Bond with the vest
Luxury watches, high-end cars,designer suits-products that have been endorsed by Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and other A-list stars.But nowadays, it isn't that unusual to see superstars doing ads for products that might be perceived as downmarket.Case in point: ads for vests.There's Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni too.Salman has recently featured in a washing powder ad with Prachi Desai, and Kiran Bedi has been vouching for another.In the last few years, actors like Sunjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor have endorsed different brands.
But today an actor doesn't mind lending his brand equity to such products as danta-manjan,chavanprush if he or she is getting paid Rs10-15 crore. The amount paid to stars is higher if the brand is not well known.
Brands need to improve their image, esp. in small towns, and even stars get visibility as they easily reach out to audiences inthe interiors. Brands are careful not to make fools of stars so as not to have a negative impact on threir fan base. Stars also understand the brand and its target audience thoroughly before taking it up.
Films are their profession, while ads are done purely for monetary reasons, says Prahlad Kakkar. He agrees, "The brand image of an actor is not atached to any particular brand he endorses, but the film he acts in. No matter what brands Shahrukh or Amitabh endorse, we eagerly wait for their films to release."
