Myntra appoints Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma as first brand ambassadors

Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce platform Myntra n Friday announced that it had appointed celebrity couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma as its first brand ambassadors.

The platform declined to reveal the brand deal size or period of association. According to celebrity management sector estimates, Myntra may be shelling out upwards of ₹10 crore for the couple as brand endorsement fee.

This is would be the couple’s second big brand endorsement deal after men’s ethnic wear brand Manyavar, which they have been associated with since 2017.

Myntra has launched an integrated campaign called ‘Go Myntra-la-la’ which will be promoted across television, print, digital and outdoor. The television campaign, created by advertising agency McCann Worldgroup, Bengaluru, features the couple sporting a variety of apparels and accessories from the site.

This was Myntra’s biggest campaign so far through which it was targeting reaching 100 million consumers through various media platforms, said Amar Nagaram, head, Myntra-Jabong. “The association of Bollywood and sports with fashion needs no introduction and hence having Virat and Anushka as the face of this new campaign will enable us to build strong brand salience and establish the joy and convenience of shopping on Myntra,” he added.

With a total brand value of around $200 million, Kohli and Sharma are emerging as a power couple who collectively endorse around 40 brands such as Head and Shoulders, Pepsi, Celkon, Boost, Audi, Fastrack, Nivea, Puma, American Tourister and Uber.

According to the 2018 Duff & Phelps celebrity brand valuation report, Kohli and Sharma, or ‘Virushka’ as they are popularly known, are the biggest ‘power couple’ it terms of brand promotions after Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

The report defines a power couple as a relationship consisting of two individuals who are both successful and influential and states that the concept is increasingly becoming popular in the country.

According to Manish Porwal, managing director, Alchemist Marketing & Talent Solutions, such partnerships bring some amount of entertainment value as well as a chance for viewers to peek into the lives of popular celebrities. However, it is a high risk, high return strategy because if the relationship sours the brands bear the brunt.

“Virushka bring together the top two passions of the country -- entertainment and cricket. Brands have more media to select, both from films as well as cricket properties, especially if they have big budgets. They bring a lot of freshness and youthful exuberance to a brand. Both these personalities individually are also doing well in their respective careers, which further elevates their appeal as a couple. Brand endorsements have a youth bias where deals are unfairly stacked up towards young celebrities and, therefore, Virushka also have an edge as they are both young professionals with a fair number of years on their side,” he added.