Industry experts say the Ogilvy India campaign is an indication of his versatility as an ambassador from the suave to the action-oriented persona
The past few months have been quite eventful for Shah Rukh Khan, the ‘King of Bollywood’. Despite being in the centre of controversies lately, SRK’s recent campaign for Thums Up shows there’s nothing really that can cause a dent in his brand value.
In this campaign, Khan has showed a side of his personality that has quite been on the backburner since Raees (2017). He has hardly ever taken up this image in his brand endorsements – the adrenaline gushing bad man beating opponents on top of a running train. The campaign has been created by Ogilvy India and the ad industry feels the star power of Khan holds despite all the controversies and challenges looming around.
Business strategist and marketing expert Lloyd Mathias says, “Thums Up signing on Shah Rukh Khan is indicative that SRK is still a much-in-demand brand ambassador with enduring value. Also, an indication of his versatility as an ambassador from the suaver to the action-oriented.”
Brand-nomics MD Viren Razdan adds, “The campaign comes at a time when Thums Up has been declared a billion-dollar brand. SRK’s appeal still stays steady and it is a demonstration of his continued appeal.”
The action mode
After tasting immense success in India, Thums Up is now gearing up for global positioning and having Khan on board makes complete sense, say industry experts. And Shah Rukh’s macho, James Bond-like image, which also merges well with the core brand propositioning, will work largely in the brand’s favour.
Communication consultant and brand expert Karthik Srinivasan shares, “Thums Up has always worked with leading male action stars of each season - Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Mahesh Babu and Ranveer Singh, among others. So, it makes perfect sense to choose arguably India's biggest star, who is also known for his big-budget action roles, to endorse the brand. Given the limited new releases in films due to the pandemic, and the increased presence of OTT/streaming platforms, the big-screen/larger-than-life star model has taken a bit of a hit in India. There are a few stars who transcend frequent movie releases to retain their star value, and Shah Rukh Khan is one such star. Shah Rukh Khan has played such characters in quite a few of his films, including
Don,
Main Hoon Na, and
One 2 Ka 4, among others. So, I believe it fits perfectly with what fans expect out of him as also the Thums Up brand ethos.”
Mathias goes on to say Khan makes for a continuity in star association transiting from Salman Khan, and the ability to drive its ‘Taste the Thunder’ tag line for the brand. “The campaign is an interesting switch with SRK getting into the action mode, very different from his other recent campaigns. I think fans would enjoy this new James Bond-like take of their favourite star not seen in the movies since
Don. Refreshing the campaign with SRK should help Thums Up, lift its brand salience at the beginning of summer.”
But what’s the cola brand’s affinity with middle-aged men
While Razdan is quite impressed by the campaign and choice of Shah Rukh Khan for it, he has an important question to ask – right from Akshay Kumar to Salman Khan, to Shah Rukh Khan, why are cola brands snuggling up with middle-aged actors?
“55 must be the new 25! Otherwise, brands with a core of young have extended to the ‘youthful’ at any age and continue. To do so across - with SRK on Thums Up and Salman on Pepsi. The choice of the new generation must have really changed.” he quips.
