There isn’t a single day that passes by where we see an advertisement without any celebrity. They have become so omnipresent that every brand uses them for every product and it has gotten them all into the eye of the storms – the CCPA and ASCI storm! Earlier, many celebrities were found to be flouting the ASCI regulations and not mentioning that the content on their social media was a sponsored collaboration with brands. Many have even got legal notices, but very few are adhering to the rules. Now, these rules are changing and celebrities are in for some hard times (if they aren’t following any.) This article talks about what will change for celebrity endorsements in the future.
Adding a sense of responsibility
It was not until the recent outburst of crypto and NFTs that celebrities had to be carefree about endorsing any brand. When the uncertainties began to hover around the duo of crypto and NFTs, the government tightened the noose on celebrity endorsement rules. We saw Ayushman Khurana and Ranveer Singh from the entertainment industry and Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya from the sports industry, take the early bird offers of endorsing for these categories. Due to a lack of clear guidelines and consumers being misled, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) intervened and established certain ground rules for celebrity endorsements. Similarly, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) also took the initiative of establishing its own virtual digital asset promotion guidelines pertaining to cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Just Do It – The Due Diligence, we mean
It happened with the iconic actor who played James Bond, and it happened with Big B. Both were caught in a crossfire when they endorsed a pan masala brand and the audience entered a virtual slugfest with them on social media asking them to be a little sensible while choosing brand endorsements. It has become imperative for celebrities now to conduct their due diligence about the brand before they endorse it.
There are celebrities who do not consult advisors and do the required paperwork. Their brand image is also at stake while they are endorsing other brands.
Time to own the brand
When the audience sees a celebrity endorsing a product, they assume most of the time that celebrities use those products. It’s not the case all the time. For instance, Kareena Kapoor once endorsed Lux as well as Vivel. How Salman Khan once endorsed Thums Up, but now he’s endorsing Pepsi! Celebrities change brands, quite literally. Eventually, most of these celebrities began to own a stake in the companies for whom they endorsed. Priyanka Chopra’s Anomaly Haircare, Nush clothing by Anushka Sharma, the iconic HRX by Hrithik Roshan, WROGN by Virat Kohli, The House of Pataudi by Saif Ali Khan… there are many celebrities like these who have owned the brand, some by simply endorsing them, some by creating their own.
Influencers: The Micro Celebrities with a Mega Impact
With the audience getting more and more practical by the day, they’ve come to realize that celebrities do not change the brand as much as actual users do. That’s where “Influencers” take the spotlight. These are the new kind of celebrities on the block and today, even the most popular TV shows and movies are using these “influencers” to get more “quality leads”.
Tapping the market to its fullest potential is ultimately the objective of any brand. these influencers are the key to getting the brands the required results. Another important aspect that we tend to ignore royally is memes and trolls. We feel they aren’t worth giving time to, but look at BlinkIt and Zomato – their business literally skyrocketed because of memes and trolls. Of course, when the legality aspect kicks in, the cancel culture in business takes over and all that momentum created by the trolling goes for a toss.
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