Do celebrity tie-ups really help?

For once I am getting distracted. It's probably the Shah Rukh Khan affect. He
is everywhere these days, punching air at IPL matches or matching wits with kids
on 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain'. The one thing that does come out is that
irrespective of the charisma and the following the man commands, he is perfect
value for money for companies whose brand ambassador he is. Whatever avtaar he
takes, he makes sure that his advertiser gets great RoI. Look at the clever way
in which after every question he pips in with his small Compaq and plugs the
company, or how while his Kolkata Knight Riders were not doing much on the
field, they were still setting the endorsement scene on fire.

But what happens when the celebrity you have gotten on board or the event
that you have tied up with gets embroiled in a controversy. Does it undermine
the brand? Are celebrity endorsements really working in India or have we gotten
in overkill?

Really, how does a company respond when its brand ambassador is found in
possession of a gun for which they have no license or worse-runs over people
sleeping on the footpath? I recently read an interesting debate about how most
people are now doubting the sincerity of Aamir Khan who while on the face of it
earnestly campaigns for the causes but only if they do not override his brand
associations.

Shivangi Yadav

A high-ranking executive from one of the foremost companies, who I met last
week was someone who I asked the same question. The company in question has tied
up to be partners with Beijing Olympics. Now, traditionally they should have
been jumping with joy on having gotten a one up on their counterparts by
managing a deal which would put them in limelight all over the World for at
least that year. But the executive looked anything but overjoyed-in fact
cautiously optimistic would best describe his attitude. Well not that I would
blame him, if the bad press that the torch run has generated all over the globe,
thanks to the rumblings in Tibet and China's attitude towards it, Olympics is
really something that they are not looking forward to. But what can they do now?
Withdraw and face the flak of the powers that be in China and hamper their
business interests or keep up with the association and hope that at least some
form of peace is brokered between China and the exiled Tibetan leader. It's a
tightrope that they are walking at the moment.

But some have reaped huge benefits also. There is this IT brand in India,
which on path of a re-launch roped in one of the prominent cricket stars to
endorse their brand. Very soon the city where their head office is based was
plastered with posters of the cricket star endorsing their product and in no
time the whole country was talking about them without them having rolled out a
single product in the market.

So if you ask me the jury is still out on the usability of the celebrities.
But as far as we are concerned we are not complaining, as they certainly make
for great eye candy!