MUMBAI: For years, the world of endorsements was straddled by India?s two biggest stars-Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan-with each commanding anywhere from Rs 3 to 7 crore per soap, bank or car they lent their name, voice or smile to.

But the pecking order has changed. On top of the heap is the one-film-a-year star, Aamir Khan, with a reported rate card of Rs 12 to Rs 14 crore. Close on his heels is the muscular Akshay Kumar, who is said to have asked for Rs 10 crore before he agreed to slip on a pair of Levis-501 Original Button fly jeans.


The 43-year-old Aamir pops up regularly in every other commercial break, for Titan, Coke, Samsung Mobile, Parle-G biscuits, The Tourism Ministry of India and Tata Sky?s cross-gender spoof. ?Most of these are one-year contracts and at the end of the year, his fee is revised,?? says an industry source.

?Want instant consumer connect? Sign a Bollywood superstar. That?s been the mantra of advertisers for nearly a decade,?? says the award-winning ad man Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson.

Sunil Doshi of Alliance Media and Entertainment, who has worked with the Bachchans on several commercials, adds that since advertisers are always on the lookout for new faces, the brand ambassadors usually change every few years. ?While Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan will take over from the Khan troika of Shah Rukh-Salman-Aamir, the new faces of Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan, are being looked at for a dozen commercials.

It?s only a matter of time before these two youngsters get bombarded with offers ,?? he says. ?However, there are some brands which prefer to stick to one celebrity. Say, Dabur, which still wants Bachchan because of the respectability he brings.

As far as the women go, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may have lost the Nakshatra diamond campaign to Katrina Kaif, but she can?t be written off yet. An executive says that Katrina reportedly got paid much less than Aish for the same product. Katrina and Kareena Kapoor, are the ad heroines of the moment.

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