Yes, the captain of the Indian cricket team seems to be leading the power list as well. According to the second wave results of CelebTrack, Dhoni leads the power list followed by Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan. CelebTrack is a research conducted by Percept Talent Management and Hansa Research to determine the popularity of celebs and their influence on consumers.

India’s most powerful celebs are as follows:

1. MS Dhoni
2. Shah Rukh Khan
3. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
4. Amitabh Bachchan
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Hrithik Roshan
7. Yuvraj Singh
8. Katrina Kaif
9. Akshay Kumar
10. Salman Khan

Sachin Tendulkar slipped to fifth position (from last year’s top slot) wheras Aishwarya Rai ranked higher on CPS than her father-in-law. Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sania Mirza top their respective genres as the most recognised stars. Amitabh Bachchan replaced Salman Khan in terms of likeability.

The study is based on data from 12,000 respondents (urban, adults, SEC ABCD, aged 15-50 years) across India. The research reveals the position of celebrities on five parameters – media presence, popularity, image attributes, power of persuasion and over exposure – on which the celebrity power scores. This time, more celebrities from different genres (anchors, musicians) and better probing techniques have been employed.

Research was conducted on 400 celebrities across the country and were ranked on the basis of above mentioned criteria. A Celebrity Power Score (CPS) was generated and higher the rankings, the more favorable the celeb would be for an advertiser.

Manish Porwal, chief executive officer, Percept Talent Management, says, “Our clients can now make informed and learned decisions, rather than relying on gut and anecdotal learning. Also, celebrities can benchmark themselves vis-à-vis their audience and accordingly price their involvement with brands.”

Old is gold, this is surely the mantra for the advertisers who consider Amitabh Bachchan as an obvious choice for various endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan currently endorses more than 19 brands across 14 categories. From healthcare to financial services to elite suiting’s, he has it all. Advertisers feel he epitomizes credibility and is perceived as a youth icon as well as a global achiever, and thus remains a favorite among the advertisers.

Vinita Bangard, COO – Percept Talent Management estimates Bachchan’s brand value at over Rs 700 crore. His addition in Bigg Boss 3 explains the same. The reality show needed a face that people would take seriously and who is an icon at the same time, and so Big B was approached. Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly being paid Rs 126 crore (Rs 1.5 crore per episode) for his appearance as a pop-philosopher in the third edition of mega serial Bigg Boss.

He currently endorses Dabur Chawanprash, Hajmola, Reid & Taylor, ICICI Bank and Max New York Life Insurance, Cadbury, Emami and Navratna among many others.

McCann India Executive Chairman Prasoon Joshi says “today Bachchan has manifested himself in different ways through his voice, charm, personal credibility and family.”

This festive season, celebrate Diwali with new range of packs from Frito-Lay India (the snacks and food arm of PepsiCo India). This is not we are saying but the new Kurkure campaign ‘Muh Kukure Karo’ says. The campaign has been conceptualized by JWT. As a part of the campaign two ad commercials with brand ambassador Juhi Chawla will be seen on TV.

Deepika Warrier, Marketing Director for Frito-Lay Division, PepsiCo India said “In keeping with this spirit of celebrations, we have introduced attractive gift packs of Kurkure. The entire initiative shall present a unique Kurkure perspective to the entire festive occasion and is our endeavor to create funfilled Diwali for Indian families.”

Sonia Bhatnagar, SVP, JWT, also added “We have created a complete 360 degree campaign to involve and engage the target group by promoting the concept of ‘Muh Kurkure Karo’.

“This integrated communication strategy will be rolled out to augment customer’s experience of celebration this Diwali. It will be a multimedia campaign involving television, print, radio, online and outdoor activation.”

So is Diwali, kuch namkeen hojaye…