is auto majors betting on film stars?

Posted at July 31st, 2007 under Auto specials |  Print This Post

Monsoon rains will make demand for motors more sluggish so auto companies are set to step on the marketing gas by roping in film stars as their brand ambassadors. Traditionally starting july this quarter is believed to be lean period for both two and four wheelers so a dash of filmy spice isn’t at all unwelcome. Particularly in two-wheeler sector where largest seller motorcycles are already clocking a negative growth. Things aren’t expected to improve till September kicks in depreciation driven demand therefore auto majors are opting for film stars to counter the drop in sales. And with our “men in blue” battling billion battles ranging from form, fortune and future(yet to return sucessful from england), film stars has become the only destination for auto manufacturers. Particularly in the ungeared scooter/scooterette segment. The latest to join the brandwagon is TVS which has just announced that it has signed on popular southern actress Trisha Krishnan as its brand ambassador for the Scooty PEP. According to the TVS motors, Trisha, who is currently one of the most popular actresses in South, represents “confidence, style and contemporariness” which is what she will stand for as the brand ambassador for Scooty PEP. Like Hero Honda’s Pleasure, the Scooty PEP is also targetted at young college girls and working women. A four stroke, sub-100 CC scooterette, it’s positioned as a convenient and contemporary transport option for women.

TVS of course isn’t the only company to be courting celluloid damsels. Hero Honda has roped in Priyanka Chopra to be brand ambassador for Pleasure.TVS’s earlier brand ambassador for PEP was the zippy Priety Zinta while other bike-makers like Yamaha have John Abraham as their style icons. Roping in cine stars as brand ambassadors isn’t new in the auto industry, particularly in two wheelers. But so far, it was only Hero Honda (Hrithik Roshan) and occasionally Bajaj Auto (remember Jackie Chan) that went for the starstudded strategy. Now, though, everyone is jumping on to the brandwagon. General Motors has Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee, Toyota had Aamir Khan and Hyundai has Sania mirza, Shah Rukh Khan and Priety Zinta. The preponderance of cine stars is understandable given that many saleable cricketers are now out of marketer favour. TVS for instance used Sachin Tendulkar for the Victor. And Hero Honda has a whole bunch of cricketers signed on for specific commercials.

source: Economictimes