Any publicity is good publicity — that adage seems to hold true for Bollywood King Shah Rukh Khan, who is suddenly highly visible in a surfeit of ad campaigns. The carpet coverage of his son Aryan Khan getting bail on an alleged drug charge has unexpectedly translated into what seems to be a significant rise in the volume of advertising featuring the Bollywood superstar.

SRK has been visible lately in ads for brands such as Byju’s, Vimal Pan Masala, Mondelez and LG Electronics. Some of them have tactically increased media time in existing campaigns featuring SRK or launched campaigns during this period.

A senior industry executive pointed out, “Since this issue is topical and getting a lot of eyeballs, some of the brands seem to have upped the frequency of their campaigns especially on news channels.”

Sympathy wave

Experts say after the negative press and trolling on social media, there has also been a wave of sympathy for SRK as the beleaguered father of a troubled son.

In the initial days after Aryan Khan’s arrest, brands seemed reluctant to continue with their icon, fearing a negative rub-off. For instance, in this period, Byju’s had, for about four days, paused the ads featuring SRK.

Trend reversal

However, the trend reversed slowly with SRK getting a lot of sympathetic commentary, and especially after the Bombay High Court granted bail to his son and the army of fans thronged ‘Mannat’, bursting crackers.

Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and angel investor, said any controversy or issue of this nature puts the spotlight on the star and, in this scenario, handling the crisis with a dignified silence has bolstered the appeal of Shah Rukh Khan to a certain extent.

It is also a moment of quiet relief for the brands that spent some days of anxiety over the events unfolding around their ambassador.

Vigyan Verma, Founder, brand and consulting solution company The Bottom Line, said that companies which may have had to cut down on the exposure of their campaigns featuring him, could now look at tactically increasing the frequency of these campaigns.

Added N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, “Shah Rukh Khan has been standing as a pillar behind his son with a lot of restraint, calm, maturity and poise during this crisis. It has gained him a lot of sympathy from consumers and the brands that he endorses will see a positive rub-off. His demeanour in the current crisis has in fact made the superstar more relatable.”

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