Brands
Bollywood celebs, brands & the SSR controversy
NEW DELHI: Apart from God, Indians worship cricket icons and Bollywood stars. On most occasions, all that a brand has to do is stick a product in a famous cricketer’s or actor’s hands, and, lo and behold, it starts moving off the shop shelves. It’s because of this most marketers and agencies are more than willing to sign hefty checks to the celeb for his or her endorsement of a product.
The negative outcome of depending on celebrity endorsements is the flak the brand faces from consumers should the big-name falter in public life.
Just like Bollywood is doing now. It has been losing its gleam and shine thanks to the unsolved, unexplained sudden death of Sushant Singh Rajput and the investigation by the CBI and the Narcotics Control Bureau, which has exposed the dark underbelly of the Mumbai film industry.
Allegations of favouritism, me-too, drugs being rampant amongst Bollywood’s best are flying thick and fast and being played out on a majority of news channels almost like a reality show. Videos have been circulating like wildfire showing popular film faces red-eyed and in a state of stupor.
No one has been spared. Even A-listers have been dragged into the Sushant Singh Rajput and the related drug investigation and got their images tarnished. Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Zoya Akhtar, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan, Malaika Arora Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan, and Shraddha Kapoor.
It’s not the first time that personalities have been hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. Hindi film actors have been discredited in the past, and they have on most occasions bounced back on to the big screen. But what gets impacted is their endorsement income as brands dissociate with them, come any signs of serious disrepute.
In 2015, actor Aamir Khan's statement about not feeling safe in India triggered a 'Hate Khan' campaign on social media platforms. At that time, he was the brand ambassador of the e-commerce website Snapdeal which faced the brunt of the anti-Khan ire. Over seven lakh customers uninstalled the Snapdeal app and over a lakh downgraded the app rating from five points to one. The whole situation led to Snapdeal dropping the method actor as its ambassador.
Recently, PhonePe released a new ad on the IPL series which features Alia Bhatt and Aamir Khan. This has agitated a few users who trolled the company for promoting the two stars and soon the hashtag #BoycottPhonePe started.
Urging all SSR fans to please #UninstallPhonePay because of its brand ambassadors.
P.S: See the photo. pic.twitter.com/Hmk1efXH35— Anurag S (@im_anuragS) August 23, 2020
Will the current brouhaha impact how advertisers and brands view their associations with Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor, three of the top stars who were summoned by the NCB and interrogated for their engagement on whatsapp in conversations around drugs?
Brand consultant N. Chandramouli believes it will. “Brands are a cautious lot, and would not like to be dragged into any such controversies, and will think about ambassadors they choose,” says he.
Hypercollective founder & chief creative officer KV Sridhar agrees. “Nobody wants negative publicity after paying so much money,” says he. “So, brands would be more careful to protect their reputation and they will not take any risks.”
Yes, stars cost a lot. When it comes to their cinematic career, they might take a cut in fees for a film as they probably want to work with a banner or with a specific actor or director. But when it comes to advertising and brand endorsement campaigns, they charge top dollar.
Sara Ali Khan is associated with brands such as Fanta, Puma, Vivo, JBL, Ceriz, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ), Veet, ITC’s Fiama, and Garnier. Deepikais one of the biggest endorsers of top end beauty brands. Shraddha can be seen in TVCs for Lipton Tea, Body Shop, Realme, Lakme. She had also endorsed brands like Vogue Eyewear, Baggit, Flipkart, Secret Temptation, Veet, Vaseline, and others. Rakul appears in ads for Elleys’ switches, the Telangana Govt’s 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign and Vaibhav Jewellers
Estimates are that Deepika charges brands Rs eight crore for three days of ad shoot time. She leads the female endorsement brigade with a brand valuation of $93.5 million, with her husband Ranveer Singh having a similar valuation, according to the Duff & Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2019. Rakul Preet Singh has a sticker price of Rs 1.5 crore per endorsement according to the Sandeep Goyal-mentored Indian Institute of Human Brands. Sara Ali Khan, Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, are reportedly paid more than twice that.
Sridhar expects these rates and associations to get sharp cuts. “A couple of brands will drop them at this time,” he says. “Their prices will go down. Big brands go for multiple celebrities, so if something happens the brand cuts back immediately. Brands will lie low if their ambassadors are involved.”
He believes major FMCG players are the ones who would most likely take a decision to use the scissors on their relationship with the stars, while e-commerce websites might not.
Dentsu One president Harjot Singh Narang echoes Sridhar’s view, adding, ”a brand selling health and wellness to its consumers would definitely not want an endorser who is caught up in drugs and illegal behaviour.”
He adds that some brands may “have to wait for these allegations and controversies to pass before making choices or have to choose differently given the seriousness and slightly longer than normal life that the current scandal seems to have.”
Sridhar opines that memories are short and people will forget the current scandal over time. “These very same stars will be back in time,” he says.
Taproot Dentsu chief creative officer and co-founder Santosh Paddy shares that brands will deal with Bollywood celebs cautiously going forward. As it is, he Is not too much of a fan of doling out big money to stars. He’d rather focus on getting the idea for a brand right.
“I don’t like Bollywood endorsing for my clients because it’s a pain to deal with them,” says he. “I always feel that if you’re paying them Rs 5 crore put that money behind the media and you will get a lot more attention. Celebrities can be good in the short run but great stories built on great ideas in advertising last the distance. Creative people tend to take short-cuts when they have a celeb.”
Can we hear some advertising gurus clapping?
Brands
33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
