Male movie actors played a significant role in brand endorsements, commanding 42% of the total ad endorsement market, according to TAM AdEx Celebrity Endorsement Report 2024. Additionally, celebrities had a strong influence on television advertising, endorsing over 25% of all ads aired.
From the celebrity professions, film stars together added 77% share of advertising during 2024 followed by sports personalities and TV stars that added 14% and 9% share respectively.
According to the report, in 2024, ad volumes for celebrity-endorsed commercials saw a 3% growth compared to 2023, highlighting the sustained influence of star power in advertising. The celebrity-endorsed ads witnessed a decline of 8% in 2023 and 6% in 2024 compared to 2022. The IPL season significantly boosted advertising activity, making the April–June 2024 quarter the peak period for daily ad volumes (measured in hours).
Highest ad volumes share observed during May 2024 and lowest share seen during Dec 2024. An average share of ad volumes during 1st half of 2024 was 9% while in 2nd half it decreased and registered 7.7% share.
During April-June 2024, highest celebrity endorsement ads were seen compared to the other three quarters of 2024.
More than 50% of the ads endorsed by celebrities fall under Top 3 sectors and 80% of the ads fall under Top 7 sectors. ‘F&B’ sector had the highest share of celebrity ad volumes followed by ‘Personal Care/Personal Hygiene’. Four out of Top 10 sectors have the same rank position for current year to last year, the report stated.
In 2024, the F&B sector saw a strong male celebrity presence in advertisements, while Personal Care/Personal Hygiene was predominantly endorsed by female celebrities, reflecting gendered marketing trends in these industries. Advertisements in the Agriculture, Telecom/Internet Service Providers, and Media sectors exclusively featured male celebrity endorsers, highlighting a lack of female representation in these categories.
The top 10 advertising categories collectively contributed 35% of all celebrity-endorsed ads.
‘Toilet/Floor Cleaners’ emerged as the leading category in 2024, commanding 9% of celebrity ad volumes, followed by ‘Toilet Soaps’ at 5%, highlighting the strong reliance of hygiene-focused brands on celebrity endorsements.
According to the report, ‘Ecom-Gaming’ emerged as the most sought-after category, attracting celebrity endorsements from a diverse range of professions, followed closely by ‘Spices’, reflecting the broad appeal and marketing potential of these sectors.
Akshay Kumar dominated TV advertising in 2024, with 20 hrs of daily visibility across all channels, making him the most visible celebrity. Shah Rukh Khan followed closely behind with 16 hours per day, reinforcing his enduring influence in brand endorsements.
The Top 10 most visible celebrities comprised 6 male and 4 female stars, showcasing a strong male presence in brand promotions. M.S. Dhoni, Kiara Advani, and Ranbir Kapoor were new entrants in the 2024 Top 10 list, compared to 2023, the report stated.
Notably, M.S. Dhoni emerged as the most sought-after celebrity, endorsing the highest number of brands in 2024. Four celebrities- M.S. Dhoni, Kareena Kapoor, Kiara Advani, and Madhuri Dixit- expanded their brand associations in 2024, securing more endorsements than in 2023.
50% ads were endorsed by four celebrity couples – Akshay Kumar/Twinkal Khanna, Ranbir Kapoor/Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma/Virat Kohli and Amitabh Bachchan/Jaya Bachchan and the couples had endorsed 35, 46, 28 and 51 brands respectively during 2024.
