Tollywood, Kollywood and Sandalwood — the South Indian film industries — have consistently delivered smash hits compared to the string of Bollywood flops in recent times. Because of this, the southern stars have gained a national appeal that big brands hope to cash in on through endorsement deals
Move over Bollywood badshaahs and divas. Movie stars from the south, especially Telugu and Tamil cinema, including Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Mahesh Babu and Samantha Prabhu, have overtaken some of the top Bollywood names in national-level endorsement deals for several large brands, including Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Myntra, say industry insiders. In many cases, they are also being paid comparatively higher fees.
"In the TAM AdEX Celeb track, we have seen over a threefold increase recently in celebs from regional geographies becoming national brand ambassadors," says TAM Media Research chief executive LV Krishnan. "Brand choices for ambassadors are dependent solely on consumer preferences; brands have no limits to geography affiliations when it comes to using ambassadors."
"In the TAM AdEX Celeb track, we have seen over a threefold increase recently in celebs from regional geographies becoming national brand ambassadors," says TAM Media Research chief executive LV Krishnan. "Brand choices for ambassadors are dependent solely on consumer preferences; brands have no limits to geography affiliations when it comes to using ambassadors."