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It’s raining model endorsements for movie stars from the South. And for good purpose. After the “pan-India” — a time period that’s ubiquitous now — successes of their movies and OTT exhibits, actors from Allu Arjun (of Pushpa fame) to Samantha Ruth Prabhu (of The Household Man and Oo Antava fame) are being courted aggressively by advertisers.
Conventional FMCG manufacturers like Frooti, Coca-Cola, and Kurkure to new-age web companies resembling Myntra, Mamaearth, and Zomato are making a beeline for South Indian movie actors amidst the dwindling field workplace enchantment of their Bollywood counterparts.
Business estimates counsel that Allu Arjun, the highest-paid actor in Telugu cinema, expenses wherever between Rs 1-2 crore to Rs 7.5 crore per endorsement deal — the higher restrict is comparable or larger than what prime Bollywood actors, resembling Ranveer Singh, earn per marketing campaign.
“I don’t suppose there’s one particular determine. These actors are people, they don’t have a fee card,” Manish Porwal, MD, Alchemist Advertising & Expertise Options, tells Enterprise At the moment. “What they cost depends upon the class the endorsement falls below, what number of days they’re giving it, and different elements,” he explains.
Porwal goes on to share that Allu Arjun all the time fetched a “big premium” over his Bollywood friends. And that’s as a result of “South stars by no means promote themselves low cost” since they know they will affect their viewers in different methods (like politics, and so forth.) “Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth would by no means do adverts,” he says.
Allu Arjun’s yield per viewers can be far increased than that of Ranveer Singh, say media consumers. “Bollywood stars affect audiences within the north, west and east, however South actors earn a premium of 30-40 per cent per sq. kilometer from the south alone,” Manish reveals.
A variety of corporations are actually tapping into a wide range of model ambassadors to affect a number of territories and viewers units. Take Beardo, as an illustration. The Marico-owned males’s grooming model roped in Kannada actor Yash (of KGF fame) together with Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan and cricketer KL Rahul as model ambassadors. And Beardo will not be alone.
“Rising D2C manufacturers wish to affiliate with the precise movie star model for focused outreach of their merchandise… Their technique is to affiliate with the endorser who can guarantee higher and better engagement with the product’s potential shoppers. Subsequently, we are able to anticipate to witness larger range in movie star model endorsers,” Arun Pandey, CMD, Rhiti Sports activities Administration, was quoted as saying in an business report.
A celeb model valuation report by Kroll exhibits that well-funded startups, particularly within the shopper tech house, have led to vital progress within the variety of endorsements for India’s prime 20 celebrities. “These have elevated by greater than 50 per cent from 2020, and represent about 12 per cent within the general model portfolio of the celeb,” states the report.
From PhonePe to Rapido and redBus to Dream11 — every has a south star endorsing the model immediately. Take Mamaearth, as an illustration. The D2C magnificence model roped in Samantha as its model ambassador earlier this yr to not solely faucet into her rising pan-India reputation, but in addition make itself extra seen and heard within the Southern markets.
Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth, stated in a press release, “Samantha represents the best youth, pushed by beliefs and goal, and we strongly really feel she’s going to be capable of assist our goal throughout India, particularly the south Indian markets.”
However how do South actresses usually fare vis-a-vis their male counterparts? “Samantha appears to be doing very properly,” says Manish. “Particularly with occasion appearances… the pay hole between female and male actors could also be extra in movies, however relating to appearances, feminine stars fare higher,” he shares.
Samantha, in addition to giving the most important viral music of the yr, additionally made information for her separation from actor Naga Chaitanya and her look on Season 7 of Koffee With Karan, which is as “pan-India” as it might get. Consequently, her social media mentions and newsworthiness stay excessive.
Hansa Analysis’s Model Endorser report states that Samanth and Allu Arjun are, in actual fact, the highest-ranked South Indian celebs relating to social media affect, advertising worth, and attain. Each these stars have expanded their fan base up north to develop into family names now.
However, is that this a passing fad or will it final?
It’s no secret that the field workplace success of south Indian movies and the disappearance of language obstacles within the OTT period have led to the hovering reputation of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam actors.
An exchange4media report signifies that South Indian movies grossed Rs 2,400 crore on the home field workplace in 2021, 3x that of Bollywood, which earned about Rs 800 crore. Even in 2022, big-budget failures proceed to hang-out the Hindi movie business, whereas South motion pictures like KGF and RRR have basked in pan-India and even worldwide glory.
Porwal sums up by saying, “Baahubali aggravated the stance of the South. Pushpa’s consumption for north Indians occurred parallelly on OTT and in theatres. This isn’t a flash within the pan. It’s right here to remain.”
And so long as content material from the South clicks, so will its stars!
Additionally Learn: Southern Invasion: How South Indian Cinema Took Over Bollywood
Additionally Learn: The ‘Baahubalisation’ of Bollywood