The Hindu Business Line : The star factor

If a star endorser's reputation is harmed, so is the brand's. Another pitfall of celebrity support is that the brand ceases to be the star of the show.

Whenever a celebrity endorser gets into trouble, there is talk of him being dropped from the ad campaign he features in. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. For instance, Salman Khan has been dropped from the Thums Up ads while Boris Becker, who is supposed to have been cleared of tax evasion charges, will continue to feature in Siyaram's ads. Why do companies drop such star campaigners and how will it influence the image of their product, which has been endorsed till then for ages by that person? How much of an influence do these people have, really, on the image of the product being advertised? Can you relate some instances where the fortunes of a product depended on its star campaigners?

- K. Sireesha, on e.mail

THE role of a celebrity endorser in an advertising campaign is, without doubt, linked to the reputation of the celebrity. If the reputation is damaged, more often than not for reasons other than professional, then the quality of his reputation does suffer; particularly if it is to do with his (or her) public behaviour.

The history of celebrity endorsement has many such examples. Mike Tyson, at one time the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, was a most sought after endorser for a variety of products. However, after he was criminally charged with rape and then convicted of this crime, his endorsers unilaterally took him off their advertising.

The same has happened in recent times to cricketers Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, both popular models at one time who were dropped after they were convicted during the match-fixing scandal. Kapil Dev was first dropped and has now returned as a popular model and compere in television programme after he became the Cricketer of the Century. Similarly, Salman Khan, always a popular model and brand endorser was first dropped after the infamous black buck shooting scandal; he returned as a model after the Courts closed the case. He is once again being blacklisted after being charged with and arrested for killing a sleeping pavement dweller.

Boris Becker, on the other hand, does not seem to have suffered in India due to his income-tax problems in Germany. I suppose, in India we are more forgiving of income-tax defaulters!

Advertisers use endorsers to add excitement and glamour to their brands by using celebrities as endorsers. If the celebrity harms his reputation, using him could harm the reputation of the brand. This is, indeed, one of the dangers of using celebrities in advertising. Not only could a celebrity become a villain in today's fast-changing world but this could cause untold damage to the brand with which the celebrity has been associated.

It is interesting that poor performance in the area of the celebrity's expertise is not usually a cause for removal of the celebrity from advertising. For example, Saurav Ganguly's poor run with the bat does not in any way dim his star value. Nor is this the case when a film star endorser has a string of flops. It is only when the celebrity is out of line in his personal or social behaviour that he becomes a liability as an advertising device.

The influence of a celebrity endorser on the brand being advertised is in proportion to the relevance of the endorsement and the manner in which it has been made. For example, I believe that, perhaps, the best of Sachin's endorsement has been the Pepsi advertisement, which has a group of village children wearing Sachin's masks, drinking Pepsi. Sachin's human quality is best exemplified in this advertisement which does not show him with even a cricket bat. Similarly, I believe, a more recent advertisement for TVS Victor uses Sachin well when it compares Sachin's bat with the qualities of the brand.

In both these examples Sachin endorses the brand rather than the other way round, and does so in a meaningful manner, which adds value to the advertisement.

Probably, the best example of a brand that has been built up through film stars endorsements, all over the world, is Lux toilet soap. I am certain that its worldwide success as the most popular soap on this planet would not have been possible had Lux not positioned itself as `the beauty soap of the film stars'.

Does celebrity endorsement help? In my view, the answer is Yes, if it does well and consistently over a period of time. However, the brand is the star and should be the one to be endorsed by the celebrity and never the other way around.

(The author is CEO, Quadra Advisory, a strategic marketing consultancy. Readers can send in their questions on marketing issues to The Editor, The Hindu Business Line, 859, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600002, or e-mail them to bleditor@thehindu.co.in.)

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