We are reliably informed that Shah Rukh Khan also known as King Khan and the King of endorsements is to be the brand ambassador for Apple in India. Presumably this would have been a part of the agenda when Tim Cook, head honcho at Apple Inc came calling recently; his trip wasn’t all about fun and games it would seem. There are a number of reasons why this news doesn’t and should not surprise us.
SRK is an obvious choice
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As one of the most beloved Indian celebrities and one of the best known Bollywood names internationally, he had to have been an obvious choice.
Apple has used celebrities before
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In the past, celebs such as Justin Timberlake, sports persons such as Neymar de Silva Santos, Jimmy Fallon and NBA All-Star Stephen Curry and many others have advertised for the brand. The fact that Oprah indirectly plugged a bunch of Apple products on her show is just by the way.
Brand SRK
The man has sold us luxury watches to home furnishings to soap to soft drinks to fairness creams. With his immense popularity and natural charisma, he can and does and does have the means sell us practically anything.
He is the “ever present celebrity”
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Never one to shy away from the media glare, he is among the most highly visible celebrities in India. He does several films a year, he is highly visible during IPL cricket matches, he is at launches, seminars and other events; and we see him on our TV screens practically every day.
We knew it was coming
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When Tim Cook came visiting, he was hosted and feted by a SRK at a dinner party that was attended by the who’s who of tinsel town. What lobbying or convincing went on is not clear, but it may have given some of us an inkling of things to come.
Just in time
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Apple has its yearly launch around September of each year. Can one presume that the SRK endorsement will materialize just in time for this?
The Veblen Good theory
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The Veblen theory postulates that goods become more desirable for the very fact of their being overpriced. Something like… if it’s that expensive it must be that good. This is rather true for Apple products; a company that has sold us those small screened phones with the same features as others but at inflated prices for years.
For savvy, price sensitive Indians, it is necessary to have someone really special to endorse a product such as this, wouldn’t you say?
Author – Reena Daruwalla
