New Delhi: Priyanka Chopra has achieved many firsts for an Indian actor who has joined the global entertainment industry: From beating popular Hollywood celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Scarlett Johansson in the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) most popular celeb list of 2016 to becoming the first Indian star to enter the Forbes list of highest paid television actresses in the world.

To add to the list, she is now the global face of Procter & Gamble’s hair care brand Pantene. The 34-year-old will appear in the brand’s Pro-V’s new shampoo formulas marketing campaign which includes television, digital advertising, public relations and social media.

In an official statement, Pantene said Chopra will appear in a TV spot along with other brand ambassadors of the brand. The spot will debut on 26 December in the US. She will also make an individual appearance in an ad which will begin airing in January 2017. In India, the brand currently leverages Anushka Sharma as its face, and has been endorsed by Katrina Kaif, Shilpa Shetty, Parineeti Chopra and Neha Dhupia in the past.

While many Indian actors have endorsed international brands in the past, Chopra is the first to feature in the consumer products space.

“Unlike India, movie stars in America usually don’t endorse FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products. In America only television stars or celebrities endorse FMCG products. They are hired by these companies because they play familiar characters and reach an average American’s home every day. So, an average American knows Chopra as Alex Parrish (a character she plays on television series, Quantico). Brands leverage the popularity of the character," said a senior celebrity manager, on the condition of anonymity.

Chopra started dabbling in the American entertainment industry by releasing music singles in 2012. However, Quantico, an American drama thriller series that premiered on ABC in September 2015, was one of her biggest achievements. The series features Chopra as Alex Parrish, a bright FBI recruit, who after graduating from the Academy, joins the agency and later becomes a prime suspect of a terror attack on Grand Central Terminal. This was followed by her appearance on television talk shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Ellen Show.

Chopra also appeared in Apple Inc.’s subsidiary Beats Electronics’ campaign promoting Pill XL range of speakers in May. In 2013, she became the first Indian actor to model for American clothing brand, Guess.

Celebrity managers estimate Chopra’s brand endorsement fee to be around Rs1 crore a day and feel that her popularity among international brands is due to the dire need for quality ethnic and diverse celebrities in American brand campaigns. America, in their opinion, has many East Asian and Latin American celebrities but Chopra is the only good looking and well-known South Asian woman.

According to Raindrop Media Management, the agency which manages Chopra’s brand portfolio, she currently endorses 12 brands including Parle Agro’s beverage Appy Fizz, chocolate brand Schmitten, Rajnigandha Silver Pearls, Reliance-owned smartphone brand LYF Earth 2 and Blenders Pride, among others. She has also been appointed the brand ambassador of Assam Tourism.

According to Atul Kasbekar, chairman and managing director, Bling Entertainment Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which manages Bollywood actors Sonam Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan, Chopra is doing a very smart thing. “Female stars have more longevity in the international markets vis-à-vis India. Hats off to her for successfully establishing herself in the international market. Frankly, there have been other female stars who haven’t managed to turn opportunities or gone so far in such a short time period internationally. So, whatever brand endorsements she does will add an extra zero in her bank account because brands tend to pay reasonably well in the West," he said.

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