Rise of the South Star: Why Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Rashmika Mandanna are now faces of national brand campaigns 

’Tis the age of the South star. After dominating the pan-India box office in the last 15-18 months, and then winning global attention in the form of Golden Globes and Academy Awards, Telugu superstars Ram Charan and Jr NTR are now all over the small screen — through ads, especially in the ongoing IPL season. 

Both actors have been roped in by prominent national FMCG brands such as Frooti and Appy Fizz, and are now frequenting our screens in between overs, after wickets, during post-match shows, and so on. While both their agreements were drawn before the RRR juggernaut — Appy Fizz and Frooti-maker Parle Ago had roped in Jr NTR as its Southern region brand ambassador in 2019, while Ram Charan came on board in early 2022 — but it’s only now that their visibility has increased significantly on national channels.

Ram Charan features in a new Frooti ad with Alia Bhatt (who has been the brand’s national ambassador for a while), while Jr NTR appears in a pan-India Appy Fizz commercial with Kriti Sanon. Brand experts call the proliferation of Southern stars in pan-India ads the “new fusion formula” that is likely to go beyond advertising and enter cinema and OTT as well. “This fusion is to show that Bollywood still has some relevance, while marketers follow the eyeballs on the Southern stars,” brand-strategy specialist and consultant Harish Bijoor told Business Today. 

He elaborated further: “Southern stars have redefined the way marketers are looking at India and its passions. Earlier, India was defined as a country which had two religions - cricket and Bollywood. But 2022 was all about Southern cinema and the dominant names that got eyeballs. And marketers love to go where the eyeballs are.” 

It all started with Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise. Industry insiders say he now fetches a “huge premium” over his Bollywood peers when it comes to ad fees, post the roaring success of his film. 

According to Bijoor, some of the top South stars are now charging 8X of their earlier fees (pre-2020) for brand partnerships. Although Bijoor doesn't reveal specific details, given his brand consultancy works with some of these actors. However, as per him, each of these stars has hiked their rates with new brands. “And when brands spend nearly 65 per cent of their annual ad budgets in the short duration of IPL, they want sureshot success. For now, South stars seem to be sureshot success,” Bijoor said.  

Appy Fizz, in fact, is also an associate sponsor for the TATA IPL this season. It unveiled a new campaign that will play out during the entire run of the 74-match tournament. “This season’s summer campaign for Appy Fizz is shedding its old look and marking a new chapter in its prolific legacy. We are celebrating this elevated identity in a massive way as our brand ambassadors, Kriti Sanon and Jr NTR join forces for a memorable multi-channel campaign,” Nadia Chauhan, Joint MD & CMO, Parle Agro had said in an earlier statement. 

Most national brands today understand the “face value” of the South star, and are roping them in for wider pan-India campaigns. “It is working well for them because they don’t have to shoot other ads with other stars. And they can have a greater national footprint instead of playing only on regional TV,” Manish Porwal, MD, Alchemist Marketing & Talent Solutions, told Business Today.

All this boils down to a straightforward “demand-supply equation”, observed Porwal. “Earlier, it was Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth coming into Hindi movies. But, starting with Baahubali, Pushpa, and then RRR and Naatu Naatu becoming extremely famous, there is far more acceptability of Southern language cinema and dubbed content today,” he explained. “The day this demand goes down, this whole trend will also start reversing,” he added.

But that seems unlikely, at least in the short term, with sequels to blockbusters like Pushpa already on the way. Add to that, Jr NTR was recently roped in to star in a sequel to YRF film War along with Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. 

So, essentially, it all goes back to the idea of “fusion”. 

Even though the actors are taking supremacy when it comes to ad fees and the number of brands lining up for them, Southern actresses aren’t too far behind. The likes of Rashmika Mandanna, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Tamannah Bhatia are also making their pan-India presence felt. Mandanna, along with Allu Arjun, made it to the list of India’s top 25 celebrities for the first time in 2022-23, according to Kroll’s brand valuation report. 

Earlier in 2023, Mandanna was also roped in by PepsiCo as the brand ambassador of its lemon-flavoured beverage 7UP. “Rashmika with her refreshing and lively personality has quickly become one of the most loved youth icons of India and is truly a great match for 7UP. Her wide appeal and strong fan following will help us widen our reach across a diverse consumer demographic,” Naseeb Puri, Senior Marketing Director, Energy, Hydration & Flavours, PepsiCo India, said in a statement.

Mandanna was even appointed as the brand ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers earlier this year. Ruth Prabhu, meanwhile, is the ambassador for brands such as Mamaearth, Myntra, Lux, Tommy Hilfiger, and other pan-India brands. Bhatia too has endorsement deals with popular brands like SUGAR Cosmetics, Reebok, and Volkswagen. All these companies are rushing to sign up stars who can cut across geographies and represent them everywhere.

“While most brands catering to the Hindi-speaking markets would continue to partner with Bollywood celebrities, the rise of South Indian superstars will impact the endorsement landscape at least for the next few years,” Kroll stated.