[supremeBaleno]

Does celebrity endorsement help ? Will you buy a car just because a favourite actor/actress endorsed it?

While this is something I had been mulling over for years, never came around to posting here. I thought maybe a thread already existed, but a Search showed none. Hence this.

We all like/love public figures / personalities, especially film stars. But will we base our car purchase decision on their endorsement of a car/brand ?

I wouldn't. For me a car has to appeal to me. I see that the celebrity is almost always endorsing the car just because he is being paid for it.
Unless it is some celebrity who is a petrol-head, which is rare.

But normal folks might think otherwise. Why just normal folks ? My friend who is an MBA from a premier institution & a big Marketing guy at a renowned organisation, bought the Hyundai Santro in the early 2000s just because Shakrukh Khan endorsed it (remember the ZipDrive commercial) and he is a big fan of SRK.

To say that I was zapped by that decision-making would be an understatement.

We had AB & JrAB endorsing the Versa, which flopped. I personally think car companies need to avoid wasting money on celebrities and instead focus on advertisements that showcase the pros of the car.

OK, pour in your views.

[Dry Ice]

Not really. It's far too much money to follow someone blindly. It's not a soft drink which lasts 10 mins.

Come to think of it, some of the most iconic car ads we recall today isn't because of star power. Think Bajaj ads, Safari ads even Sierra for that matter. The magic was in the product itself!

Car purchase should always be on the merit of the product, nothing else. We even have a thread along similar lines, focus on the product not the sales experience while deciding on which car to buy.

[SCORPION]

I don't think this will matter to most members here in TBhp. Because all of us are car enthusiasts - to varying levels of course. But enthusiasts nevertheless. Else we wouldn't be here! I wouldn't be surprised if 100% votes go for 'NO' on this one. No way a 'celebrity' is going to tell me what car I should buy! Celebrities can be bought. But they cannot make you buy a car.

[adi.mariner]

Never ever. And this holds true for most of the products I buy. Celebrities endorse certain products because it's their job and they are paid for doing the same. If I get paid for endorsing something, I will promote it and finally buy what I want to with the money earned.

[ABHI_1512]

Interesting thread but then I am certain in my limited understanding that I have not come across people who have solely based their car purchase on some celebrity endorsement. That said, there will always be a certain percentage of people who will get swayed but I am more than certain that you will not find those people on this forum !

I think we Indians are smart, we would probably not spend big amounts based on celebrity endorsements but wouldn’t mind spending small amounts which ultimately becomes a huge amount given the sheer size of the population. I am still baffled by the success of Mankind Pharma and which bewilders me till date because of a certain product being endorsed by a certain star

[dr.aviansh]

No way brother! This is not
TEAM-BEAUTY and we aren’t talking about Fairness Creams!

Jokes apart, urbanites look for features -> HYUNDAI/KIA

I look for a good Ride and Handling package -> Fiat/Ford/Renault

Some people love high revving Petrol -> Honda

Cabbies want reliability -> Toyota

Some want a rural workhorse -> Mahindra

Some want to promote Indian Brands -> Tata

Some want to enjoy luxury at a lesser price -> VW/Skoda

Others want a cheaper maintenance -> Maruti Suzuki.

In short, there’s a brand for everyone now. There MIGHT be a handful who go by ads or their favourite actors endorsing a particular car and I’m willing to bet that our moderators haven’t accepted their membership requests so far! So I expect not getting even a SINGLE vote on YES.

[Mynameis]

I will never be influenced by a celebrity, unless he/ she is really passionate about cars.

Even then, I will just shortlist that car, and ofcourse decide based on my own research. Everyone knows that they do the ad just for money.

Coming to first question of thread title, yes, I think it surely helps the manufacturer. They are big business people and understand the economics very well behind roping in a celebrity. When we see an ad on TV with a popular celebrity in the car, it creates a good image for the product in our minds. More importantly, that ad remains in our minds for a long time.

Due to this ad, that person feels good about the product and at least shortlists the car, and eventually pays a visit to the showroom.

Take recent example of Nexon ad with KL Rahul. I clearly remeber the ad only due to him. But, take example of Swift or Sonet or Venue iMT, I do not remember much, since there was no familiar face.

[codwapeace]

No. They will sell pan masala, cigarettes or underwear for money. Although, ads do create an unconscious bias in our minds, but I don't think being endorsed by a particular celebrity has ever titled me towards a product, let alone an expensive item like a car.

[Eddy]

When I was about 20 and a big cricket fan, I was ready to buy a TVS Victor only because Sachin endorsed it. So yes, there are enough impressionable minds there.

[NaXal]

It is the worst place to ask this question. I doubt if you will find a single YES vote from a bhpian !! Unless voted by mistake ofcourse

Matter of fact, even the common man too doesn't care. No car buying decision is influenced by a celebrity endorsement.

Then why do we see such ads still being made?

Just to grab attention & while fans or others are watching that celebrity, they forcefully show their product too.

Lastly, it's also about connections.

Movie/Sports stars don't go out to find ads for them self. They hire managers, they build their network & PR firm involved in advertisement duty (for a manufacturer) would get some benefit in return (from that celebrity management firm) while lobbying for that celebrity endorsed advertisement.

Thanks.

[Herschey]

I have in fact done quite the opposite; personally avoided and even advised people against buying products (may not be an automobile necessarily) endorsed by a certain individual.

As far as cars are concerned, while the advertising campaign in itself might work wonders for the product/ brand, it necessarily shouldn't hinge on the presence of a celeb to make it successful. In fact, most of the successful products never needed any celeb endorsement while some of the most unsuccessful products were heavily endorsed by some of the so called big celebs.

So, in a way, yes! While endorsement by a certain individual may effect my consumer behavior (mostly in case of low ticket items like cellphones, FMCG, etc.), it's not necessarily the case when it comes to automobiles.

[GTO]

Celebrity endorsements cannot even guarantee average sales, forget success. Two instant examples that come to mind are Amitabh Bachchan & the Versa, and Ranbir Kapoor with the Captur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOBuK0NM7XM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeIRsaj5eCk

On the other hand, they definitely help spread the word and bring some eyeballs. Shah Rukh did play his part in making the Hyundai brand a household name in the late 90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93iXFF89qX8

Do they work on me? Absolutely not. I care about the engine more than who is paid to market it . But they can have an influence in some product categories. Way back when Schumacher was reigning over Formula 1, I bought an Omega Speedmaster just like the one he was wearing / marketing.

[wheelguy]

Celebrity endorsements won't help in selling the car, product and associated service help in selling the product.

That said, celebrity endorsements help in drawing the prospective buyers' attention towards the product which is much required for a relatively new brand/product.

Celebrity endorsements are not required if the companies can come out with creative or catchy(like hoodibaba hoodibaba ad by Bajaj) or impactful(like reclaim your life ad by Tata) advertisements, otherwise they(especially relatively new brands) need celebrities to get into the consumer's consideration list(like Hyundai roping in Sharuk for Santro).

[BLACNWYTE]

Forget cars, I don't buy clothes or even perfume based on the endorsements. As a kid I used to ask for things based on the ads I saw, but for the last 15-20 years I have bought things which appealed to me rather than based on the brand or who endorsed it. For me ads are now infomercials, just let's me know that this particular product is available.
Ads should be taken with a fistful of salt as the person endorsing is paid to say those things and that applies to the 'testimonials' by 'random' users. Remember Bajaj V15 ads?

[Sanidhya mukund]

Well, how can we forget the Force One. It was endorsed by Big-B himself, but the car sank without a trace. I remember seeing one at a mall and being disgusted by the horrendous panel gaps and ultra cheap plastics.

https://youtu.be/pWcolr0YmOQ