OnePlus announces Robert Downey Jr as new brand ambassador

The Avengers actor will replace Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador.

Global smartphone brand OnePlus has unveiled its latest marketing campaign featuring American actor Robert Downey Jr (RDJ). The campaign celebrates the disruptive role that OnePlus has played in the smartphone industry and reiterates the brand’s ‘Never Settle’ philosophy. The decision was announced shortly after the OnePlus 7 series of phones were launched.

We've believed in creating exceptional experiences for our community. The common ground in our ideologies & values convinced us that no one else could better reflect what we stand for.
Another embodiment of the Never Settle spirit - We welcome Robert Downey Jr. to the family! pic.twitter.com/uCpqVsJ5ZH

— OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) May 16, 2019

Robert Downey Jr.’s last film - Avengers Endgame - saw an 80-85 per cent occupancy of seats in Indian movie theatres, according to numbers released by Box Office India. To put that into perspective, the occupancy of the film Baahubali: The Conclusion, was in the 70 per cent range. Avengers Endgame had an aggressive marketing strategy before its release and within two weeks of its India release, it grossed nearly Rs. 400 crore at the box office. Baahubali: The Conclusion also crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark within three days of its release. Avengers Endgame broke that record as well by collecting nearly Rs. 157 crore during its opening weekend, as reported by the Economic Times.

Talking about this association, Pete Lau, founder and CEO of OnePlus, said, “We at OnePlus, believe in having a laser focus in everything we do and in doing whatever it takes to create an exceptional experience for our community. Working with Robert Downey Jr, we see that these ideologies are reflected in him as well; in his creativity and dedication. This synergy has us convinced that nobody could represent what we stand for better and we are delighted to welcome Robert Downey Jr into the OnePlus family."

Before the Avengers actor signed a deal with OnePlus, it was Amitabh Bachchan who was its brand ambassador. He had been working closely with the smartphone brand since 2017.

The campaign featuring RDJ will be appearing in a series of brand creatives across mediums in India and China. The last time a smartphone brand chose a foreign ambassador for an Indian market, it was Micromax when it selected Hugh Jackman to endorse the Canvas range of phones.

ALSO READ: Hugh Jackman to endorse Micromax

We couldn’t help but notice that the biggest similarity in the two ads for Micromax and OnePlus are that they look like scenes out of an action film. While the Micromax ads have a defined storyline with a beginning, middle and end, RDJ’s ads with OnePlus resemble scenes from an action film where the hero is training himself to defeat the villain.

This is not the first time RDJ is endorsing a smartphone brand. In 2013, Bloomberg reported that HTC signed a two-year global marketing deal with the actor for nearly $12 billion.