The self-made King Khan whose primary objective was to be loved and cherished by everyone, has indeed been ‘everyone’s dearest companion’ so much so that he is often referred to as the sweet spot for all major brands in the country.
Born on November 2, 1956, Shah Rukh Khan had made his professional debut in Doordarshan’s ‘Fauji’ in 1988 and since then his popularity has only soared.
In real life, SRK has truly lived by his iconic dialogue in Om Shanti Om, “Agar kisi chiiz ko shiddat se chaaho toh poori kaynaat tumhe use milaane ki saazish me lag jaati hai”- a newbie who wanted to make a mark in the industry when he first came to Mumbai, he has indeed made his mark.
As of today, Shah Rukh Khan is one of the highest paid actors in Bollywood and co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders, an IPL team. He has featured in over 80+ movies and has won several accolades and coveted awards like the Filmfare, Padma Shree by the Government of India and the Knight of the Legion of Honour by the Government of France, amongst others.
The SRK brand is equally driven by brand endorsements. As per industry estimates, Khan charges over Rs 5-10 crore per day for brand endorsements.
Here are some of his most notable works in the ad industry:
How have telecoms leveraged King Khan:
The telecom players have time and again roped in Khan for brand endorsements and have created ad campaigns showcasing several facets of the Bollywood actor’s life ranging from his film roles and celebrations to airtight shooting schedules which helped him build an affinity for himself all in one decade.
Nokia Ad showing SRK’s glamorous lifestyle and tight schedules-
Airtel Ad featuring Khan correlating gossips with phone recharges
Jio Ad leveraging Khan to embark on digital transformation
FMCG brand endorsements by Khan:
The FMCG players have also judiciously utilised SRK’s brand value to entice customers to resort to product offerings like beverages, food items, soaps and deodorants amongst other things.
Sona Chandi Chyawanprash ad showing the royal side of King Khan
SRK tries to impersonate Sachin Tendulkar in Pepsi ad highlighting their tagline ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’-
SRK turns snakecharmer in another Pepsi ad-
Khan goes ‘Bekaboo’ in Lux Soap’s ad-
Emami makes SRK thrash boxer in its Fair and Handsome Ad-
Denver becomes SRK’s fragrance of success in new ad-
Shah Rukh Khan and the automobile industry:
When it comes to the automobile industry, Khan’s relationship with industry players dates back several decades. He had been an avid endorser for Santro and later began appearing for Hyundai in their commercials.
SRK’s featuring in Santro ad-
Hyundai’s new ad shows SRK drive female cricketers for a grand drive to their destination-
Some of SRK’s recent ad works:
As of late, SRK has been associating himself with several renowned brands, for some of which he is also onboarded as the brand ambassador. Moreover, he continues to be a preferable go-to option for brands even today, as he has completed more than three decades in the Bollywood industry.
Cadbury goes deep-tech to empower small businesses in SRK’s Not Just A Cadbury Ad-
ThumsUp brings out the rowdy side of Bollywood’s Don in new ad campaign-
SRK invites audience to play with him in the new A23 ad-
Disney+ Hotstar showcases an egoistic side of SRK in new ad-
SRK goes shirtless in new Godrej Ad-
Khan receives an offer of a lifetime from Netflix in ad-
The controversial side of SRK-
Bollywood’s Khan had faced humongous backlash for featuring in a surrogate ad-campaign for pan masala brand Vimal Elaichi. The fans saw him as a man of certain stature and didn’t appreciate his move of endorsing a pan masala brand.
Vimal Elaichi Ad featuring SRK-
Earlier on, when Emami’s Fair and Handsome landed into trouble for its misleading name, King Khan also fell prey to the social media backlash as an endorser of the brand. The public took a jibe at him for promoting a brand/product which in turn made people feel bad for being dark or dusky in complexion.
But none of this impacted SRK’s brand value until last year and he continued to be amongst the top five Bollywood celebs in the country. However, SRK’s brand value tanked and suffered a major blow when his son Aryan Khan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drug-related case.
As a result of this Byju’s had halted all advertisements featuring SRK owing to the then ongoing investigation against his son. Due to this, the ed-tech brand had to suffer major losses. But later on, the ed-tech company resumed their ads after Khan’s son was released by the NCB.
SRK in Byju’s ad-
In October, he slid down from 4 to 12 in the Duff & Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 ranking.