Celeb-led TV ad volumes fall 17% in Jan-Sep 2026; Shah Rukh Khan tops visibility chart

Celebrity-endorsed television advertising in India declined 17% in January-September 2026 compared with the corresponding period last year, even as film stars continued to dominate brand endorsements, accounting for 65% of celebrity-led TV ad volumes, according to a report by TAM AdEx.

The report, which tracks celebrity endorsements in television commercials, found that advertisements featuring celebrities accounted for more than 25% of all television ads during the period. Male film actors commanded the largest share of celebrity endorsements, while food and beverages, personal care and personal hygiene, and household products together contributed more than half of celebrity-endorsed advertising.

Shah Rukh Khan emerged as the most visible celebrity on television, with 26 hours of daily ad visibility across channels during January-September 2026. Former India cricket captain MS Dhoni followed with 22 hours per day, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah ranked third with seven hours.

The findings come at a time when advertisers continue to use celebrities across consumer categories to build brand awareness, strengthen recall and establish emotional connections with audiences. However, the decline in overall celebrity-led ad volumes suggests that the volume of such advertising was lower than in the corresponding period of 2025.

IPL season drives April-June advertising peak

Celebrity-endorsed television advertising recorded its highest daily ad volume in the April-June quarter, coinciding with the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

According to TAM AdEx, the average daily volume of celebrity-endorsed advertising stood at 308 hours in January-March 2026, declined to 252 hours in April-June and fell further to 234 hours in July-September. The report nevertheless identified April-June as the peak period for celebrity advertising activity, attributing the heightened activity to the IPL season.

The monthly distribution also showed fluctuations through the first nine months of the year. May accounted for the highest share of celebrity ad volumes at 15%, followed by April at 14%. January, March, June and September each recorded shares of around 11%, while February and August accounted for 10% each. July registered the lowest share at 8%.

The quarterly comparison showed that celebrity endorsements accounted for 38.8% of ad volumes in April-June 2026, compared with 36.3% in the corresponding quarter of 2025. In July-September, the share stood at 29.8% in 2026 against 31.1% a year earlier. For January-March, the report recorded a share of 32.6% in 2026 compared with 31.4% in 2025.

The figures indicate that celebrity-led advertising retained a significant presence during the IPL quarter, although the overall volume of celebrity-endorsed commercials for the nine-month period declined year-on-year.

Film stars dominate celebrity endorsements

Film personalities continued to account for the bulk of celebrity-led television advertising. Film stars collectively contributed 65% of celebrity ad volumes during January-September 2026, followed by sports personalities at 28% and television actors at 8%, according to TAM AdEx.

Within the celebrity endorsement mix, film actors accounted for 38% of the market, followed by sports personalities at 27%, film actresses at 28%, television actors at 5% and television actresses at 3%. The report's overall profession-wise figures show the continued importance of cinema and sports personalities in television advertising.

Shah Rukh Khan led the visibility rankings with 10% of celebrity ad visibility, followed by Dhoni at 8%. Bumrah accounted for 3%, while Ananya Panday, Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Sharma, Amitabh Bachchan, Shreya Chaudhry, Kiara Advani and Rohit Sharma each featured with a reported share of around 2%.

The top 10 most visible endorsers comprised seven men and three women, reflecting the strong presence of male celebrities in television advertising.

Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Shreya Chaudhry, Kiara Advani and Rohit Sharma were new entrants to the top 10 visibility list compared with January-September 2025.

The report measures visibility through television commercial duration and excludes promotional content and social media advertising. Its celebrity universe covers actors and actresses from Hindi films and television, along with sports personalities; South Indian film and television stars and Sri Lankan sports personalities are excluded.

Food, personal care lead sectoral spending

Food and beverages emerged as the largest sector for celebrity-endorsed television advertising, accounting for 25% of ad volumes during January-September 2026. Personal care and personal hygiene followed with an 18% share, while household products contributed 9%.

Together, the three sectors accounted for more than half of celebrity-endorsed television advertising. The top seven sectors contributed 81% of volumes, according to the report.

Personal healthcare accounted for 8%, followed by services, hair care, and building, industrial and land materials or equipment, each with a 7% share. Banking, finance and investment contributed 5%, automobiles accounted for 4%, and laundry products made up 3%.

The top five sectors retained the same ranking as in the corresponding period last year, while the remaining five changed positions.

The category-level analysis highlighted the prominence of household cleaning and personal hygiene products in celebrity advertising. Toilet and floor cleaners ranked first, accounting for 8% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Toilet soaps followed at 7%, while aerated soft drinks contributed 6%.

E-commerce and other services and biscuits each accounted for 4%. Digestives, paints, washing powders and liquids, and hair dyes each contributed 3%, while shaving systems and razors accounted for 2%.

The top 10 categories collectively represented 42% of all celebrity-endorsed television ad volumes, with the top five alone accounting for 29%.

The figures underline the concentration of celebrity-led television advertising in everyday consumer categories, particularly those seeking broad household reach.

Paints attract the widest range of celebrity endorsers

While cleaning products led in the volume of celebrity-endorsed advertisements, paints attracted the highest number of different celebrity endorsers across categories.

The paints category featured 36 celebrities during January-September 2026, followed by building materials and systems with 31. Retail outlets and jewellers accounted for 28 celebrities, while spices had 27 and e-commerce and other services had 25.

Biscuits attracted 22 celebrity endorsers, followed by aerated soft drinks with 17. Edible oil, e-commerce financial services and cars each featured 14 celebrities.

The distinction between ad volume and the number of endorsers suggests that categories with a large roster of celebrity associations do not necessarily account for the highest share of celebrity-led advertising. Paints led on the breadth of celebrity participation, whereas toilet and floor cleaners led on ad volumes.

Akshay Kumar leads by number of brand associations

Akshay Kumar emerged as the celebrity endorsing the highest number of brands during January-September 2026, with 35 brand associations, according to TAM AdEx.

MS Dhoni followed with 33 brands, while Shah Rukh Khan had 29. Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor were associated with 27 and 26 brands, respectively. Sachin Tendulkar had 22 brand associations, Sourav Ganguly 15, Kareena Kapoor 24, Pankaj Tripathi 13 and Hrithik Roshan 17.

Compared with January-September 2025, Akshay Kumar's brand associations increased from 21 to 35, while Ranbir Kapoor's rose from 24 to 26. Sachin Tendulkar's associations increased from 20 to 22, Sourav Ganguly's from 14 to 15 and Pankaj Tripathi's from 17 to 20.

Hrithik Roshan maintained the same number of brand associations at 17 across both periods.

The rankings show that celebrity visibility and the number of brands endorsed are separate measures. Shah Rukh Khan led in television ad visibility, while Akshay Kumar topped the list by number of brand associations.

Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt lead celebrity couples

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt topped the list of celebrity couples endorsing brands during January-September 2026, accounting for a 19% share in the report's couple-wise ranking and appearing across 37 brands.

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan ranked second, with an 11% share and 27 brands. Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani also accounted for an 11% share, with nine brands, followed by Ajay Devgn and Kajol at 10% and 19 brands.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan accounted for a 10% share and 33 brands, while Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli had a 10% share and 11 brands. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh recorded a 9% share across 20 brands.

Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif accounted for 6% and 19 brands, while Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna had a 5% share across 35 brands. Dharmendra and Hema Malini completed the top 10, with a 4% share and 10 brands.

The report said four couples—Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, and Ajay Devgn and Kajol—together accounted for half of the advertisements in its celebrity-couple analysis.

Overall, TAM AdEx's findings show that celebrity endorsements remain concentrated in a handful of consumer sectors, with film stars continuing to command a substantial share of television advertising. At the same time, the year-on-year decline in celebrity-led ad volumes points to a softer overall advertising environment for this segment, despite seasonal peaks such as the IPL.