SRK tops IPL celebrity endorsement charts as star-led ads capture 61% share: TAM

Celebrity-endorsed commercials registering a 34% increase in ad volumes compared with the previous season

by e4m Staff
Published: Jun 17, 2026 3:26 PM | 4 min read

Television advertisers increased their reliance on celebrity endorsements during IPL 19, with such ads making up 61% of total commercial volumes, a rise from 53% in IPL 18, according to a TAM Sports report.
The volume of celebrity-endorsed advertisements grew by 34% year-on-year, with Bollywood actors dominating the landscape, accounting for 55% of endorsements, followed by actresses at 22%.
The number of celebrities featured in advertisements rose by 17% to over 70 in IPL 19, with sports personalities seeing a 52% increase, indicating a broader diversification in endorsement strategies.
Shah Rukh Khan remained the most prominent celebrity, holding a 10% share of ad volumes, while Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma led the sports category with 22.1% of sports celebrity ad volumes.

Television advertisers leaned more heavily on celebrity power during the Indian Premier League's 19th edition, with celebrity-endorsed commercials registering a 34% increase in ad volumes compared with the previous season, according to a report by TAM Sports.

The study found that celebrity-backed advertisements accounted for 61% of all commercial ad volumes during IPL 19, up from 53% in IPL 18, highlighting brands' growing preference for familiar faces to cut through the clutter during one of India's biggest television events. Non-celebrity advertisements, meanwhile, accounted for the remaining 39% share.

TAM Sports noted that the indexed growth in celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes rose to 134 during IPL 19, taking IPL 18 as the base index of 100. This translated into a 34% jump in celebrity-led ad exposure year-on-year.

"During IPL 19, there was a lift of 34% in the share of celebrity-endorsed ads compared to the previous season," the report said.

Film stars dominate endorsement landscape

Bollywood personalities continued to dominate brand endorsements during the tournament. Film actors accounted for 55% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, while film actresses contributed another 22%. Together, film stars commanded more than three-fourths of the celebrity endorsement pie.

Sports personalities, despite the cricketing backdrop of the IPL, represented 22% of celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes, while television actors contributed just 1%.

The findings suggest that brands continue to favour mainstream entertainment celebrities to maximise recall and audience engagement, even during a sporting spectacle.

More celebrities featured during IPL 19

The report also highlighted a broader increase in the number of celebrities appearing in advertisements.

The overall count of celebrities featured in commercials crossed 70 during IPL 19, compared with over 60 during IPL 18, reflecting a 17% increase. Sports celebrities witnessed an even sharper rise, with their count increasing by 52% to over 30 during IPL 19 from more than 20 in the previous edition.

According to TAM Sports, this indicates that advertisers expanded their celebrity rosters and diversified endorsement strategies during the tournament.

Shah Rukh Khan retains top spot

Among all celebrities, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan emerged as the most visible face during IPL 19, commanding a 10% share of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. He had also topped the rankings in IPL 18 with an 8% share.

Actor Ishaan Khatter followed with a 9% share during IPL 19, while Ajay Devgn, Amyra Dastur and Tiger Shroff each accounted for 7% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes.

In IPL 18, Shah Rukh Khan led the charts, followed by Ananya Panday, actor Laksh Lalwani, former India captain MS Dhoni and Ajay Devgn.

The report observed that Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn remained among the top five celebrities across both seasons, underscoring their enduring appeal among advertisers.

Rohit Sharma leads among sportspersons

Within the sports category, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma emerged as the most prominent sports celebrity during IPL 19, accounting for 22.1% of sports celebrity ad volumes.

He was followed by Hardik Pandya at 16%, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma each secured a 5.1% share. Virat Kohli rounded off the top five with a 5% share.

In IPL 18, MS Dhoni led the sports endorsement rankings with a 17.3% share, followed by Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mohammed Siraj.

Rohit Sharma was the only sports celebrity to feature among the top five sports endorsers in both IPL editions.

Categories span multiple sectors

Unlike previous instances where a handful of sectors dominated celebrity advertising, IPL 19 saw brands from diverse industries leveraging celebrity endorsements.

The top five categories together contributed 71% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes and represented different sectors. These included mouth fresheners, e-commerce services, paints, financial institutions and air conditioners.

Similarly, the top five advertisers accounted for 68% of celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes. The leading advertisers included Vishnu Packaging, Google, Havells India, Grasim Industries and Reliance Consumer Products.

The report underlines how celebrity endorsements remain central to television advertising strategies during marquee sporting events, with brands increasingly investing in star-led campaigns to drive visibility and consumer attention amid intense competition.

The analysis was based on commercial advertising volumes across five Star Network feeds and 12 JioHotstar feeds during all live IPL 18 and IPL 19 matches. The study excluded pre-, mid- and post-match programmes, along with franchise promotions, fillers, film trailers and broadcaster promotions.