every one.

Celebrity towering over the There is a danger in that aspect also, the celebrity is so big that brand
it completely vampires the product. That is a creative solution, if your creative is weak then the celebrity will tower over and if the creative is strong then he or she becomes part of the whole presentation. You cannot be lazy just because you have a celebrity, in fact one has to work all the more harder to justify the presence as the brand needs to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and not five steps behind.

mar and Yuvraj Singh quite well to sell X-Box 360. The product instantly caught on the fancy of the Indian users.

Mobility Wars
While IT companies might be new entrant in the celebrity endorsements game, mobile companies, both operators and OEMs, have been cavorting celebrities for sometime now. Airtel has extensively used celebrities in the past and continues to do so. The company used both Shahrukh and Sachin to spread the word about its products. Hutch was relatively slow on the celebrity front, letting its pug talk about the benefits. Even then, Hutch has employed the Indian cricket captain, Rahul Dravid, for endorsements. It used Dravid for the launch of its voice services and special brand promotions like World Cup Jao etc. Tata Indicom has also decided to woo the Indian audience in a big way through the Bollywood couple, Ajay Devgan and Kajol. In the past the company had signed on Saurav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan, but since both of them went through a slump, the company simply dumped
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cial that is running now, it is a very straight benefit of how a computer recognizes you. As I said earlier, it all depends on the idea that you have, says Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, O&M. He is renowned for the Fevicol and Cadbury campaigns. But adman Alyque Padamsee warns about selecting the right celebrity, as it can be quite crucial to the message that is spread. The important thing is to choose the right celebrity for the right product. Using tech savvy celebrities like Shahrukh and Saif for computers is a good choice. But it would not be really advisable to enlist Sachin Tendulkar to promote a computer brand, as his persona does not really match with the product, he says. Finally, there must be a need for a celebrity. For instance, product launches suit well with celebrity style endorsements. In this regards, Microsoft used Akshay Ku38| February 15, 2007

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them for the Devgans. In fact, at the launch of Tata Indicoms online store, Daryl Green, CEO, Tata Teleservices, was unusually joyful in the company of Kajol, stating that he was grateful to the couple for endorsing the products. The brand association has been a resounding success, he said. Meanwhile, Kajol could not even recall the Tata Indicom phone that she used, it is a nice black one, she stated. Reliance is another company that has used celebrities extensively: first it was Virender Sehwag and now it is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Though it was not really renowned for the creative aspect in its campaigns. On the OEM front a resurgent Motorola signed on Abhishek Bachchan to reach the youth. Somehow the campaign does not seem to have been much of a success, as they are back to using creative without celebrities. Nokia and Sony, meanwhile, seem to be fairly reluctant to use a celebrity to promote their brand. The small players are also using celebrities, albeit the not so shining ones. Take the case of Fly Telecom, it used Malaika Arora-Khan for launching their product. And therein lies another

Alyque Padamsee
On celebrity Celebrity endorsements work in India. endorsements
The important thing is to choose the right celebrity for the right product. Using tech savvy celebrities like Shahrukh and Saif is a good choice. But it would not be really advisable to say use Sachin Tendulkar to promote a computer product, as his persona does not really match with the product. There must be a kind of bonhomie between the product and the celebrity.

Challenge The challenges can be quite daunting as one needs to pay attention s
to the idea and not get carried away with the celebrity, and this is where many falter.

Big money at stake

Celebrities come at a price. The choice of a celebrity is dependent on the business needs. Are you launching a product, or is it a branding exercise? It is important to weigh the cost of using a celebrity vis--vis the expected returns.

Even sane and serious individuals are known to swoon in the presence of celebrities. To state that Indians are star-struck would by no means be an exaggeration. We are an obsessed nation, keeping a tab on what our stars do, what they eat, what they use

lesson: aim big. It is no use really spending money on a not-so-happening celebrity.

Global Choice
Internationally, celebrity endorsements is a big ball game. Take the case of Tiger Woods, he became the highest paid athlete in terms of endorsements when he signed a fiveyear, $100 mn deal with Nike. According to reports his current relationship with Accenture is not as much, but significant in monetary terms. Accenture has been using these international commercials quite successfully in different geographies like India. Canon has signed up tennis ace Maria Sharapova for promotion of the

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Cover Story

A celebrity does not guarantee success. The main issue is the idea. He (Saif) is a part of the whole story and not merely peddling a product. Take for instance the face recognition commercial that is running now (Lenovo), it is a very straight benefit of how a computer recognizes you.
Piyush Pandey,executive chairman and national creative director, O&M

Powershot range of cameras and these commercials can be viewed in India as well. Meanwhile HP is using the hip-hop star Jay-Z for their computer is personal again campaign. Lenovo has tied up with Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho for advertising campaigns for China and South East Asia. Abhishek Bachchan might be the Indian face of Motorola; internationally, the company has celebrity spokespersons like rock star Bono (U2), and soccer player David Beckam. Some years back, T-Mobile had signed up Catherine Zeta-Jones for a $20 mn spokesperson deal, making her one of the highest paid celebrity. In terms of money, IBM had reportedly spent $40 mn in an ad campaign involving MASH (television series) actors a few years back. Thus, using celebrities for endorsements is a very much global trend.

Money and More Money

Celebrities dont come cheap, even the Indian ones. According to media reports, Shahrukh charges around Rs 5 crore per annum for brand endorsement, whereas Saif charges around Rs 2 crore. The Lenovo adverts also feature Soha Ali Khan, who is believed to charge Rs 3550 lakh for an endorsement deal. Now that Lenovo has signed up Saif and Soha again, there must have been a revision in those rates. In fact, now specialist celebrity management companies have emerged that mainly deal with managing a celebritys endorsement deals. But does all this money make sense? There is a greasy baniya sitting behind each company and if he ready to pay so much, then indeed it must be making sense, says Kakkar in his inimitable style.

Even sane and serious individuals are known to swoon in the presence of celebrities. To state that Indians are star-struck would by no means be an exaggeration. We are an obsessed nation, keeping a tab on what our stars do, what they eat, what they use

Dropped Catches
Of late, as the fortune of the Indian cricket team was going through a downslide, there was this humorous quote
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floating on the Internet: Sehwag ki maa ko bulao, Sachin ko Pepsi pilao, Ganguly ko Chawanprash khilao, Kaif ko Lays khilao, Dravid ko Castrol pilao, magar India ko jitao.. (referring to the different endorsement deals of the Indian cricketers). In fact, Sehwag ki maa (Sehwag and his mother) jokes became immensely popular after the Reliance advertisement based on the same theme. To be honest, Sehwag became a butt of ridicule, every time he failed. Undoubtedly, Reliance dropping him must have been quite a relief for him. Quite similarly, the day Reliance signed up Indian wicket keeper Dhoni for an endorsement deal, due to his poor performance the earlier day, BBC carried a small news feature, belaboring the performance of Dhoni and
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stating that if Reliance is as reliable as Dhoni, then god help the company. Kodak had also signed up Katrina Kaif for an endorsement deal in India, but later on did not renew the engagement. Katrina was associated for our stylish V series digital camera. Our aim was focused towards creating the right association with the brand image of the V series, which was compact, stylish and chic. Katrina fitted that perfectly and hence we went ahead with this strategy, said Ravi Karamcheti, managing director, Kodak India. But he declined to state the reasons why the contract was not renewed.

Shifting Fortunes
Talking about shifting fortunes in terms of celebrity endorsements, the names of two Indian cricketers instantly come to mind, though due to diametrically opposite Of late, as the fortune reasons. First Sachin of the Indian cricket Tendulkar, his brand IBM had enlisted the team was going through sale-ability has been on services of Dia Mirza for emceeing the wane of late due to a downslide, there their event, when Sam Palmisano had come his mediocre performwas this humorous visiting. Sun Microsystems had also taken on ances. Though, Canon Perizad Zorabian for a dealer event. Compaq quote floating on the has recently signed up has innovated a product placement strategy Sachin as a brand amInternet: Sehwag ki on the Kaun Banega Crorepati show. Not bassador, but it has been maa ko bulao, Sachin ko only is the Lenovo computerji replaced by a at fairly lower value. On Compaq, host Shahrukh frequently requests Pepsi pilao, Ganguly ko the other hand, the maCompaq daro (brother in Tamil and other jestic return of Saurav Chawanprash khilao, Kaif regional languages) to check the answers Ganguly is landing him ko Lays khilao, Dravid ko given by the contestants KBC is a new endorsement deals now. thing we have just done with SRK. Watch Castrol pilao, magar India He has recently been this space for some more exciting stuff, signed up by TCL. ko jitao.. promises Sarkar. This is a harsh reality of celebrity endorseSelli-brate ments: the performance Coming back to the point where we started from, does of a celebrity dictates his market status. A few years back celebrity endorsements work for IT products? It does, but companies would have paid anything to sign on Sachin, there is a difference between the kill and the overkill. and now quite many are shy of doing so. When Compaq had signed on Shahrukh, he was in the news for an advert for Lux bathing soaps, wherein he is in Innovative Trends a bathtub surrounded by a bevy of Indian actresses. On If you thought that glitzy commercials were all that were being queried about the difference between endorsing Lux there to celebrity endorsements, then you couldnt be more mistaken. A lot of IT companies use celebrities for a and Compaq, Shahrukh kidded, I cannot sleep in a bathtub with Compaq. Indeed he cant, but he must be sleepsmall stint, without really signing them on. For instance, Microsoft hosted a Bollywood extravaganza, with stars ing quite soundly after signing the deal with Compaq. like Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, etc to mark the launch of Vista in India.
44| February 15, 2007 Shashwat Chaturvedi& Rajneesh De maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in DATAQUEST | dqindia.com | A CyberMedia Publication