STUDY OF DABUR INDIA LTD.

WITH RESPECT TO
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
Abstract

This research examines the impact of celebrity credibility on consumer-based equity of the
endorsed brand. It examines the competencies of the celebrity, as an effective medium to connect
to a product and thereby enabling an effective brand recall. This research focuses on FMCG
sector as an area of study.

FMCG being a very competitive market companies have realized that apart from pricing
strategy, it is important to connect a product via a celebrity, not only to differentiate the product
from its competitors but also to be in the run for a leading market share.

The research further examines the impact that a celebrity creates on the consumers while
endorsing a product and the dissonance and/or the disappointment in the minds of the consumers,
when the product features doesn’t match with the credentials of the celebrity endorsing it.

1. Introduction:

Celebrities have been used as one of the most effective tools for promotion by marketers all over
the world. One in every four advertisements has celebrities featured in them. A celebrity
endorsement influences advertising effectiveness, brand recognition, brand recall, purchase
intentions and even purchase behavior of the consumer. The credibility of the celebrity as well as
the brand plays a major role in deciding the sales of a particular product. Seno and Lukas (2007)
have proposed that a celebrity endorser operates as a co-brand for the endorsed brand resulting in
the creation of equity for both the endorsed brand and the endorsing celebrity.

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric’s, once said, “Our most valuable assets are our
intangible assets.” The intangible asset he was referring to is a Brand. The dictionary of business
and management defines a brand as: a name, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them,
intended to identify goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them
from those of competitor.

This paper has attempted to study dissonance caused in the minds of consumers when various
brands use celebrities from diverse fields of entertainment as their endorsers for creating a brand
value of their product in the market.

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2. Objective:

The objective of the study is to examine the following:

1) The impact of endorser credibility on brand credibility and consumer-based brand equity
2) The dissonance and disappointment associated with a celebrity when the product features
don’t match with the endorser’s credibility.

3. Research Design:

This paper examines the role of celebrity as an endorser for various brands and the confusion it
causes in the minds of consumers regarding the credibility of the brand as well as the endorser.
The study is purely a fundamental research, undertaken out of curiosity about the topic of study
and is purely based on secondary data.

4. Overview:

The following paragraphs will now examine the celebrity endorsed products.

4.1 Celebrity:

A celebrity is an individual who is recognized widely, has a high status and has some credentials
attached with his name. These credentials could be attractiveness, extra ordinary lifestyle and
special skills possessed by the celebrity. These credentials normally differ to a smaller degree
from one celebrity to other. These credentials are perceived by the consumers depending on the
social group to which they belong and the degree to which they can associate with the celebrity.
Today’s celebrities are larger figures from cinema (Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan),
television (Smriti Irani) and sports (Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Schumacher).

4.2 Definition of celebrity endorsement:

According to Friedman & Friedman, “A celebrity endorser is an individual who is known by the
public for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product class endorsed.” So, in
the Coca cola Advertisement; actor Imran Khan is the celebrity endorser for the product or brand
called Coke and this process is referred to as celebrity endorsement.

4.3 Need for celebrity endorsement:

The charm of celebrity influences a huge mass of people where celebrities are worshipped for
their deeds. For example, Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan. Their influence extends to the
political front too where they are invited for political endorsements. These days various political
parties use these celebrities to promote their own political parties. Various business firms, thus,

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resort to celebrity endorsement to enhance their brand recall and product sales. This has now
become a trend and is being perceived as a strategic means of brand building exercise.

4.4 Impact of celebrity endorsement:

While marketers with positive experiences would tend to believe that celebrity endorsements
work and some would disagree that the magnitude of its impact is difficult to measure even if
sales figures are at our disposal. However, we can understand why it works and the impacts of
celebrity endorsements.

For example, Sachin Tendulkar endorsing Boost a product of GlaxoSmithKline, for more than a
decade helps an instant brand recall. Even today, when we think of Boost, we relate it to Sachin
Tendulkar.

4.5 How celebrity endorsements influence the consumer:

The basis for the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsed advertising can be linked to Kelman’s
processes of social influence as discussed by Friedman & Friedman according to Kelman, there
are three processes of social influence, which result in an individual adopting the attitude
advocated by the communicator:

India is one of the countries which idolize the stars of the celluloid world; therefore it makes
tremendous sense for brand to procure a celebrity for its endorsements. In India there is an
exponential potential for a celebrity endorsement to be pursued as genuinely relevant, thereby
motivating consumers to go in for the product. All sectors in Indian economy have used
celebrities from Bollywood as well as sports. But the sector which has exploited the celebrity
power is the FMCG Sector.

FMCG i.e. Fast Moving Consumer Goods has been one of the fastest growing sectors in Indian
Economy. The market of FMCG products is approximately Rs.85, 000 crore. The major brands
ruling the FMCG market include Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Marico Ltd, Dabur Ltd.

FMCG goods play a major role in every consumer’s mind. As these goods are frequently
replaced by consumers, it is important for any manufacturer in this sector that their goods are
noticed and remembered for a longer period of time. To make this process easier this sector has
used celebrities as a tool for endorsing their innovative products in this highly dynamic market.

Celebrities have become a buzz- word due to the FMCG industry since the 1980’s and the
crescendo of celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing over the past years. Any
celebrity is selected as an endorser for a product depending on its popularity, profession and
product-match. Brand Credibility and Endorser Credibility play a major role in deciding the
success of the product. Brand credibility can be defined as the believability of the product
position and information contained in a brand, which depends on the willingness and ability of
firms to deliver what they promise (Erdem et al, 2006) whereas, Endorser credibility can be

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defined as the extent to which the source is perceived as possessing expertise relevant to the
communication topic and can be trusted to give an objective opinion on the subject (Goldsmith et
al, 2000).

As mentioned earlier, these celebrities make the brand recall and recognition easier thereby
creating a strong consumer-brand association. This association can be explained effectively with
the associative network memory model.

4.6 The associative network memory model:

The human memory can be described as a network consisting of various nodes connected by
associative links (Till & Shimp, 1998). These nodes are pieces of information which become
connected via associative links (Krishnan, 1996).Consequently; each node becomes a potential
source of activation for all associative nodes. Memory activation expands such that, the first
node activates other link nodes and subsequently, these nodes activate all other link nodes,
(Collins & Loftus, 1975).

A celebrity and a brand represent individual nodes which will become associated such that each
entity becomes part of the other’s association set (Till & Shimp, 1998). Thus when a consumer
thinks of a celebrity endorser they may automatically consider the endorsed brand and vice
versa.

4.7 Dabur India limited:

Dabur India Ltd. is the fourth largest FMCG company in India with a revenue of US$750 million
(Rs.3416 crore) and market capitalization of US 3.5 billion which is over
Rs.16000crore.Builiding on a legacy of quality and experience over 125 years, Dabur operates in
key consumer product categories like hair oil, oral care, health care, skin care, home care and
foods. Its exclusive ayurvedic approach to health and personal care products has made this
company a class apart.

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The market share of the major products of Dabur in comparison to substitutes available in market
is as follows:

Market Share for Honey

Daubr Honey Others
25%

75%

Source: http://www.dabur.com/About%20Dabur-Dabur%20At-a-Glance

The above pie-charts depict the market share of Dabur Honey which is 75% in comparison to the
market share of other brands of Honey.

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 Market Share for Chyavanprash
Dabur Chyawanprash Others

35%

65%

Source: http://www.dabur.com/About%20Dabur-Dabur%20At-a-Glance

The above pie-charts depict the market share of Dabur Chyavanprash which is 65% in
comparison to the market share of other brands of Chyavanprash.

Market Share for Hajmola

Dabur Hajmola Others

40%

60%

Source: http://www.dabur.com/About%20Dabur-Dabur%20At-a-Glance

The above pie-charts depict the market share of Dabur Hajmola which is 60% in comparison to
the market share of other digestive pills.

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4.8 Mr.Amitabh Bachchan—The new face of Dabur India Ltd:

Aristotle’s quotes: “Any brand can get a celebrity .That is easy. But getting a celebrity consistent
with a right brand, to the right degree at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right
way….that is not easy.”

Dabur as a brand has been very successful in implementing this quote by selecting the most
recognized face of Indian cinema—Mr.Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador.
Mr.Bachchan has been the face of Indian cinema for 4 decades now. He has not only established
a name for himself in Bollywood but has also been critically acclaimed for his work in
Hollywood. Mr.Bachchan has been associated with this brand for 8 years now.

One of the images portrayed by Mr.Bachchan is of a fatherly figure which is a reflection of his
core brand value of a savior. Brand AB symbolizes trust, esteem respectfulness and love for
people all over India. This brand AB has been built through years and has a rock solid
foundation. It is for this reason brands turn towards the brand AB whenever there is a need to
resurrect a bruised image. It is for this reason that Dabur signed Mr.Amitabh Bachchan as their
brand ambassador in the year 2003.

Mr.Bachchan till date is endorsing the star products of Dabur namely Dabur Honey, Dabur
Hajmola and Dabur Chyavanprash. The sales of these products have been on an increase from
the time Dabur has rebranded itself in 2003 and selected Mr.Amitabh Bachchan as their brand
ambassador .This combined with an efficient marketing strategy boosted the sales of Dabur to a
great extent.

In spite of Dabur having a legacy of over 100 years in the heath care sector it is only in a decade
that it has seen a phenomenal rise in its sales. With a net surges of 28.7%, to highest ever Rs
503.53 Crore, it has been undoubtedly the market leader for past few years. To cite an example
of the endorser’s credibility and impact of endorser’s credibility, Dabur had launched Hajmola
Tablet in the year 1978 but it’s only after 23 years it has been able to attract a major market
share. This definitely proves the credibility of Mr. Bachahan as an endorser.

Dabur has under its umbrella developed various skincare and oral care products too like Dabur
Lal Dant Manjan,Meswak,Dabur lal tel and Dabur Vatika to name a few. It is worth noting that
only the products of Dabur endorsed by Mr.Amitabh Bachchan occupy a major market share. For
example, the healthcare product of Dabur, Dabur Chyavanprash endorsed by Mr.Amitabh
Bachchan holds a whopping market share of 60% in the health care category.

Around five years ago, when Mr.Bachchan was introduced as the brand ambassador of Dabur
Chyavanprash, the masses connected to him very easily since the advertisement represented him
as a person having a raring attitude even at an age of 60 and him using Dabur Chyavanprash as
the main source of daily supplement to keep him fit. People actually connected to this campaign
very easily as Mr.Bachchan shares a great connect with the conservative as well as the modern
generation. Observing, a 60 year old gentleman to be active even at this age, propelled the

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masses to adopt the product endorsed by him easily, which they considered his secret of being
healthy.

Dabur Chyavanprash was just the beginning of a successful venture of brand AB with brand
Dabur. Spotting a phenomenal surge in the sales of Dabur Chyavanprash, Mr.Bachchan was also
introduced as the brand ambassador of another prime product of Dabur--Dabur Honey. This
product was branded by showcasing Mr.Bachchan as an elderly figure explaining a kid the
benefits of consuming honey in daily diet. The concept of using honey as a substitute for sugar
was first portrayed by Dabur by its “Cheeni ko maro Dhakka” campaign. In this campaign Dabur
wisely strategized Mr.Bachchan’s stardom and it became a instant hit among the health-
conscious group of people. Recently, Dabur India has roped in Ravi Kishan to endorse its
Chyawanprash brand exclusively for localized promotional activities through direct interaction
with consumers, dealers and stockists, particularly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. 

4.9 The darker side:

Often the celebrities don’t realize the kind of product they are endorsing and the impact a
promotion can have on their image. A classic example is that of Mr. Harbhajan Singh one the
most popular cricketers with a great fan following .He being a youth icon promoted ‘Royal Stag’
brand which is into manufacturing of alcohol. For the promotion of this product Mr. Singh had to
unwind his turban..Turban unwinding is considered a taboo in the Sikh Community and this act
of disregard by Mr. Singh towards the community did the hurt the sentiments of Sikh
Community. It also created a negative impression in the minds of his fans.

Another problem is that in many cases the features of the product do not compliment with the
features of the celebrity. When such a problem arises it leads to a dilemma in the consumer’s
mind regarding the features of the product and the features of the celebrity connected with the
brand as well. This often occurs when the endorsee fails to understand the relation of the
endorser with the product.

This was prominently seen in the case of Mr.Bachchan endorsing Pepsi. Mr.Bachchan is
associated with Pepsi as a brand from 1998.He has been endorsing Pepsi as a brand for
approximately 12 years now.

The carbonated soft-drink industry was under the scanner of Health Ministry in the year
2003.This was because of the report produced by various Government Agencies which cited that
these beverages contained pesticides in subsequent quantities posing a threat to consumers
health. These threats included Diabetes, Tooth Decay & various intestinal problems.

During this controversial year which tarnished the image of Pepsi as a brand for a considerable
period didn’t have an impact on Mr.Bachchan’s promotion of Pepsi. But, the consumers were
baffled by the very fact that Pepsi being an unhealthy drink was still being promoted by
Mr.Bachchan on a national level. This created serious apprehensions in the minds of consumers

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about the credibility of the brand as well as the endorser. Though the sales of Pepsi were not
affected during this period but some doubts about Mr.Bachchan as a brand ambassador of Pepsi
were definitely raised. Due to the age and status of Mr.Bachchan, he is viewed by the youth as an
advisory figure. But, Pepsi utilizing this role of Mr.Bachchan as an advisory, sent a negative
message among the consumer that Pepsi could be consumed in spite of its health hazards. This
gave ample room for various questions to be raised about the credibility of Mr.Bachchan as a
brand.

But, this was not seen in case of various other endorsers endorsing Pepsi as these endorsers were
all from a younger generation and Pepsi being portrayed a drink for the youth didn’t have an
impact on the image of these young endorsers. Their role was accurately justified in various
campaigns of Pepsi, be it the “Yeh Dil Maange More”, “Oye Bubbly” &“Yeh Pyaas hai Badi”.
As these campaigns focused more on the youth, Mr. Bachchan was a slight misfit in all these
campaigns and this was only because of his age.

It’s a normal trend followed by all celebrities across the globe, to endorse more than one product
at a time. But while doing so, they often fail to understand the contrasting characters of the
products they are endorsing. In the veil of fame they don’t realize the impact two contrasting
products will have on their credibility. Even if these celebrities are not openly criticized for their
contrasting associations it definitely creates a dilemma in the minds of the consumers.

Generally, an endorsee foresees two requirements in a celebrity endorsement-

1) A celebrity who attracts attention

2) A celebrity who can provide associative benefit

A celebrity, who attracts attention, ensures that the target group is attacked by the brand,
breaking the normal trend of advertisement and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.
This marketing strategy was clearly seen in the ad campaigns of Pepsi, when they introduced
Mr.Bachchan with a big bang in its television commercials and it grabbed eyeballs.

The other parameter is to hire a celebrity who can provide associative benefit, that means
celebrity’s preference for a brand gives out a persuasive message because the celebrity is
benefiting from the brand hence the consumer will also be benefitted. This strategy was
predominantly executed by Dabur India, which took advantage of Mr.Bachchan’s advisory role
to engrain in minds of consumers the advantages of consuming Dabur honey and Dabur
Chyavanprash.

But when, Mr.Bachchcan simultaneously endorsed Dabur as well as Pepsi, a clear dissonance
was created in the minds of the consumers regarding Mr.Bachchan as an endorser.

This was because, on one hand he was endorsing Pepsi, which was considered to be unhealthy
for consumption and at the same time he was promoting Dabur Chyavanprash and Dabur honey

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both of which are health supplements. Due to this a general consumer could not make a clear
demarcation regarding the features of these two products associated with credentials of
Mr.Bachchan. The major reason for this dilemma was because he was endorsing two products
simultaneously which belonged to two contrasting categories that is, Dabur Chyavanprash and
Dabur honey as health supplements and Pepsi as an unhealthy carbonated drink.

Confusion not only arises when a celebrity endorses products in contrasting categories but also
when he /she endorse two products in the same category. This leads to an ambiguity in buying
decision of a consumer.

For instance, recently Dabur Chyavanprash faced a unique perception issue. The brand was
perceived to be a health supplement for both the kids as well as elderly. However, the younger
generation felt that the brand was not relevant for them. They had a perception that the product
was meant only for older people. Although Big B provided huge equity to the brand, still the
perception of the brand was not changed in the minds of the youth.

To break this perception, Dabur started a new campaign featuring the Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni made the brand attractive to the younger generation. The success of Dhoni as a cricketer
and as a captain gave added advantage to the brand. The brand also changed the packaging. The
new packaging with a lot of red color symbolized the activity and alertness. The bottle shape also
had been made more modern. Chyavanprash also had a new logo which reinforced the new
targeting. The brand had done away with the earlier tagline “Zaroorat Hai”. The new tagline was
“Fit body, Active Mind”.

As in the case of any successful celebrity, Dhoni also faced the issue of over exposure. In the
health drink category he was endorsing Boost, which was a competitor for Chyavanprash in a
broader sense. When the first commercial of Chyavanprash hit the market, some of the viewers
actually mistook the ad for Boost. The background setup of both the Boost ad and Chyavanprash
ad were quite similar. Both the ads even used the same color red and Dhoni as the brand
ambassador.

With such advertisements consumers couldn’t distinctly associate Dhoni with either of the brand.
This directly affected the sales of Boost as a product. If Dhoni was not endorsing any other
health drinks this campaign could have produced greater results.

While selecting a celebrity as endorser, the company has to decide the promotional objective of
the brand and how far the celebrity image matches with it. The selection is in fact collaboration
between the company and the celebrity.

The most important attribute for a celebrity endorser is its trustworthiness. The target audience
must trust a celebrity’s image and it must match with the product.

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The second attribute in order of importance is likeability. The celebrity also must be accepted as
a popular icon by a large cross section of the audience.

Companies use celebrity endorser because they are considered to have stopping power that is, a
celebrity can be very useful tool to draw attention to advertising messages in a cluttered media
environment. The overall popular image coupled with the exact product image match enhances
the consumer attention resulting in greater brand recall.

Similarity between the target audience and the celebrity is the third important attribute. The bond
of similarity between the endorser and the receiver increases the level of persuasiveness.

Now when we have given all the credibility to the celebrity, it is also important that the product
should equally live up to the expectation of the masses. In the case of Dabur Chyavanprash this
was true and the combination of good product and equally good celebrity created magic in the
market. But this was not held true in the case of one of the products of Maruti Udyog Ltd--
“Maruti Versa”. This product was also endorsed by Mr.Bachchan but it failed miserably in the
Indian market as it failed to live up to the expectation of the masses. This case clearly stated that
it is important for a product to perform well in the market and just having a great celebrity as an
endorser cannot make any product a star of the market.

Maruti had launched India’s first luxury multipurpose vehicle ‘VERSA’, with much hype in
2001. Versa had a dream launch because, Maruti roped in Big B as Mr. Bachchan completely
complemented the above mentioned parameters. Maruti also hired Abhishek Bachchan to target
youth and portray the concept of Family Car. The commercial featuring father son duo was a big
hit at that point of time. The tag line of the brand was positioned as “Two luxury cars at the price
of one”. Despite the dream launch Versa failed to generate volume. The basic issue was the
price. Those enthusiastic customers who flocked the showroom after viewing the ads were
shocked by the steep price of Versa. The ad portrayed the car to be a good fit in the budget of
middle income group people and the trustworthiness of Amitabh as a brand made the customers
flock the showroom. However, the consumers were then disappointed to find out that the car was
priced way beyond their expected budget. Maruti was totally wrong in estimating the customer’s
perception of price in this case. It was a little paradoxical because the company had blockbuster
products like Maruti 800 and Alto which was in sync with Indian consumer’s price value
equation. In the case of Versa, Maruti went a little too ambitious. This clearly showcases a
celebrity’s influence on the buying decision of the consumer.

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5. Conclusion & Findings:

“If commerce is the engine of our economy, then advertising is the spark. Responsible
advertisers are the drivers who keep us on the right track, leading to a richer, more benevolent
society.”__ Brain Philcox

All the case studies discussed above indicate that there has to be a strong association and connect
between the brand and the endorser. It is estimated that 60% of sales of any product of Dabur
comes from celebrity endorsements. Before selecting an endorser the endorsee must ensure that
the product and the endorser have something in common so that the consumers can easily
connect to the endorser which will lead to a connection with the brand. The more positive this
connection, the stronger is the equity of the brand and endorser in the market. Nowadays the
companies are fussing on using a celebrity not only as a endorser but also as a spokes- person for
the brand. For example. Amitabh Bachchan selling financial instruments of ICICI as branch
manager in the movie Baghban. This new trend thus emphasizes the importance of celebrity in
the advertising industry. These celebrities not only carry the tag of the brand but also are
responsible to create an intangible value of the brand in the market. It is only for this reason that
Mr. Bachchan is seen endorsing various products in different categories.

With this additional responsibility on the shoulders of endorsers it becomes very important for
them to be responsible in creating the right image and value for the brand in the market. With
such a huge responsibility it becomes imperative for them to select the brand wisely so that they
can maintain a good repute of the product as well as for them in the market. Such responsible
behavior will not only maintain the brand credibility but also increase brand equity of a product.

Along with this it is also important that the endorsee analyzes his product, for its features and its
attributes before selecting a celebrity as an endorser of his product. It is normally seen that when
the endorsee is unable to get the product-endorser equation right only then the product fails
miserably in the market, unless the product lacks the required features expected by the
consumers. All these aspects of celebrity endorsement when combined in a right mix ease the
confusion in the buyers mind, furthermore it is important for both, the endorser and the endorsee
to consider ethical and the business perspective.

6. Suggestions & Recommendations:

1) The need of the hour for advertisement industry is to promote consumer-centric

advertising.
2) The endorsee and the endorser should both understand that a product is not mere an
agent for minting money but a medium to satisfy consumers need.

Total Word Count: 4443 Words

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http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=2643_Amitabh+Bachchan+debuts+for+Pepsi

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http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/pepsi-to-openamitabh-sachin-this-
summer/106016/

http://www.dabur.com

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/earnings/india-sales-help-pepsico-
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