Mary go round Not just the sports world, even brands seem to have found new poster girls and boys after the recent Olympic Games

Mary go round

Not just the sports world, even brands seem to have found new poster girls and boys after the recent Olympic Games

Boxing champ Mary Kom and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal may have become India’s poster-girls after their stellar performance at the Olympics this year, but the medallists seem to be scoring on a round of a different kind on the home front too. The two sports stars are among the few others including wrestler Sushil Kumar who have been rapidly climbing up the ladder when it comes to brand endorsements. And while Saina’s already been a strong player, Mary Kom is the newest entrant on the block, with the buzz that several brands are queueing up to sign her on. Sushil too is known to have been signed on for new endorsements. Brand experts agree that following the Olympics the endorsement markets have found new poster girls and boys in these sports celebs who are outside the cricket spectrum. “Mary Kom has rapidly become a strong name in the market and what’s given her a lead is that she’s quite media savvy herself. She has been seen on the ramp, attending the most high-profile bashes where very few sports celebs are seen and has also become an ambassador for a TV show, besides a film being made on her life. So, the connectivity has certainly gone beyond her winning the medal,” they say. As for Saina and Sushil, they add that their connectivity is also strong and there are increasingly more brand offers in the pipeline since their wins in London. “Young girls aspire to be Saina and Sushil’s strength is his strong connect with the masses at the grassroot level. But they are relatively known to maintain lower public profiles in comparison to their peers, who are seen more often in the public eye,” they add. Brand expert Harish Bijoor adds that while brands may be unable to shake off established names from Bollywood or the cricket world, but other sports stars are certainly creating more visibility and connectivity which is a huge attraction for brands. “Cricket celebs like MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar may be hard to replace, because boxing or wrestling are a once in a while sports. The focus is not so much on them the rest of the time, while the cricketers have the connectivity with viewers every few weeks. But there’s no denying that the Olympics have given the market newer names to consider and a variety too,” says Harish. An ad filmmaker points out that sportspersons today are far more camera friendly. “Most of them are much more at ease facing the camera in comparison to their predecessors for sure. They are more savvy and that adds up in making them instant choices for brand endorsements too,” he says.