Buil ding B rand Equity using ‘Relativ e’

factor in commercials
Much ink has been spilt over the in/efficacy of using
celebrities in ads. From Kapil Dev's ‘ Pal moliv e ka
ja wab na hin’ in the eighties down to Shah Rukh Khan's
recent endorsement of Nokia - almost all the ads on TV,
radio, print and the Internet are accompanied by the
physical presence or voice of some celebrity. Indeed, today
ad ve rti sin g is ju st as com peti tive as th e bus in es s
of s elli ng a p ro duct or se rv ice .

But one thing is sure - tha t a me mo rabl e ad has the

pow er to re nd er a pr oduc t mem or able by mak in g
it a ge ne ri c bywor d for all produ cts in its
ca te gory . The ‘dhoo nd te rah e jayo ge’ ad of HLL's
Surf Excel that was meant to be an entertaining rejoinder
to P&G's Ariel, the "Sunil Babu" ad of Asian Paints - are
examples of memorable commercials that definitely aid in
the brand recall.

In years, br an d end or se me nt by celeb riti es has beco me a majo r pa rt of

co mm erci als as people or audience can easily relate to the celebrities. Also, if a person sees
some known face with whom he can easily relate, he will trust the brand automatically.

But recently ad-agencies realized that ad ve rti se me nt s hav e beco me sa tur at ed with
cel ebri ty en do rs em en ts and they needed so me thin g ext ra to cr ea te
diff ere nti atio n an d also arou se view er’ s int er est . This gave birth to the ‘m er e
pa ss maa hai’ factor. In many ways, th e in clusio n of rela tiv es brings in a dose of
realism in the commercial and gives scores of curious viewers a sneak peak into the other
side of the celebrity.

The celebrity I have chosen is Kap il Dev who ap pe ar ed with hi s wife Romi and
da ught er Amiya Dev in a commercial for ’S ave The Gi rl Child’ programme, still
showing in Doordarshan. ‘Sa ve Th e Gi rl Child’ programme is a brand because it is a
social cause and causes can be branded.
Latest official figures show that affluent families in posh areas of the
country are routin ely in dulgin g in fe mal e fetici de to fulfill
the ir que st for a ma le chil d. Former Indian cricket team captain,
Mr. Ka pil Dev gav e his co ns ent to beco me th e br an d
am ba ss ad or for the campaign in a letter to the government. One of
the basic reasons for approaching Mr. Kapil Dev for the cause is that,
be sid es bein g a fa mous per so nali ty of th e cou ntry , he al so
belo ng s to Hary an a which alo ng with Pu nj ab is on e of the
st at es whi ch is mo st affect ed by the scou rge . Thus, when such
a famous celebrity appears with his wife and daughter in an ad to
pr ote ct the gi rl child , it definitely affects mass of people and
would help them understand the importance of equality between a boy and a girl.
The importance of such an endorsement (where Mr. Kapil Dev appears with his wife and
daughter) helps to build brand equity in the following ways: -

1. SA LIENCE

Brand salience basically refers to brand awareness and easy brand recall in various situations.
When a famous personality like Mr. Kapil Dev does a commercial with his wife and
daughter to ed uca te peo ple and awa re peo ple of the imp ort an ce of pro tec tin g a
girl child an d eli min ati ng gen de r ine quality , then the mass of people who admire
the cricketer understand the importance of the cause as the famous personality himself
appears with his daughter depicting the importance of girl child. Thus, people become aware
that female feticide is a crime and equality should be maintained between a girl and a boy
child.

2. IMAGERY

Cricket has been a famous sport liked by many in India, and so has
been Mr. Ka pil Dev who have always bee n li ke d and
ad mi re d by man y peo ple . When these people observe that the
cel ebri ty lik e him wi th his fa mily is followi ng the
pr es crib ed ter ms of th e cau se , they also try and adopt such
po sitiv e att itud e and eli mi nat e in equali ty betwe en a girl
an d a boy chil d. The positive image of the celebrity helps the
government spread awareness among poor uneducated people as well
as people living in posh areas. This awareness and adoption of the
cause imp rove s the co nd itio n of peopl e an d al so hel ps th e nat ion to grow ,
which is th e b asi c e ss en ce of th e c au se .
3. FE ELING S

As Mr . Kap il De v ha s be en pr omot ing the cau se alo ng with his family , pe opl e
ge t a feel ing of wa rmth , exci te me nt an d se cur ity . People wont hesitate to adopt
something that a big celebrity like him has adopted and is promoting it across the country.
The cause of ‘Sa vi ng A Gi rl Child’ in volve s a lot of em otio ns and through a familial
approach the celebrity has been trying to touch the hearts of the majority, as a cause like
this needs a holistic approach and not just a part of society.

4. RE SONANCE

Finally, as pe opl e ado re the cel ebrity , th ey te nd to follow thei r in st ructio ns

an d becom e loyal tow ar ds th e bra nd (cau se ). They also inform others about it and
make sure that the motive behind the cause is accomplished in the right spirit.

However, before choosing a celebrity and his/her relatives for any endorsement, it is
im port an t to se e th eir re lev an ce in th e co mm erci al . The ne ed fo r brin gin g in
the re lati ve should be prop erly conv eye d to the public or it’ll have le ast or
no imp act on th e public .
Also, relatives should only be preferred to endorse products along with the celebrity when
the advertisements are for s oci al c aus e a nd pur pos e . Because introducing relatives gives
an opportunity to the public to intrude in the privacy of these celebrities, which might be
least desirable for any celebrity.