Reuters

Mumbai, Apr 3: Bollywood stars are once again top endorsers in India after its cricketers failed the advertising industry with a dismal first-round exit from the World Cup last month.

Cricket-themed campaigns worth millions of dollars - selling everything from consumer goods and electronics to automobiles and financial services -- were yanked out of the media as companies tried to disassociate their brands from the cricketers.

India is a major market for the five major global cricket sponsors - South Korea's LG Electronics, PepsiCo Inc, Hutchison Telecom, motorcycle maker Hero Honda and Indian Oil.

All have been hit by India's early exit from the World Cup, with total losses estimated at nearly $37 million, industry officials said.

Television and print commercials featuring cricketers, who until the World Cup debacle were more in demand than film stars, have been withdrawn by Pepsi, electronics firms Videocon and Sansui and consumer goods company ITC, among others.

"If this goes on and we keep losing, then I tell you all cricketers will be off the clients' list," said Alyque Padamsee, an Indian advertising analyst.

"They'll say 'No I don't want any cricketers, you can never tell if their form is up, their form is down. Give me movie stars'."

Safer bet

India 's advertising market grew 23 per cent in 2006 to $3.6 billion and is forecast to expand 18 per cent in 2007 on the back of booming economic growth.

The industry is now reconsidering a strategy of having cricketers as brand ambassadors because of the team's fickle fortunes and the repeated failure of individual players.
 

Bollywood, advertisers feel, is a safer bet not only because film stars retain their appeal for longer but also being professional actors their sales pitch looks less contrived than that of a cricketer.

Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said in weekend interviews that his firm was renewing ties with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to endorse products.

"His popularity cannot be compared to any cricketer," Dhoot was quoted as saying by the Mumbai Mirror daily, referring to the actor's wide acceptance among consumers. "He's above all in any given season."

Advertising industry officials said other Bollywood heavyweights such as Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan were being approached by corporate houses.

Advertisers said India's disastrous World Cup would also mean more stringent contracts for cricketers with performance clauses so that some returns are guaranteed.

They said the cult status of cricketers would be re-evaluated, and like the stock market, they would see corrections in valuation and their pricing.

"Definitely this is going to have an impact," said advertising executive Prasoon Joshi.