It Ads Up

The foray of celebrity couples into advertising can be seen as the way forward in the Indian ad industry. “We do not have a supermodel culture in India. Hence,we often go for Bollywood actors and their spouses,whom we refer to as ‘glorified models’,” says Sameer Makhani,CEO,Makhani Advertising who has done the Metro Shoes Campaign.

Notwithstanding the marketing concerns,it becomes easier to narrate a story when star couples are involved. Saif and Kareena made their relationship public through a series of Airtel ads. The young Bachchan couple too have publicly displayed their affection in the Lux commercial. Shah Rukh Khan and his rarely-seen-wife Gauri followed suit in the D’Decor campaign.

The trend of real-life couples doubling up as models in commercials,however,is not very new. In the past,Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore,and Salman Khan with his then-girlfriend Sangeeta

Bijlani have appeared in commercials for suits and shirts. Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan have made a rare television appearance for an eye donation campaign. Even though the romance between

Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi was short-lived,they did find time to shoot a Coke ad together. In the recent years,the reticent duo Kajol and Ajay Devgn too showcased their wedding bliss in ad campaigns for Whirlpool and Tata Indicom,and John Abraham and Bipasha Basu’s sensuous moves for a shampoo ad have been much appreciated.

Despite the benefits of featuring celebrity couples in commercials,it has not been exploited enough in the past. Reason: “Not many couples were open about their relationships earlier,” says Rituparna Das,a client service executive.

The nature of a couple’s relationship — or the public perception of it — often decides the kind of campaigns they bag. Ajay Arora,managing director of D’Decor,says “Shah Rukh and Gauri are perfect homemakers,” he says.

The economics of ads varies according to the value of stars involved. According to industry insiders,Saif and Kareena pocketed Rs 6 crore for their Airtel campaign while Shah Rukh and Gauri earned Rs 10 crore from their D’Decor appearance. Often,couples lower their individual asking rates for the total package.

However,despite the instant attention that comes with a star couple’s endorsement,there lies a potential risk. “The brand depends on the relationship status of the celebrity couple,” says Rao. Should we sense a regret in his statement,now that Shahid and Priyanka are not likely to have coffee together?