New Delhi: Bollwyood actors and actresses are always the first choice of business houses to endorse their products and services.
Filmstars, owing to their mass appeal, are seen featuring in every second commercial airing on the television, be it a gulucose biscuit or a luxury car.
While stars often want to associate themselves with big international brands, the phenomenon doesn't really apply when it comes to endorsing underwear.
Bollywood A-listers including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Ranveer Singh and Hrithik Roshan are regularly seen in briefs and vests commercials of brands like Rupa, Lux Cozy, Dixcy Scott.
Rupa, the three-decade-old brand, recently roped in Bollwyood's hot actor Ranveer Singh as the new face of Rupa frontline vests.
The company reportedly spent Rs 200 crore on endorsements between 2011 and 2014, mostly featuring Bollywood stars.
The trend is not new in the B-town. In the past also, actors like Govinda, Sunny Deol, and Boman Irani associated themselves with briefs and vest brands.
Easy money off-course is the reason that makes Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the second richest actor in the world, to ditch Calvein Klein, H&M, Joceky and instead endorse a local underwear brand. And that is why he is readily available to perform in big fat Indian weddings or grace store openings.
Advertising for an underwear brand can easily fetch a top ranked actor between Rs 6 crore to Rs 12 crore annually. One the biggest benefit is that the actors are morally not answerable to fans as they will never be seen in public wearing undergarments.
Recently, Bollywood top celebrities Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta were issued a notice for endorsing Nestle's Maggie noddles. The instant snack was found to have excessive lead and MSG content after the official laboratory testing.
The business houses, well aware of the target audience of their product i.e lower income groups, safely bet on the filmstars to garner a wide appeal among the common people.
Roping a celebrity face significantly contribute in the sale of innerwear brands in the market, where there is less differentiation between quality of products and “cool' factor.
As the situation is win-win for both parties – the business houses and bollwyood stars, the trend of celebrities appearing in innerwear commercials is not going to end soon.
Considering the time that stars have to invest, it is seemingly more profitable to advertise a vest brand than making a full fledged movie.
