Sharapova may spoil Sania's party
In an online survey, Maria Sharapova is a favourite for endorsing casual wear among the Indian consumers.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Sania Mirza have got tough competion from abroad not only in the arena of films or sports, but on the advertising turf as well, as Indian consumers are increasingly enamoured by the charm of international celebs as brand ambassadors.
International stars like Maria Sharapova, Jeniffer Lopez, Tom Cruise and David Bechham have come on tops in a recent survey of Indian consumers' favourite brand ambassadors -- a territory which is already flush with numerous Bollywood stars and Indian sports personalities.
According to an online survey conducted by international research firm ACNielsen, Indians are quite enthusiastic about international celebrities endorsing products and rate many international sports personalities as well as Hollywood stars among their favourites.
For Indians, Maria Sharapova is a favourite among the international female celebrities for endorsing casual wear and garnered 23 per cent votes, the survey said. For luxury designer watches Angelina Jolie came on tops with 26 per cent votes and for lingerie items Jennifer Lopez clinched the first spot with 33 per cent votes.
Interestingly, the results of this survey could begin a new rivalry between Russia's Sharapova and Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza on the advertising turf as well, as the Hyderabadi lass also endorses a number of products, said an advertising professional.
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Among the international male celebrities, Tiger Woods emerged as the winner for promoting designer watches with 30 per cent of the people voting for him, ACNielsen said. Tom Cruise (28 per cent) for sunglasses and David Beckham (48 per cent) for sports wear were other favourite celebrities.
The celebrity effect can do magic on any consumer segment, if he or she is adored enough, AC Nielsen said. Maria Sharapova in India is a perfect example - she was voted the best celebrity to endorse not only sportswear (66 per cent) but also casual wear (23 per cent), beating big screen biggies like Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts in this category, it added.
"The aspirational nature of product endorsement by celebrities makes it highly-effective in mature as well as fast-growing markets, where people are increasingly enjoying higher disposable incomes and are looking to buy an image that will better project their growing social status," ACNielsen South Asia Executive Director, Sarang Panchal said.
In India too a celebrity has a real big influence, therefore movie and cricket world heroes like Amitabh Bacchan, Sharukh Khan, Rahul Dravid are selling a whole range of products, the survey stated.
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The online survey, which was conducted in 42 markets acros the globe, saw power celebrity couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt being voted as the best to endorse almost every kind of category, be it casual or luxury wear, watches or sunglasses, evening wear or lingerie, sexy or cutting-edge fashion.
The powerful celebrity couple garnered the greatest number of votes from online consumers, followed closely by Jennifer Lopez and David Beckham.
Panchal added, "Celebs' country of origin certainly has an influence, but their profession or the types of films or songs these people are associated with over a period of time does have a great influence on consumers' votes."
The global survey revealed not only consumers' choice, but also any potential dissonance between the qualities the celebrities were trying to project and how consumers perceived them, he said.
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