Celebrity Endorsments Moving beyond the Obvious

I have been generally very critical of the approach taken by marketers in India towards using celebrities. Most of them end up using them as an easy-unimaginative option to promote their product, and so you would find Amitabh Batchan endorsing cement, emani creams,chocolates and what not.....

But I can see a subtle change happening in the arena of celebrity endorsements and product placements and thought it is worth writing about. The way samsung mobile is trying to align with Aamir Khan in many other activities is making me feel they are able to leverage Aamir Khan brand much better than anyone else has done in the past. The fact that they have launched a limited edition Ghjani Mobile to coincide with the launch of the movie is something worth noticing. And as far as Aamir and his marketing skills go it would need another full post.....

And the issue of product placement is also something which is coming to age in India. In the latest SRK movie, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi... and found SRK using an i10 in the movie and he has been a brand ambassador for Hyundai almost since they came to India. And similarly I remember that KBC had to shift the computers that they 

were using in the programme from Lenovo to Compaq when SRK became the new host. So that way things are improving 

But then people like  Martin Lindstrom have used advanced brain scanning techniques to study the response of consumers towards product placement and branding and has brought out the fact that mere product placement does not help and it is how well it is integrated into the theme of the movie or programme is what makes it memorable. There are many more insights in his highly recommended book buy.ology.

But I see this as a positive trend, trying to leverage the presence of the celebrity across the movies and programs he is into..