IPL 19 ad game: Celebrity endorsements jump 34 per cent as film stars dominate cricket ads

MUMBAI: Talk about a star-studded innings! In the high-stakes arena of advertising around the Indian Premier League, brands completely ditched the bench to play a celebrity-heavy line-up for the 19th edition (Y 2026), proving that a famous face is still the ultimate power-hitter for public attention. The latest data scorecard from TAM Sports reveals that commercial ad volumes endorsed by celebrities hit a magnificent 34 per cent surge compared to the previous season, leaving non-celebrity ads trapped in the crease.

The corporate world’s game plan has shifted dramatically. While IPL 18 saw a relatively balanced ratio of 53:47 between celebrity and non-celebrity endorsed ads, IPL 19 saw the glitterati grab a dominant 61 per cent share of the advertising pie, relegating regular campaigns to just 39 per cent. The talent pool on screen expanded significantly too: the overall number of celebrities making a cameo during live action rose by 17 per cent (growing from over 60 to a whopping 70+ stars).

Interestingly, while the tournament revolves around cricket, it was the silver screen heroes who truly ran away with the match. Film stars collectively captured more than 75 per cent of the celebrity ad volume share. Breaking it down by profession:

Film actors: Commanded a massive 55 per cent share of ad volumes.
Film actresses: Secured a solid 22 per cent share.
Sports personalities: Accounted for 22 per cent of the share.
TV actors: Brought up the rear with just 1 per cent.

Even though the count of sports celebrities actually grew by a massive 52 per cent (jumping from 20 plus to 30 plus individuals on screen), their collective brand endorsement volume actually declined during IPL 19. It seems that while more athletes got onto the pitch, Hindi cinema actors were the ones hogging the strike.

When it came to individual star power, Hindi cinema royalty refused to be dethroned. Shah Rukh Khan remained the ultimate MVP across both seasons, ruling the top spot with his ad volume share rising from 8 per cent in IPL 18 (representing 5 brands) to 10 per cent in IPL 19 (backed by 4 advertisers).

The overall top celebrity order for IPL 19 shaped up with Gen-Z favourite Ishaan Khatter tracking close behind King Khan at 9 per cent share (2 advertisers). Ajay Devgn (1 advertiser), Amyra Dastur (1 advertiser), and Tiger Shroff (1 advertiser) all locked in a neat tie with 7 per cent share each.

Compare this to IPL 18, where Khan was chased by Ananya Panday (7 per cent share, 2 advertisers), Laksh Lalwani (6 per cent share, 1 advertiser), MS Dhoni (5 per cent share, 6 advertisers), and Ajay Devgn (5 per cent share, 1 advertiser). Only Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn managed to defend their positions in the top five across both seasons.

Looking strictly at the sporting dugout, Rohit Sharma proved to be the most reliable all-rounder. He was the only sports icon to feature in the top five sports celebrity lists for both seasons. In IPL 19, Sharma led the athletic pack with a 22.1 per cent share (2 advertisers), followed by Hardik Pandya at 16.0 per cent (1 advertiser). Fresh faces Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2 advertisers) and Abhishek Sharma (1 advertiser) tied at 5.1 per cent, with retail favourite Virat Kohli holding 5.0 per cent (2 advertisers).

This marks a major shift from IPL 18, where MS Dhoni captained the sports charts with a 17.3 per cent share across 6 advertisers, followed by Rohit Sharma at 13.6 per cent (3 advertisers), Suryakumar Yadav at 9.5 per cent (1 advertiser), and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mohammed Siraj finishing at 6.4 per cent each (1 advertiser each).

Brands were careful not to crowd the same pitch. During IPL 19, the top five celebrity-endorsed product categories all hailed from entirely different market sectors, ensuring zero overlap. Leading the charge were Mouth Fresheners, followed by Ecom-Other Services, Paints, Corporate-Financial Institutes, and Air Conditioners. Together, these top five categories locked down a commanding 71 per cent share of all celebrity ad volumes.

The financial muscle behind these campaigns was equally concentrated. A fleet of over 35 advertisers deployed celebrity tactics, but the top five corporate heavyweights alone raked in 68 per cent of the total celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. This elite bowling attack consisted of:

Vishnu Packaging
Google
Havells India
Grasim Industries
Reliance Consumer Products

This exhaustive media study evaluated pure commercial advertising broadcast across 5 Star Network feeds and 12 JioHotstar feeds for both IPL seasons. Calculated strictly via television “secondages,” the data covers only live match play, firmly knocking out pre, mid, and post-match studio programming, alongside promotional trailers, channel promos, and social ads.

Ultimately, IPL 19 proved that while the cricket on the pitch is unmissable, the real tactical masterclass is happening during the ad breaks, and it’s Hindi cinema that’s walking away with the man of the match trophy.