Salman Khan regains his fizz with a Pepsi endorsement years after Coke drops him

Advertisement
Salman Khan regains his fizz with a Pepsi endorsement years after Coke drops him
  • Thumbs Up had dropped Khan as its brand ambassador in 2016 for a younger star, Ranveer Singh.

  • He had also lost another endorsement Revital to a much younger icon and top cricketer M S Dhoni.

  • Khan’s Dabbang 3 is one of the most talked-about movies of the year, and Pepsi has tied up with it too.

Advertisement

Bollywood ka bhaiSalman Khan lost a lot after he was convicted of a hit and run case, back in 2002. One of them was a Thumbs Up brand endorsement. Coca-Cola which owns the brand, dropped him as its brand ambassador amid severe backlash.

Yet, years later, Khan became the unceremonious King of cinema and they brought him back in 2012 — only to drop him again in 2016. Except this time around, he was not being a bad boy, but an old man.

Thumbs Up, which had cashed in on his ‘macho image’ which is synonymous with the brand, wanted a ‘younger’ brand ambassador. They chose not to renew Khan’s contract and went with Ranveer Singh instead.

As per reports, the brand wanted a star who had more appeal with ‘millennials’ — Singh’s forte. The very same year, Khan lost yet another endorsement — Revital — to a much younger icon and one of the top cricketers in the country, M S Dhoni.

Luck turns around for Khan

Advertisement

The 53-year old Khan has not lost relevance with his audience. This year, he delivered a superhit with Bharat which clocked in ₹325 crore. And this time around, Pepsi picked him to from the ‘effortlessly cool’ image of Khan.

“Over the last year, SWAG has been the underlying message throughout Brand Pepsi’s campaigns, celebrating the innate self-belief of the Indian consumer today. In 2020, we look forward to building the brand’s Har Ghoont Mein Swag proposition with Salman in 2020,” said Pepsi in a press release.

Unlike Thumbs Up, Pepsi believes that its new 360-degree campaign will reflect the self-confidence in today’s youth. More importantly, Pepsi also brought Khan in at an interesting juncture. Dabbang 3, which is all set to release in December, is one of the most talked-about movies and has been trending on social media. And, as expected, Pepsi has tied up with the movie as well. The sneak preview shows Khan promoting Pepsi with his signature Dabangg moustache.

In addition, the reality show Big Boss, which is currently streaming and hosted by Khan, is the top rated show in the country. Even though he only appears on the show once a week, the episode featuring him is the most-watched during the 7-day cycle.

Maybe that is why Khan had remained a ‘bhai’ to his audiences in spite of his age.

Advertisement




{{}}