Celebrity endorsements may be beginning to lose some of its sheen, according to the latest TAM report that analysed all live matches from IPL 18. Ads featuring celebrities witnessed a 13% drop in volume compared to the previous season of IPL, with the ratio of celebrity to non-celebrity endorsed ads going from 59:41 in IPL 17 to 53:47 in the latest season.

Total number of celebrities featured dropped from over 75 in IPL 17 to 60 plus in IPL 18, with the sports celebrity count also witnessing a significant fall from over 35 to 15 plus.

This drop in celebrity-driven advertising marks a shift towards more diverse advertising strategies compared to the previous season, and could be reflective of a broader industry shift.

Film stars still led the endorsements ranks, with actors accounting for 50% of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, followed by sports personalities at 32%. TV actors trailed with a much smaller share.

Shah Rukh Khan remained the top endorser for the second consecutive year with 8% share of ad volume in IPL 18 (down from 13% in IPL 17).

Others in the top five included Ananya Panday (7%), Laksh Lalwani (6%), MS Dhoni (5%), and Ajay Devgn (5%).

Among sports celebrities, Dhoni led with 17.3% share, followed by cricketers Rohit Sharma, Surya Kumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mohammed Siraj.

F&B (food & beverage) dominated the celebrity-endorsed sector, with two of the top five categories endorsed by celebrities belonging to the sector: Pan masala and biscuits.

Other top celebrity-endorsed categories included ecom-gaming, paints, and corporate-financial services.

The top five advertisers using celebrities - Sporta Technologies, Parle Biscuits, Vishnu Packaging, Playgames 24x7, and RSH Global—contributed to 53% of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, revealed the report.