Celebrity-led television advertising in India has remained a major branding driver in 2025, even as overall endorsement volumes have softened year-on-year, according to the latest TAM AdEx report. Celebrities have featured in 27% of all TV ad volumes, with film stars continuing to dominate endorsement share and consumer-facing FMCG categories leading spending on star-backed campaigns.
The report has shown that film celebrities have accounted for 73% of total celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, underscoring Bollywood’s continued influence on mass-media advertising. At the same time, shifting category priorities, evolving endorsement patterns, and changing visibility rankings have reflected how brands are recalibrating celebrity marketing amid audience fragmentation and media saturation in 2025.
Celebrity-endorsed TV ad volumes have declined in 2025 compared to 2023–24, after recording a 3% increase in 2024 over 2023. Advertising activity has remained seasonally skewed, with the April–June quarter continuing to drive peak ad volumes due to IPL-linked media buying. March 2025 has recorded the highest monthly share of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, while December has seen the lowest share, highlighting year-end softening in TV ad spends.
Quarter-wise, April–June has continued to deliver the highest share of celebrity ad volumes across both 2024 and 2025. However, 2025 has shown a front-loaded trend, with stronger ad concentration in the first half of the year compared to 2024, which performed better in the latter half.
From a sector standpoint, Food & Beverages has led celebrity-endorsed TV ads with a 24% share, followed by Personal Care/Personal Hygiene at 16% and Household Products at 10%. Together, the top three sectors have accounted for nearly 50% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, while the top seven sectors have contributed 79%, underscoring category concentration. Other key sectors have included Personal Healthcare (8%), Building & Industrial Materials (8%), Services (8%), Laundry (7%), Hair Care (6%), Banking/Finance (3%), and Auto (3%).
Gender patterns in endorsements have remained uneven. Across the top 10 sectors, male and female celebrity representation has averaged a 60:40 split. The Food & Beverages sector has skewed heavily male at 64%, while Personal Care/Personal Hygiene has been dominated by female celebrities at 61%. Additionally, sectors such as Computers, Agriculture, and Media have featured only male celebrity endorsers, pointing to persistent gender gaps in category representation.
At the category level, the top 10 categories have contributed 40% of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Toilet and Floor Cleaners have led with a 9% share, followed by Toilet Soaps (5%), Washing Powders/Liquids (5%), Aerated Soft Drinks (5%), Paints (4%), Building Materials/Systems (3%), Digestives (3%), Tea (2%), Milk Beverages (2%), and Hair Dyes (2%), reinforcing hygiene and FMCG dominance in celebrity advertising.
In terms of celebrity breadth, Ecom-Gaming has emerged as the category attracting the highest number of celebrity endorsers, with 41 celebrities, followed by Ecom-Media/Entertainment/Social Media (34), Building Materials/Systems (32), Spices (30), Retail Jewellers (28), Paints (25), Real Estate (23), Edible Oil (22), Perfumes/Deodorants (19), and Hosiery (19), reflecting the growing pull of digital-first and lifestyle-driven endorsement categories.
Shah Rukh Khan has emerged as the most visible celebrity on Indian television in 2025, accounting for a 10% share of celebrity ad visibility and averaging nearly 30 hours of daily on-screen ad presence. M.S. Dhoni has ranked second with around 20 hours of daily visibility, followed by Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Rahul Dravid, Ananya Panday, Karan Wahi, Ranbir Kapoor, and Vicky Kaushal, each contributing approximately 2% share. The Top 10 list has included only one female celebrity, Ananya Panday, highlighting continued male dominance in endorsement visibility.
On brand endorsement volume, M.S. Dhoni has led all celebrities by endorsing 59 brands in 2025, up from 52 in 2024, making him the most commercially active celebrity endorser. Shah Rukh Khan has followed with 41 brands (up from 36), while Amitabh Bachchan (38), Kareena Kapoor (31), Madhuri Dixit (28), Ajay Devgn (25), Akshay Kumar (24), Ranbir Kapoor (24), Hrithik Roshan (23), and Sourav Ganguly (22) have completed the top 10. Notably, Dhoni, SRK, Ranbir Kapoor, and Hrithik Roshan have expanded their endorsement portfolios in 2025 compared to 2024.
Celebrity couple endorsements have also remained a strong format on TV. Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have topped the list with a 14% share across 37 brands, followed by Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli (13%, 19 brands), Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh (13%, 28 brands), and Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan (10%, 38 brands). Collectively, the top four celebrity couples have accounted for nearly 50% of all couple-led celebrity endorsements in 2025, highlighting the growing commercial appeal of paired star narratives.
Overall, the TAM AdEx report has indicated that film stars have continued to dominate celebrity TV advertising with a 73% share, ad volumes have softened in 2025 after prior growth, March has delivered the highest monthly celebrity ad share, Food & Beverages, Personal Care, and Household Products have driven the bulk of endorsements, Ecom-Gaming has attracted the widest range of celebrity endorsers, Shah Rukh Khan has led in visibility, and M.S. Dhoni has topped brand endorsement counts in 2025.
