What is celebrity endorsement?
The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/ or the recall value of a brand is called celebrity endorsement
The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models.
There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings). Of course, probably the first ad to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was for Lux soap, a brand which has, perhaps as a result of this, been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime.
Detergents on the other hand ran the whole gamut from Lalitaji - the antithesis of celebrity - to Shekhar Suman stepping into the lives of ordinary housewives.(Blonnet, April 2003)
Endorsements by celebrities have started since a long time. The very fact that their use has continued for so long is proof enough of its immense advantages, but they have several disadvantages too. When it comes to celebrity endorsement, the first brand that comes to the Indian mind is that of Lux, the Beauty Bar of the Stars.
Since its inception, Lux the brand has grown positioning itself thus. However, recently Lux has tried to change its positioning from being a woman’s soap to being soap for men as well. Sticking to its strategy of using celebrities to appeal to its target audience, this time around it has used Shah Rukh Khan to endorse Lux. But this time the response has been confusing.
The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/ or the recall value of a brand is called celebrity endorsement
The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models.
There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings). Of course, probably the first ad to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was for Lux soap, a brand which has, perhaps as a result of this, been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime.
Detergents on the other hand ran the whole gamut from Lalitaji - the antithesis of celebrity - to Shekhar Suman stepping into the lives of ordinary housewives.(Blonnet, April 2003)
Endorsements by celebrities have started since a long time. The very fact that their use has continued for so long is proof enough of its immense advantages, but they have several disadvantages too. When it comes to celebrity endorsement, the first brand that comes to the Indian mind is that of Lux, the Beauty Bar of the Stars.
Since its inception, Lux the brand has grown positioning itself thus. However, recently Lux has tried to change its positioning from being a woman’s soap to being soap for men as well. Sticking to its strategy of using celebrities to appeal to its target audience, this time around it has used Shah Rukh Khan to endorse Lux. But this time the response has been confusing.