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Admen feel the rising count of brands the actor endorses is working against him

MUMBAI: Aamir Khan may be losing it — Aamir Khan the brand that is. Or, so many in the ad mad world would have us believe.

The actor has long been considered a cut above his peers. His brand endorsements have won brownies, too and many of those commercials, particularly the ones for Coca-Cola and Titan, still rank very high on recall.

But, that may be changing. While his recent television commercial (TVC) with Gul Panag for Tata Sky has been called everything from “cute” to “nice” to “it’s OK,” the earlier TVC for the same brand, in which he played both a man and woman, had evoked mixed reactions. Reactions to his commercials for Samsung phones have also been mixed.

So is Brand Aamir getting diluted?

Harish Bijoor, brand specialist and chief executive officer of Harish Bijoor Consults, sure thinks it is. Aamir Khan has now become a mass brand as opposed to a niche brand earlier, he says, adding, “Till two years back, he enjoyed a superior status, which is lost now.”

Jasmine Makujina, who works with a television channel and is one of Khan’s admirers, also feels that the Aamir Khan of Coca-Cola and Titan campaigns is not to be found in the Samsung and Parle commercials.  “Earlier, since his appearances were rare, I could recall his campaigns, which is not the case now,” Makujina says, adding, she would be a little sceptical of his forthcoming campaigns.

Santosh Desai, CEO of Futurebrands, begs to differ. It is just that Khan has become accessible to more people, he says, adding, “Aamir Khan was under-marketing himself. Now, in a sense, he has loosened that.”

Manish Porwal, CEO, Percept Talent Management, says a Toyota or Titan could benefit from Khan’s larger presence in the media now.

But, some feel Khan’s recent campaigns could impact brands such as Coca-Cola. Bijoor, for one, sees a “cascade of negativity” at work. “The cascade works its way upwards from a small brand to a well-known brand.”

Desai, too, concedes that brands lose their exclusivity as their ambassadors take on more brands.

Madhukar Sabnavis, country head, discovery & planning, Ogilvy & Mather, the agency that handles Titan, says, “With Khan taking up more brands, marketers would obviously look at someone less commonplace.” He cites the example of Akshay Kumar who has a few brands such as Thums Up and Levi’s.

In the end, though, it doesn’t really matter to the consumer, says Sabnavis. “There is no evidence to prove that Dish TV got affected because Shahrukh Khan has worked with other brands before,” he argues.

Porwal says there’ll be no confusion in the minds of consumers if the products endorsed by someone are in distinct categories.  However, remuneration could be an issue. “What Aamir could command if he were endorsing just two brands would obviously be more than what he commands now,” adds Porwal.

“If Aamir Khan is not careful about the brands he endorses, he could end up being just another celebrity ambassador,” says Desai.

Sabnavis feels Khan’s brand equity comes from his films and as long as he picks the right kind of roles, there should be no problem. “But, as he becomes more familiar in the ad world, he will lose some of his sheen.”

Another senior advertising professional agrees, requesting anonymity. A few bad commercials are not going to change people’s perception of Aamir Khan, she says. “But that could change over two years if he continues to do what he does now.”

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