In a year dominated by celebrity endorsements, Akshay Kumar emerged as the most visible face on television, with an average of 20 hours of daily ad visibility, according to the TAM AdEx report on TV advertising trends in 2024. Shah Rukh Khan followed closely with 16 hours per day. The report highlights that M.S. Dhoni endorsed the highest number of brands in 2024, solidifying his position as the most sought-after celebrity for endorsements. Overall, celebrity-led advertisements constituted 25% of all ads aired, with film stars accounting for 77% of the total ad volume, reinforcing Bollywood’s stronghold in brand promotions.
The data underscores the continued dominance of male movie actors in advertising, commanding 42% of the total endorsement market. Film stars collectively contributed 77% of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, followed by sports personalities at 14% and TV actors at 9%. The Indian Premier League (IPL) season significantly boosted celebrity ad volumes, making April–June the peak period for advertising activity, with May recording the highest share. In contrast, December saw the lowest ad volume share for celebrity endorsements.
Among industries, the Food & Beverage (F&B) sector saw the highest share of celebrity-endorsed ads, followed by Personal Care and Hygiene, which was largely endorsed by female celebrities. Interestingly, advertisements in the Agriculture, Telecom, and Media sectors exclusively featured male celebrities, pointing to a lack of female representation in these categories. The E-commerce gaming sector emerged as the most sought-after category for celebrity endorsements, attracting talent from diverse professions, followed closely by the ‘Spices’ category.
While celebrity endorsements saw a 3% increase in ad volumes compared to 2023, this growth followed a decline of 8% in 2023 and 6% in 2022, indicating some fluctuation in the effectiveness of star power in advertising. The top 10 celebrity endorsers featured six male and four female stars, reflecting the male-dominated landscape of television endorsements. New entrants to the top 10 list included M.S. Dhoni, Kiara Advani, and Ranbir Kapoor, with the former securing the most brand endorsements across categories.
Celebrity couples played a crucial role in advertising, with 50% of celebrity-endorsed ads featuring four power couples—Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, and Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Together, these couples endorsed over 160 brands in 2024. The data also reveals that more than 50% of celebrity-endorsed ads fell within the top three industry sectors, while 80% were concentrated in the top seven industry categories, emphasising the targeted nature of celebrity-led marketing.
Despite growing competition from influencer-driven marketing, television remains a stronghold for celebrity endorsements, particularly in high-visibility categories.