If you look at the average price the top five film stars command for an average endorsement and compare that to what the top five cricketers get, the film stars are way ahead.

Aamir Khan apparently commands Rs 10crore (Rs 100 million) while Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni  get around Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million)

It is natural that the endorsement price is heavily skewed in favour of icons like Aamir, SRK, Akshay Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni. These five, on average, get roughly three times what the next 10 get.

And, yes, Aamir Khan is the highest-paid brand ambassador today.

But let's not get into their prices as these vary depending upon the brand and product category. For instance, compared to other product categories, a mobile phone brand would pay a premium to a male icon. Similarly, colour cosmetics' brands would pay female stars more.

The value of the deal depends on the duration of the contract and the number of days the stars commit to endorse the brand.

Among female stars, Genelia D'Souza is said to be getting more than some of the established ambassadors.

Most of the numbers that are reported are rubbish. Discussing endorsement fees makes little sense as, in this field, the standard deviation is so high that the averages have no meaning.

CelebTrack still gives a thumbs up to tried and tested favourites like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan  

Others who have made it to the top, surprisingly include under-used talent like Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif  and Priyanka Chopra.

Our research shows yesteryear icons like Kapil Dev, Hema Malini, Kajol and Madhuri Dixit still enjoy tremendous equity as ambassadors.

Why is India obsessed with film and cricket stars as ambassadors? In the developed markets, models are the highest-paid brand ambassadors.

There are only two passions that appear to be uniting us.

While caste, community, wealth, geography and language, among others, continue to divide us, cricket and films unify us and help us escape from our comparatively difficult day-to-day lives. The big difference in the endorsement fees of cricket/Bollywood stars and those of others models is a direct result of this.

The success in iconic fields like films and cricket is also a big motivator for the audience.

Don't celebrities overshadow the brands they endorse?

It happens because 'talent' (that's the ambassadors) are 'passion' brands while corporate brands are often 'functional'. So you remember the 'entertainment' more than the rudimentary things.

But I am not sure that this accusation is entirely true. This happens only when stars are taken as endorsers at the cost of creativity.

When advertisers know how to use the stars properly in commercials, the audience identify with the brand. Besides, isn't the idea of using ambassadors precisely so that their equity and likeability rub-off on the brand?