Brand and Personality

Post jury we had a course on Branding conducted by Dr. Hemant C Trivedi, Head – Retail Academic Area at MICA. As a part of the course we did a writeup on celebrities endorsing certain brands and how much does a particular celebrity justify him or her endorsing the brand.


Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind - Walter Landor


“Aiye, aiye - kya lenge? Thanda ya garam?” This is the most common question whenever an Indian welcomes another - may it be at home or in office. Coke has been smart enough to capture this and turn it to their advantage where Coke and thanda are synonymous today. Coke also has been even smarter by not targeting urban India but rural and semi urban India and popularizing the culture of soft drinks there.
Aamir Khan has been a brand ambassador for Coca cola for quite a while now. Though as an individual (Aamir Khan) I do not think that he would be my first choice for the brand, but there is more than the individual which connects with the philosophy of the brand.



Aamir Khan in all the Coca Cola ads has comfortably and dexterously donned regional personas which have targeted different regions of India. These ads connect with the targeted region and the country as a whole and the wit factor added to the idol like status of Aamir Khan hits the consumer spot on.

Lux has for always had this association in our minds that it is the soap of the filmstars where they once had the catch phrase “We bring out the star in you.” Lux surely could have had better ways to celebrate it’s 75th anniversary but chose to cache in on the rising metrosexual phenomenon, yet keeping Shahrukh’s masculinity well hidden below the water lined with rose petals.



Probably Lux wanted to get a good amount of publicity on its 75th birthday that it came up with something which would be more talked about than followed. As for a product which has little differentiation from others in it’s category, quick publicity was intended and thats what they got as well.
Talking of reality, Lux will have to fall back on it’s angels sooner or later - thats if they want business.


BSNL - The country’s No.1 telecom service provider with maximum coverage was for long using modes of communication which were cliché. May it be the drab print ads or the TV commercials where the connection happens through the transformation of umbilical cord to telephone wires, BSNL was just not being aggressive and to the point.
With its competitors sporting Ajay Devgan & Kajol and Shahrukh Khan, BSNL was badly in the need of an young indian who the youth could connect.



Roping in Preity Zinta for a 2 crore deal, BSNL has given its brand a new face and has built a much younger brand image for itself. In one of the ads which is on the lines of Salaam Namaste, the use of vibrant colours and catchy tune along with crisp communication makes the brand image much more youth oriented.
In the BSNL broadband ad, keeping aside the weird samurai costume, the speed of the communication acts as a metaphor for the high speed internet that they are promising. In this 19 seconds spot, it talks about GPRS, datacards, picture messaging and the likes thus bringing out the multi benefits of BSNL broadband.


Our success is a direct result of knowing how to market a brand and having the right people representing the brand - Greg Norman