NEW DELHI: Customer recall is higher in products whose ads feature celebrities, according to a study on celebrity endorsement carried out by Indica Research.

Celebrities who feature in a wide range of ads and in highly visible ones like Coke and Pepsi score on overall visibility. Ergo, there are no surprises in the dominance of Sachin Tendulkar. Shah Rukh Khan follows a close second. The real surprise is Kareena Kapoor who seems to have made a very high impact entry with the Pepsi ad. In comparison, Coke endorsers like Hrithik Roshan (who also figures in a range of other ads) does not seem to be that highly visible.

Amongst ads featuring celebrities with the highest recall, Pepsi tops the heap. Arch rival Coke, though, is lower across all markets. It is likely that, given the high mention of Kareena Kapoor, the current Pepsi ad has been something of a hit.

It may be mentioned here that the Indica study was carried out before Coke hit the market recently with the Ashutosh Gowrikar-directed ad featuring Aamir Khan, consequent to which, phrases like 'yaara da tashan' and `tussi great ho' have become part of common lingo.

The target group of the study being SEC A, ads featuring cars like Santro and Palio notch up reasonably high numbers. Others such as Lux undergarments (Sunny Deol) , the range of products endorsed by the likes of Govinda and Akshay Kumar do not even figure in this category as, probably, these brands are outside the orbit of SEC A customers.

The overall celebrity endorsement research was carried out to understand the relative appeal of the different celebrities who endorse brands.

The research was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai , Chennai and Bangalore. A total of 599 SEC A (upper class) adults in the age group of 15-45 years were interviewed.

Another interesting aspect of the study was that customers do not associate any of the female stars with credence products like banks or insurance. The younger celebrities are also relatively less associated with fast recall compared to a megastar like Amitabh Bachchan.

When the Versatility Index (how many categories does a celebrity fit in ?) was undertaken, it was seen that Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) amongst the younger lot, emerges as the most versatile with cross category association - strongly associated with cold drinks, mobile services and cars - all of which he endorses. Also with branded clothes , insurance and banks. Indeed, he is the most highly associated male celebrity with female dominated categories like perfumes and watches, the Indica research states.

In terms of versatility, that is the ability to lend himself to different categories, Shah Rukh leads the pack, but this also dilutes his close association with any one category. A list of 10 celebrities was provided for the customer to select who would be best endorser of these product and service categories and 10 categories were tested.

Credence products such as life insurance or banks fit well with the kind of persona that Amitabh has, besides, of course, age. Interestingly, Amitabh is not considered as good a fit for cold drinks, though Pepsi has used Bachchan. Among the younger lot , it is Sachin Tendulkar and SRK who are more credible for these categories than a Hrithik or a Kareena.

For perfumes and watches, customers seem to expect a female endorser. Aishwarya Rai leads. The male who does find consistent mention is SRK. However, for branded clothes, customers are open to a male celebrity -Hrithik is the preferred celebrity.

In the auto segment, motorcycles with their combination of style and macho associations draw Hrithik Roshan. Sachin Tendulkar and Salman Khan also find mention. Cars, however, draw mentions that are likely related to the current situation - Sachin , SRK and AB. However, this also indicates how apt the strategy of Fiat and Hyundai have been - Sachin and SRK fit the category perfectly, the study states.

1 Visibility Index: Celebrities with highest mentions

Table 1.1

Table 1.2 Recall Value

Table: Versatility Index

Celebrity Quality Index: (Customers were also asked to rate four celebrities on three key defining aspects of Celebrity Quality). Amitabh Bacchan and Sachin Tendulkar are clearly in a higher league compared to Shahrukh Khan & Hrithik Roshan.

Percentage rating very good and excellent

Percentage rating excellent

Celebrity Appeal & Quality Index: (This sums up all aspects of the celebrity: his impact in giving a perception of high visibility, quality as rated by customers and versatility in being able to associate himself / herself with a range of categories)

Index out of 10 :