Million star endorsements on TV today, do you buy them?

Remember the time when you looked at a Palmolive shaving cream and immediately thought of Kapil Dev and his Palmolive da jawab nahin? That was a true brand ambassador. Today, stars endorse so many products that it''s difficult to distinguish one from another.
Take the king of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, for instance. He endorses several products from low end pens to cars and branded clothes.Does the consumer still believe in his endorsements? Says ad guru Aleque Padamsee about this trend, "I feel star-studded ads are a passing fad. Having said that, I feel the marriage between a star and a product should be compatible, otherwise the audience will divorce the product."
Meanwhile, director of Seagull advertising in Pune, Sameer Desai, feels that it''s not so much about the viewer as about the advertiser himself. "The question is whether it''s worth investing so much money in one ad. I don''t think that a star endorsing too many products has any kind of negative effect on the audience."
Another issue is the fact that most stars don''t even use some of the products they endorse. Take Sachin Tendulkar for example. He makes time to star in close to 12 advertisements ranging from MRF, Airtel, Fiat Palio and TVS Victor to Pepsi, Mastercard, Adidas and Colgate Total. Does the fact that he owns a Ferrari and not a Fiat make a difference to the viewer? Explains Padamsee, "Well, stars have been endorsing products they don''t use for decades. I wouldn''t worry about Shah Rukh Khan not actually using a Santro. If he says it''s a good car, the audience will believe him. In any case, people don''t believe that stars actually use these products. They only know that a star has tried it and have faith in what he or she says about it."
It''s not an argument that advertising student, Arti Malani, would like to buy. She says, "There are several stars who swear off aerated drinks in their interviews but go on to become ambassadors for cold drinks. That''s the height of hypocrisy."
Like Amitabh Bachchan who endorses Miranda is reportedly always seen with a can of an energy drink. But Desai believes that it hardly matters to the viewer. "Advertising is a form of entertainment. And the audience takes it at face value, not as a doctor''s prescription.
So it does not matter whether the star only consumes health drinks in real life while he endorses cola. For example it makes sense to have Tendulkar in a bike ad because the advertiser is trying to say that the bike is as consistent and dependable as the cricketer. The advertiser has to decide if the message is going through to the consumer."
anuradha.kher@timesgroup.com