Brand Amitabh may get costly post-illness

Amitabh Bachchan struck a Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) deal with Dabur for endorsing Chawanprash. ICICI Bank paid him Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) to sign him as its brand ambassador.

Now, his charges are set to treble, if the marketing gurus are to be believed, as he will get choosier about the brands he promotes after his recovery from illness.

The view in the marketing fraternity seems to be that Brand Amitabh Bachchan is now going to get hotter and marketers are now going make a beeline to rope in the icon.

Sunil Alagh, managing director, SKA Advisors said: "Anything riding a sympathetic wave is always hot. What is in question is if the high acceptability could be sustained."

Marketing consultants said the next set of commercials, which will feature Bachchan after his comeback will push interest levels up dramatically as the viewers wait to catch a glimpse of his performance post illness.

Jagdeep Kapoor, head of Samsika Consultants, pointed out that Bachchan would be selective which would fuel his brand value. Marketing industry sources said Bachchan would now looking at endorsing brands that would actually make a good fit. Kapoor added, "I see sensible brand extensions taking place and advertisers moving from a singular Bachchan to the Bachchan family."

Preeta Singh, CEO, Percept D'Mark (experimental brand marketing), said that the company had received a lot of enquiries for Amitabh Bachchan as well as for a both Amitabh and Abhishek together.

The consensus clearly is that Bachchan will continue to be hot as he has been in the media. What is also true, is that while his illness may have caused his physical absence, his presence continued to dominate the small screen.

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