All in the family

While celebrities with their spouses,colleagues and lovers endorsing brands,is not new,the pairing of Bollywood parents with their grown-up children seems to be an emerging trend. Consider these instances: Lillette and Ira Dubey model for Ahujasons; Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan for the Nizam collection of jewellery by the Gitanjali Group; Hema Malini with Esha and Ahana Deol for Kent Purifier,Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor for Pepsi; and Anil and Sonam Kapoor for Montblanc.

“For us,it is a winning combination as both Neetu and Riddhima are known for their fine taste in jewellery. We have had a good response to the campaign and intend to keep the relationship going,” says Geetanjali Khabriani,Head (Marketing and PR),Mahesh Notandass. Even though Riddhima has stayed away from the limelight,convincing her,she says,was not a problem. “In fact,Riddhima was very excited to be featured with her mother,” says Khabriani.

Internationally,parents and children featuring in commercials together isn’t common either. When they do,it’s mostly for a cause. Jennifer Lopez and her two-year-old twins,Max and Emme,starred in a recent campaign for Gucci’s new children’s line to benefit UNICEF’s Schools for Africa programme.

Closer home,reliability and familial trust across generations,a traditional Indian concept,are two key elements behind brands wanting members of a celebrity family together. In some ways,actor-dancer Hema Malini’s Kent advertisement boosted this trend. Three years back,only Hema Malini was the face of the brand but she was later joined by daughters Esha and Ahana. The commercial also benefits from the fact that Ahana is seldom seen in public domain otherwise. “For us Hemaji showcases trust. We brought in the daughters to reiterate that trust and the family factor,” explains Amit Sharma,account group head at Law and Kenneth Communications that handles Kent advertising.

Likewise,when Montblanc released its first television commercial in India,they chose actor Anil Kapoor and his daughter Sonam to promote the brand’s “legacy” together. This was also the first time the actor was seen with his daughter.

Rishi Kapoor’s khandaan though emerges as the hot favourite. The last Pepsi television commercial cast Ranbir “Rockstar” Kapoor opposite father Rishi Kapoor. Directed by Ayan Mukherjee of Wake Up Sid fame,the commercial presented Kapoor Junior as a laidback youngster while the refreshing Senior Kapoor was a concerned father urging his son to work hard to become a crorepati.

“The campaign is special as it pairs me with my favourite actor,my father,for the first time ever,” Ranbir was quoted saying during the launch.

Brands are reluctant to admit that it also makes economic sense to have an all-in-the-family endorsement,but that is not a difficult guess.