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Similarly, when S. Kumar's used Hrithik Roshan, then the hottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40-50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was as high as 70 per cent, and even the normally conservative trade got interested.

Confining to India, it would not be presumptuous to state that celebrity endorsements can aggrandize the overall brand. We have numerous examples exemplifying this claim. A standard example here is Coke, which, till recently, internationally didn't use stars at all - in fact, India was a first for them. The result was a ubiquitously appealing Aamir cheekily stating 'thanda matlab coca cola'. The recall value for Nakshatra advertising is only due to the sensuous Aishwarya. The Parker brand of pen, which by itself commands equity, used Amitabh Bachchan to revitalize the brand in India. According to Pooja Jain, Director, Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd. (LWIL), post-Bachchan Parker's sales have increased by about 30 per cent.

India is one country which has always idolized the species of the celluloid world. Therefore, it makes tremendous sense for a brand to procure a celebrity for its endorsement. In India, there is an exponential potential for a celebrity endorsement to be perceived as genuinely relevant, thereby, motivating consumers to go in for the product - this would especially prove true if the endorser and the category are a natural lifestyle fit (sports-persons and foot-wear, Kapil-Sachin and Boost, film stars and beauty products).

Some Global Examples

Globally, firms have been juxtaposing their brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers. Some successful ongoing global endorsements are as follows: -