SRK-Pepsi, Katrina Kaif-Slice: Before Deepika Padukone, these celebs made their brands cool

On Sunday, 21 August, Deepika Padukone was announced as the face of Vistara Airlines. After Katrina Kaif, Padukone is only the second Indian actress to endorse an airline (Katrina did an ad for Etihad). As much as the Nike ‘Da da ding’ ad was criticised, it still made so much sense to attach Deepika to the endorsement, given her sports background and lineage. However, at a time when endorsement deals are as important to a star’s career as film choices, we aren’t sure what Deepika’s motivation is to endorse an airline (apart from the money itself). Celebrity endorsements have been a big part of the movie business. We recognise, and reminisce about, stars equally because of the ads they do. And so, here’s a list of the most memorable ads that our favourite stars have been a part of: Shah Rukh Khan and Pepsi SRK and Pepsi just go hand in hand. While he may not be the brand ambassador for Pepsi anymore (he was replaced by Ranbir eventually), there is no doubt that Shah Rukh Khan is responsible for making drinking Pepsi look cool and trendy. To date. Probably the most famous Pepsi ad of his time was the one he did with the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai cast_,_ with the tag line ‘Dil Maange More’. It also has a special appearance by a (really) young Shahid Kapoor.

Aamir Khan and Coca Cola A lot of celebrities have endorsed Coca Cola, such as Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, but the most memorable ads have been done by none other than Aamir Khan. He took ‘Thanda Matlab Coca Cola’ to another level, with his ads, which always had a story or a character. Aamir did a series of ads where he played characters from different parts of India (and one where he played a Nepali security guard as well), but perhaps one of the most revered ad was of him playing a Haryanvi local who serves Coca Cola to thirsty women. It is this ad that also made the hook line ‘Yaara da tashan’ very popular.

Katrina Kaif and Slice Perhaps the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Katrina Kaif is ‘Aamsutra’ and a little droplet of mango juice falling on her lip (don’t lie). One would imagine that Katrina would be best to endorse a shampoo and hair oil brand, given her long silky mane, but now that we’ve seen her sipping (playing?) with Slice, you can’t un-see it.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dairy Milk Amitabh Bachchan is another actor who (at least in the initial days) played characters in his Dairy Milk ads (now he just turns up as himself). The most famous ad from the early 2000s, was the ‘Pappu pass ho gaya’ ad, which went on to create a whole culture around a fictitious Pappu (who also can’t dance). This ad should make you feel really nostalgic if you went to school in the 2000s. It is also the reason we associate Dairy Milk as something to be eaten while celebrating.

Preity Zinta and Liril Wonder where Preity Zinta got her “bubbly” tag? She was a Liril girl before she did her first film _Dil Se (_where she played a bubbly girl). For the uninitiated (in this case those of who you were not born or were toddlers in the 90s), a Liril girl was one who would bath in a waterfall with Liril the soap, looking cute yet hot, and with super refreshing background music. It was supposed to indicate that Liril was the soap to have. Preity fit right in.