For some reason, we Indians have always believed in celebrities. E.g. if a local shopkeeper shows us a detergent and says that it can remove difficult stains, we are unlikely to believe him. But if a celebrity says so about the same brand on a TV or print ad, we tend to believe her / him more. It’s been so over the decades, as celebrities with their larger than life personalities, have always left a long lasting impression in our minds…and through our minds in our lives. So, anything that has celebrity involvement naturally tends to gain more cognisance with us when compared to something that doesn’t.
In my growing up years in the 1980s and early 1990s, I wasn’t aware of the term ‘Brand Ambassador’. But I was aware of the fact that various companies formally used celebrities, mainly from the cinema and cricket fields, to promote their products. Who can ever forget Kapil Dev’s unforgettable ‘Palmolive da jawab nahin’ or Dharmendra’s ‘Rajdoot…jaandaar sawaari…ek shandaar sawaari’? Or that legacy line ‘Boost is the secret of my energy’ with and without ‘Our energy’ passed on by Kapil Dev to Sachin Tendulkar, and then to Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the present generation of cricketers.
A World of Unsigned Brand Ambassadors
While on one side we had these celebrity brand ambassadors who were formally signed by companies to endorse their products, on the other side we had few small establishments and entities using celebrity photographs to lure people towards them. So we had hair cutting saloons (before they migrated to becoming the more designer salons, parlours and spas) which liberally flaunted pictures (in some cases even artistically painted on the name boards) of Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty and Jeetendra. Then there were these akharas and boxing classes, which showcased their expertise with the pictures / cutouts of Dharmendra and Dara Singh at their gates. Dharmendra and Dara Singh were rampantly used by egg & chicken shops also. And if it was Judo / Karate, the picture(s) had to be of Bruce Lee.
The Little Amitabh Fan
I have been a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan right from the mid-1980s. I remember watching movies like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Zanjeer, Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb, Sholay, Shaan, Satte Pe Satta, Laawaris, Sharaabi, Namak Halaal, Shakti and Coolie on rented VCRs / VCPs at friends’ places and few of them at my own place. Like many, I too believed him to be ‘closest to God’ if not God.
The credit for middle-parting the hair (with heavy sideburns) of an entire generation or two goes undisputedly to Amitabh Bachchan. So when I came across a saloon in our locality which flaunted 2 – 3 photos of him, it had to be that very place for my haircuts. I must have been around 10 then, and actually believed (like many others) that because Amitabh’s photographs were showcased, the saloon specialised in ‘Amitabh style’ haircuts. It didn’t take the saloon owner cum barber to figure out that I was an Amitabh fan…he himself was one. And just like they tend to indulge in harmless pranks with kids, the barber too pulled a fast one on me on one of my visits. The conversation went somewhat like this…
Barber: Tum Bombay kyon nahin jaata hai Lambu (Amitabh) se milne?
Me: Aisa thodi ho sakta hai…Bombay bahut door hai.
Barber: Arre kucchh door nahin hai. Tum saam (evening) ko Gitanjali (Express) mein baith jaao…agle din raat ko Bombay pahunch jaayega. Phir next day tum uska ghar jaake usse mil lena.
Me: Aise hi woh thodi milega?
Barber: Milega milega…tumse toh jarur milega…tera naam bhi Bijay (Vijay) hai na…jaadatar (mostly) phleem (film) mein uska naam bhi Bijay hi hota hai.
Now this ‘Vijay’ aspect was something that I found to be very believable. I actually felt that my name could actually help me meet Amitabh. The barber sensed my excitement…he was enjoying the conversation, which continued.
Me: Aur humko Dharmendra aur Shatrughan Sinha se bhi milna hai.
Barber: Haan haan…woh bhi ho jaayega…Lambu tumko apna motorsaikil (motorcycle) mein le jaayega sabse milaane.
Here both of us could relate to the ‘motorcycle’…it was the one Amitabh rode in the ‘Rote hue aate hain sab…’ song in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. By this time, my haircut was over…but my excitement was not. I wanted to talk more. But he told me, “Baad mein baat karte hain,” and moved on to call in his next in line customer.
And I actually believed in the possibility of a meeting with THE Amitabh Bachchan for a good 2 – 3 years (today’s kids are much smarter in terms of not believing in such things). Such was the impact of a celebrity in a child’s mind.
Other Unsigned Brand Ambassador Stories
There’s a Sardarji gentleman in my hometown who runs an eatery. The singadas (samosa), vegetable chops, aloo chops and chats served at his eatery are just delicious and lip-smacking. There are many such eateries in that locality and in the city, but what sets him apart is the fact that he is a diehard fan of Madhuri Dixit. Since 1996, he has been busier than the ‘Ek Do Teen…’ girl herself on her birthdays, when his eatery actually transforms into a Madhuri Temple. After the aarti of Goddess Durga, he moves straight to the aarti of Madhuri Dixit, post which free food (his eatery’s specialities) is served to the crowd. Not just this…as a mark of respect to his most admired actress, he does a lot of philanthropy on her birthday for orphanages, for old age homes, for the differently abled and for the poor in her name. He takes it upon himself to reach out to those in need while dedicating the service to her. He never misses an occasion to do his bidding, whether it is a special day for the actress or any general festivity. His eatery boasts of a ‘Madhuri’ ambience with her photographs neatly adorning the walls. And people in the city just love him for his dedication towards his favourite actress. At the same time, his admiration for Madhuri Dixit has helped his eatery in terms of brand building over the years. So if anyone mentions his eatery, the immediate response is ‘Woh Madhuri Dixit wala na?’ And mind you, the Sardarji gentleman has never personally met the actress till date.
Then there’s a cloth store in the city. Sometime in the late 1980s, the opening or re-opening (don’t exactly remember) of the store happened at the hands of actress Poonam Dhillon. That was the only time the actress visited the shop. But even after three decades, that store is still known as the one ‘jahaan Poonam Dhillon aayi thi’. It’s a unique case where just one event with a celebrity has actually resulted in forever brand building.
Last Word
Customers feel more attracted towards any brand, product or service when a celebrity face is associated with it…a celebrity they admire or can relate to. Subconsciously people tend to believe that going for a product or service which has a celebrity association will actually allow them to emulate the celebrity’s success, style, beauty, skill etc.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Vijay likes to watch old Hindi classic films and listen to old Hindi film songs, and has an enviable collection of both of these. He enjoys reading autobiographies and biographies, and also short stories, his favourite authors being R. K. Narayan, Munshi Premchand, Leo Tolstoy and Guy de Maupassant. Vijay also has a hobby of collecting news clippings (from newspapers and magazines) of important events across the globe…events that can be truly classified as ‘Breaking News’ or ‘Front Page News’.
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