Brands’ head honchos star in their own product ads

It’s an exercise in personal brand building, while simultaneously endorsing their company’s products.

Gone are the days when sportsmen, actors, actresses and musicians used to appear in ads as brand ambassadors. Now, the heads of companies - CEOs and CMOs - are stepping forward and appearing in these ads themselves. It helps their personal brand as well as build the brand they work for. 

The latest example is a SUGAR Cosmetics ad, starring actors Ranveer Singh and Tamannaah Bhatia, and the company’s CEO Vineeta Singh. The ad is a testament to the brand's claim of its products being smudgeproof and waterproof, but it also teaches viewers to associate Singh with the brand itself. 

Singh also appears as a judge on the popular reality show ‘Shark Tank India’, which airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

Mamaearth's co-founders Varn and Ghazal Alagh also recently starred in an ad for their brand's products, alongside their children. Mamaearth is a brand that specialises in skincare and makeup for the sensitive skin of mothers and babies. So, it makes sense that the co-founders would appear in this ad, alongside their children.

Anuradha Menon, aka ‘Lola Kutty’, recently starred in a series of ads for HDFC Bank as 'Vigil Aunty'. One of the ads sees her apply for a job at the bank and the people taking her interview, happen to be members of the company’s marketing team. The campaign aims to create awareness around fraudulent banking practices in India.

Shashank Mehta, CEO of The Whole Truth Foods, also routinely appears in ads for his brand. He also stars in educational content that the company posts on its YouTube channel. Mehta starred in Razorpay's ads earlier this year, as a hassled startup founder.

Damyant Singh Khanoria, Oppo India's chief marketing officer, also starred in an ad for one of the brand’s phone models, a few months ago. To endorse the Oppo F21 Pro Series phones, the brand brought in Bollywood celebrity Varun Dhawan on board. In the nine-minute-long ad that chronicles the phone's features as well as Dhawan's birthday party, Khanoria can be seen, alongside other partygoers.

Earlier in 2022, Xiaomi's Manu Kumar Jain was promoted to the role of Group Vice President Xiaomi, on a global scale. Prior to the elevation, it was routine to see him star in Xiaomi's ads.

Jain also starred in a promotional piece for Amazon Prime Video's original show Family Man. Jain is seen interviewing Srikant Tiwari (essayed by actor Manoj Bajpayee) who is seeking a new job.

Nobody can talk about CEOs starring in ads without mentioning Hollywood celebrity and entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds. He is a majority owner of alcohol brand Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile. He has starred in many tongue-in-cheek ads for these brands.