Is the million dollars Bonanza for Cricket stars over?

Gone are the days when cricket stars dominated the advertising scene. It was the title of an article I read on a website the other day which prompted me to ponder over the ongoing phase of revolution in the Indian advertising industry.

It is true that the magic of “Fab Four” seems to have missed out to catch the nerve of Brand India and which is why everyone has started underrate the power of cricket stars. Bollywood superstars are said to be preferred for brand endorsements and different statistical comparison are quoted to prove the same. Other sportspersons like Abhinav Bindra and Sania mirza are also said to be the hot properties for future, however, I feel Indian cricketers are still ruling the roost. Young guns like Dhoni, Yuvraj, Ishant Sharma and Gambhir are enjoying a strong run in the brand arena. Advertisers are bullish about lapping them up and in the process ignoring the big daddies of Indian cricket.

“The trend of big brands signing young cricketers is here to stay and whether the team starts losing or even if an individual's performance drops, it is not going to be a loss for these guys at all.” This is the statement made by Rohit Mukherjee of McCann Erickson, a leading advertiser in the country and I believe the reason for this strong confidence comes from the power of young Indians from whom the income is coming and therefore the companies do not want to miss this opportunity.

I wonder if any event other than T20 world cup final match grabbed more TRPs in recent times. The success of recently played IPL also supports my viewpoint. In fact, it’s the face that keeps on changing but Indian cricketers are still leading the race as far as connectivity with the young audiences are concerned.