81 and still shining: Big B's Journey from silver screen to advertisers' dream

In the realm of Bollywood, there's one name that has undeniably stood the test of time due to impeccable acting skills: Amitabh Bachchan, commonly known as Big B in the industry.

Keeping in mind that the actor has built for himself not just a fan following in the middle aged or comparatively older individuals but also GenZs and Millennials, he has not only been a go-to option for various brands but also government campaigns such as the ones for polio eradication, Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan, vaccination for Covid, etc.

According to Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022, Bachchan stands strong at the 7th position in the list of top 25 celebrity brands with a brand valuation of $79 million. In fact, the report also mentions that he features in the endorsement of top three most advertised brands on both digital and Television.

As he turns 81 years of age today, let’s have a look at how brand Bachchan has grown multifold over the past few years.

Having made his acting debut in Indian Cinema or the infamous Bollywood Industry in 1969 with Saat Hindustani, the ‘Angry young Man’ began his endorsing career in 1996 with Indian electronics company- BPL, whose sole mission was to foster a sense of nationalism and persuade consumers to purchase Indian goods.

Who knew at that point in time that Zanjeer and Coolie No. 1 fame would become a national icon and be the No. 1 choice for various brands, not just for endorsements but as a brand ambassador as well.

Moreover, certain reports also highlight that Bachchan charges somewhere around Rs 5-8 Crores for an advertisement.

In the early 2000s, he also featured in a slew of Pepsi adverts that grew immensely in terms of popularity such as ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’, ‘Oye Bubbly’, etc. But soon he had to end the association as he faced backlash for endorsing the cola beverage that is perceived as a sugary drink by various individuals. He also apologised publicly for endorsing the product at the time.

Back in 2003 when Cadbury's was going through a rough phase due to various multimedia reports coming out in the open claiming the presence of worms in chocolate bars and the festival season became a nightmare for the company who was also fighting the accusations from the Food and Drug Administration of India, it was Bachchan who came to rescue as a brand ambassador.

In fact, he was the one who not only minimised the negative image build-up for the brand but made the tagline- ‘Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaaye’ popular, something that the brand still holds true to even today. Also, remember the iconic ‘Pappu Pass Hogaya’ ad, it also featured Bachchan!

Between 2001 and 2008, Bachchan also featured in the ad campaigns of Luxor’s Parker Pens. His wit and sarcasm were used in the advertisements to pose the question, "Why to carry a pen that is not Parker?"

After 2008, it took him two years to sign another two-year long contract once again with the brand.

Next comes the very famous ad of Polio which was an initiative by Polio UNICEF that was launched in 2005 and featured Bachchan as the ambassador. This was an initiative by the government to make an effort and convince rural people in India to vaccinate their children against Polio.

With the help of this campaign, the unthinkable happened, and women and their kids began to swarm the immunisation camps and since then the campaign has been a success. Later, he was also honoured for his contribution to the cause.

The Gujarat Tourism campaign called ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ also features Bachchan giving captivating information about Gujarat's historical and religious sites that catches the viewer’s attention. The same won the National Tourism Award 2011–12.

In 2012, Bachchan also began endorsing the "2-minute" noodles brand, Maggi. In the ad campaign, he claimed that it is "happiness" that comes from eating Maggi noodles. However, this time around as well, he was the brand ambassador of a brand that was in the midst of a crisis situation, in this case, it was owing to the reports that indicated the presence of lead in the product.

It was in the same year that he was onboarded as the brand ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers, a brand that still continues to leverage his charisma along with that of his wife, Jaya Bachchan, for a pan-India reach and features their daughters as well sometimes in ad campaigns.

Apart from this, he also was appointed the brand ambassador of one of India’s largest one-stop solution for babies and kids, Firstcry.com in 2015. Over time he has featured in a slew of ads for the kids retail company.

He also holds the position of brand ambassador for Dabur’s Healthcare products range which encompasses Hajmola, Chyawanprash, etc. along with another FMCG major, Emami, for which he has featured in a number of ads for Boroplus, Navratna, etc.

A few years back, he was also appointed as the brand ambassador for Swachh Bharat mission, as part of which, he featured in various advertisements where he encouraged people to put an end to open defecation.

All these years, Bachchan also endorse various brands such as Reid & Taylor, Dr. Fixit, Mankind, Rin, Ghari Detergent, upGrad, JustDial, ICICI Prudential Life, Tata Sky, TVS Jupiter, Cycle Agarbatti, Tanishq, CoinDCX, Binai Cement, IDFC First Bank, Samsonite, Lux InnerWear, Flipkart, Bikaji, Manyawar, Everest Spices, etc.

During the pandemic, he also lent his voice to the coronavirus public service announcement which by default became the caller tune to our phones for a long time as the government intended to spread the message and also appeal to the public to have faith in Indian vaccines. It urged people to not believe in rumours and continue with COVID-19 precautions.

https://youtu.be/WYzUIqaB528

Most recently, Big B landed into trouble when the Traders' body Confederation of All India Traders  (CAIT) filed a complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against Flipkart’s ad featuring him announcing the commencement of e-commerce platform’s Big Billion Days sale. The same was termed ‘misleading’ and against the country's small retailers. The body also suggested an imposition of Rs 10 lakh fine on him further.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com