It may be a “˜been there, done that’ strategy for the FMCG sector, but consumer durable companies seem to be suddenly waking up to the magic of Bollywood celebrities.
While market leader LG Electronics has zeroed in on budding actor Zayed Khan (of Main Hoon Na fame), Whirlpool India is believed to have roped in the film celebrity couple Ajay and Kajol Devgan to create a pull for their brand.
Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta are already endorsing the Videocon and Godrej appliances brands, respectively. Korean major Samsung had at one time also got film star Tabu to endorse their brand, besides the Indian cricketers.
LG Electronics India spokesperson, when contacted, confirmed Zayed Khan’s appointment as their new brand ambassador. The company is expected to make an announcement in this regard, tomorrow. Zayed Khan, the actor who starred in the recent Bollywood movie Main Hoon Na, also endorses food retail chain Pizza Hut in the country.
Whirlpool India vice-president marketing Arvind Mediratta, however, refused to comment on Ajay and Kajol being signed on as endorsers for the brand. “I cannot comment right now,” Mr Mediratta said.
The company said it was launching new branding initiatives shortly and was repositioning its brand as an “˜appliances specialist.’
Roping in of film celebrities by LG and Whirlpool is clearly seen as a switch in their marketing strategies. LG, for instance, has so far shown its allegiance only to Indian cricketers and stayed away from film stars. This is unlike its Korean counterpart Samsung which has used Hindi film actor Tabu in the past in addition to Indian cricketers.
Similarly, the move marks a first for Whirlpool India which has never used the celebrity endorsement route at all in its decade-old tenure in the country. Godrej Appliances, too, started using film celebrity Preity Zinta only last year to alter the Godrej brand’s fuddy duddy image to a modern, young and trendy one.
From The Financial Express