Aamir lands biggest ad deal ( Strikes Rs 35-Cr Three-Year Deal With Telco Etisalat )
Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad is tearing up the record books once again, and suddenly it seems that Aal Eez Well with the Indian advertising space. Well, Aamir Khan has just landed the biggest endorsement deal in Indian advertising history.
He will promote new telecom entrant, UAE’s Etisalat, for Rs 30-35 crore for three years, kicking in some fresh energy into the Indian advertising segment that has been licking its wounds from the financial slowdown.
Mr Khan, along with his Bollywood competitor Shah Rukh Khan, already commands the biggest rates, pegged at Rs 6-8 crore per year per endorsement.
However, the figures pale in the light of the billion-dollar life-time endorsement that golf legend Tiger Woods signed, and the $70-million deal that Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova bagged early this month from Nike for eight years.
An Etisalat official told ET that the deal was inked before the release of 3 Idiots, where Mr Khan plays the iconoclastic Rancho.
The movie, that was released last month, notched up Rs 240 crore from box office collections in the domestic and the international markets during its first 10 days, making it the biggest box office grosser in the history of Indian cinema.
The Bollywood superstar already promotes brands such as Parle, Coca-Cola, Tata Sky and Samsung. Telecom cos rope in celebrity endorsers
“THE association with Aamir has done wonders for us; he strives for perfection and he’s a complete brand fit that goes beyond being just another celebrity endorsement association,” said Tata Sky chief marketing officer Vikram Mehra.
Mr Khan was not immediately available for comments.
Other telecom companies already have one star endorser each. While Shah Rukh endorses Bharti Airtel, Aircel is endorsed by India cricket captain MS Dhoni. Vodafone’s animated mascot — the eggshell ZooZoo — which debuted with the second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, is already a sensation.
