It’s official. Advertisers clearly have placed their bets firmly on World Cup-beating cricket Indian captain MS Dhoni, ahead of other sporting idols and Bollywood superstars.Television commercials (TVCs) featuring Dhoni outnumbered all others by a large margin including brand icons Sachin Tendulkar and movie star Shah Rukh Khan during the World Cup.
According to a recent TAM Sports report, commercials of brands endorsed by Dhoni grabbed 29% share of the total television ads during this year’s ICC World Cup.
Sports that featured Khan finished a distant second at only 10%, followed by Kareena Kapoor (8%) and Tendulkar and Hrithik Roshan (7% each).
“Mahi” currently endorses 23 brands that include Aircel, PepsiCo, Reebok and the Future group. He recently signed a R 8-crore one-year endorsement contract before leading India to the World Cup win.
{{/usCountry}}“Mahi” currently endorses 23 brands that include Aircel, PepsiCo, Reebok and the Future group. He recently signed a R 8-crore one-year endorsement contract before leading India to the World Cup win.
{{/usCountry}}“The last deal was signed before he brought the cup home. His new rates will shoot up by at least 40%,” said Arun Pandey, president, Rhiti Sports, an agency that handles his brand enagements. ”
An advertiser involved, asking not to be identified, said deals that involved Dhoni earlier wil not be renewed “as a policy” Sony Bravia, one of them, has seen January-March quarter sales double on the year.
“He creates the perfect synergy with our target audience” said Sunil Nayyar, senior general manager, sales, at Sony India.