From star power to feed power: Who sells more?

For decades, the glamour of Bollywood stars and cricketing legends cast a wide net on advertising due to the earned media value and high exposure they brought across platforms. From Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shah Rukh Khan for Lux, to Sonam Kapoor with L'Oréal and Ranveer Singh fronting Kotak Bank, these celebrity-led campaigns built aspiration and national recall. But today, the marketing landscape in India is experiencing a seismic shift.

What began as casual content consumption has evolved into a medium where consumers participate, engage, and identify with a digital community. The digital revolution, fuelled by affordable data and smartphone penetration, has divided the once homogeneous audience base. Traditional 20-second TV spots no longer suffice.

Influencers: The new demographic whisperers

This is where the influencer ecosystem steps in. Its power lies in diversity and hyper-localisation. From fashion creators in metros to food vloggers in tier 2 towns, there's a creator for every niche and language. India's audience is segmented across language, geography, and preference—and the influencer economy reflects this reality better than mainstream ads ever could.

The rise of micro-influencers and user-generated content signals a shift towards content rooted in community. Merely adapting ads by language no longer guarantees connection. A deeper cultural context is now required—a Malayalam-speaking influencer from Kerala resonates more authentically than a Hindi-dubbed voiceover.

Recent campaigns that produced multilingual versions of the same ad (rather than dubbed ones) saw greater traction. And while aspirational celebrities bring the eyeballs, influencer content sustains attention, conversation, and connection.

From silver screen to scroll speed

Aspiration and relatability are two different marketing levers. One cannot sustain without the other. Celebrities offer the former; influencers deliver the latter.

But what is relatability? Language? Cultural nuance? Familiar visuals? It’s all of the above.

Rahul from Indore prefers Instagram content in Hindi, while Ravi from Tamil Nadu finds comfort in Tamil-first storytelling. Influencer formats, whether it’s vlog-style cooking on YouTube or regional lifestyle reels, enable this. 

Farah Khan’s channel with her cook Dilip at centre stage is more relatable to a wider audience than the stylised Nigella Lawson-style content. Similarly, Mamaearth used influencer campaigns to cement its reputation as a clean-label brand. While Shilpa Shetty added celebrity sheen, the brand’s #MamaearthMagic campaign used real-life narratives to earn trust among millennial parents.

Engagement > eyeballs

Reach is important—but it’s not everything. Engagement has become the new metric that matters. A post with 1 million views but zero discussion doesn't move the needle. Influencers bring native engagement because they're not interrupting feeds; they are the feed.

Celebrities are essential for reach. Internet-born celebrities like Shraddha Kapoor or Rohit Saraf understand the digital audience better.

But creators bring deep engagement. Some influencers naturally possess this ability, honed from living in the small screen era. Bollywood stars trained for the silver screen operate differently.

That said, celebs do deliver when they are authentic. Deepika Padukone’s mental health campaign made an impact because it was rooted in her lived experience. Shah Rukh Khan’s campaign for Thums Up drove an 11% sales boost. The 'Filmon Waali Feeling' Lux campaign saw a 20% uptick in brand recall.

On the other hand, creator-led campaigns show measurable returns too. Lenskart’s influencer collaborations drove a 6-7% ROAS improvement. The numbers make a compelling case for creators as ROI-positive assets.

Influencer ROI: Value in volume

A recent Kantar report found that 67% of Indians trust influencer recommendations more than traditional ads. That trust translates into traction. A mega-celebrity like Virat Kohli might charge INR 1 crore per post; a micro-influencer might charge INR 10,000-20,000. For the same budget, brands can create over 100 assets with far more engagement potential.

This creates flexibility and experimentation. Instead of banking on one ad that may or may not land, brands get multiple formats, angles, and voices. It’s high-volume storytelling at a scalable price. And the influencer campaign's long tail helps sustain attention long after a celebrity spot has aired.

The future lies in tailoring. A one-size-fits-all billboard campaign won’t crack Bharat 2.0. With platforms giving increasingly precise audience insights, brands must adopt a data-first approach to creator marketing.

The goal isn’t just reach or even CPV—it's SOV. It’s about who is talking back, not just who’s watching. It’s not about double taps; it’s about double takes.

From influencers to storytellers

For Indian brands, the message is clear: trust now trumps tradition. Celebrities can open the door, but influencers hold the conversation. They’re not just digital endorsers—they’re partners in performance marketing.

This doesn’t mean abandoning celebrities. It means balancing the aspirational and the relatable, matching campaign goals with platform behaviour. The most effective campaigns of the future won’t just show a story. They’ll invite consumers to share it.

- Danny Advani, head of business strategy, Dot Media