SRK at 61: From Pepsi to Hyundai, how Shah Rukh Khan became the advertising king

From Pepsi and Hyundai Santro to Cadbury, Thums Up and Dubai Tourism, Shah Rukh Khan’s advertising journey has been as expansive as his filmography. As the superstar turns 61 on November 2, his enduring appeal to advertisers offers a glimpse into how celebrity branding has evolved in India, with the actor continuing to command visibility across consumer categories and generations.

In an advertising landscape increasingly driven by digital platforms, audience fragmentation and the demand for measurable returns, Khan remains a formidable presence on television. According to TAM AdEx’s Celebrity-Led TV Advertising: Key Trends and Insights from 2025, released in February 2026, he was India’s most visible celebrity endorser on television that year, accounting for 10% of celebrity-endorsed advertising by duration. His advertisements occupied approximately 30 hours of television airtime daily across channels.

The latest available findings, covering January to September 2026, indicate that Khan continues to lead the visibility rankings. He accounted for 10% of celebrity-endorsed television advertising and recorded 26 hours of daily advertising visibility across channels. The report also counted 29 brand associations for the actor during the nine-month period, compared with 38 in the corresponding period of 2025.

The distinction between visibility and endorsements is important. While the number of brands associated with an actor indicates the breadth of their portfolio, television advertising duration reflects how frequently and for how long audiences encounter their campaigns. Neither figure represents the total number of individual advertisements produced.

The early years

Long before he became the face of blockbuster franchises such as Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki, Khan was building his presence in Indian households through television commercials.

His early advertising work included Liberty Shoes and Brahmaputra Tea. As his film career gathered momentum with Baazigar (1993), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), his appeal increasingly translated into commercial opportunities.

Pepsi became one of his defining associations during the 1990s. The beverage brand's youth-oriented positioning complemented Khan's growing popularity among younger audiences. His campaigns, including appearances alongside Kajol and Rani Mukerji, drew on the same screen chemistry that had made him a household name.

The association also demonstrated how advertisers could use a film star's existing cultural relevance to establish a brand's identity. Rather than relying exclusively on product attributes, campaigns could borrow from the celebrity's personality, popularity and connection with audiences.

In 1998, Hyundai brought Khan on board to promote the Santro as the South Korean automaker established its presence in India. At the time, the actor's popularity was rising rapidly, and the association helped introduce the relatively new automobile brand to Indian consumers.

The partnership became one of the longest-running relationships of his advertising career. Khan continued to represent Hyundai through subsequent campaigns and product launches, including the Santro's updated version in 2018.

The association's longevity is particularly significant in an industry where celebrity contracts frequently change hands. Hyundai has been able to draw on Khan's familiarity across generations, while the actor's evolving image has allowed the brand to communicate with consumers at different stages of life.

His screen persona has also changed considerably over the years. The romantic lead of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Mohabbatein (2000) evolved into the action hero of Pathaan (2023) and Jawan (2023). Yet his ability to move between romance, humour and action has allowed advertisers to work with different facets of the same celebrity identity.

Selling across categories

Khan's advertising portfolio has never been restricted to a single product category.

In 2005, his appearance in Lux's 'Har Star Lucky Star' campaign stood out because the soap brand had traditionally been associated with female celebrities. Featuring Khan alongside actresses including Hema Malini, Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor and Sridevi challenged conventional casting choices within the category.

His association with Nokia, which began in 2007, placed him at the centre of India's expanding mobile phone market. Around the same period, Dish TV also brought him on board as its brand ambassador.

Over the years, the actor has represented brands across beverages, automobiles, personal care, telecommunications, banking, packaged foods, grooming and digital services. His portfolio has included Frooti, Tag Heuer, Airtel, Reliance Jio, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, BigBasket, Denver, Fair & Handsome, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy and UltraTech Cement.

The breadth of these associations illustrates the commercial flexibility of Brand SRK. A celebrity known for romance can sell a beverage, while the same personality can front an automobile campaign, promote a financial services company or lend visibility to a building materials brand.

For advertisers, this flexibility creates opportunities to adapt the celebrity's image to different audiences and product propositions.

When advertisements borrow from cinema

Khan's advertising appeal is closely connected to his filmography. His movies have helped establish recognisable character traits, dialogues and emotional associations that advertisers can draw upon when developing campaigns.

The success of films such as Chennai Express (2013), Raees (2017), Pathaan and Jawan has allowed brands to work with different versions of his public persona, from the charming romantic hero to the larger-than-life action star.

His Thums Up association, for instance, aligns with the brand's action-oriented positioning. In contrast, campaigns for products such as Cadbury have drawn on his warmth and familiarity to create a more emotional connection with consumers.

One of the most notable examples was Cadbury's campaign supporting small businesses during the pandemic. The initiative used technology to enable local retailers to create personalised advertisements featuring Khan, allowing them to benefit from the actor's popularity without requiring each business to produce a conventional celebrity-led commercial independently.

The campaign demonstrated how celebrity advertising could move beyond a conventional television spot and become a tool for local marketing. It also showed how digital technology could make a celebrity's commercial appeal accessible to businesses operating at a much smaller scale.

Khan's continued presence in advertising also reflects the changing media habits of Indian consumers.

His association with digital businesses such as BigBasket and Zomato, alongside telecommunications and entertainment platforms, illustrates how celebrity endorsements have expanded beyond traditional consumer goods.

In 2024, Myntra appointed Khan as its brand ambassador for the 'Trend IRL' campaign, using his fashion persona to promote the platform's positioning around trends and personal style. His association with Dubai Tourism has similarly used his international recognition to promote the destination to travellers.

These campaigns operate in a media environment where a television commercial can be supported by online videos, social media content, digital promotions and other consumer touchpoints.

The role of the celebrity, however, remains familiar. Khan's presence gives advertisers an instantly recognisable face around which they can build a campaign, while the media plan determines how that campaign reaches consumers.

The other side of Brand SRK

Khan's endorsement portfolio has also attracted criticism, particularly over his association with products linked to surrogate advertising and fairness-focused grooming.

His association with Fair & Handsome, for instance, placed him in a category that has faced wider scrutiny over the messages it communicates about male appearance and skin colour.

His Vimal Elaichi campaigns have raised questions about the responsibilities celebrities carry when endorsing products associated with surrogate promotion of pan masala.

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These associations introduce a more complicated dimension to celebrity branding. While a star's popularity can help a brand attract attention, the association also places the celebrity's reputation alongside the product and the claims made around it.

For advertisers, the commercial value of a celebrity therefore sits alongside considerations of brand suitability, public perception and long-term reputation.

Khan's advertising career has developed alongside some of the most significant changes in India's consumer market. He has represented brands during the expansion of private television, the rise of mobile phones, the growth of organised retail and the shift towards digital services.

The latest TAM AdEx findings reinforce his continuing visibility. Although his number of brand associations during January-September 2026 was lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year, he retained the top position in television advertising visibility.

That distinction captures the enduring strength of his commercial presence. Brand portfolios can expand or contract, but visibility also depends on the duration, frequency and media placement of campaigns.

From Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Pathaan, Khan's film career has repeatedly reinvented his public image without erasing the familiarity audiences associate with him. Advertising has benefited from that continuity, allowing brands to draw on decades of cultural recognition while adapting their messaging to contemporary markets.

At 61, the actor's advertising legacy is not simply a catalogue of products he has endorsed. It is a record of how a celebrity's screen persona can become a long-term commercial asset, capable of travelling across categories, media formats and generations.