Akshay Kumar Tops TV Endorsements With 35 Brands as Celebrity Ad Volumes Fall 17%

Akshay Kumar endorsed 35 brands advertised on Indian television in January–September 2026, up from 21 a year earlier, making him the busiest celebrity endorser on TV, according to TAM AdEx data reported on 23 October 2026 by Storyboard18 and BestMediaInfo. Over the same period, the volume of celebrity-endorsed TV ads fell 17% from January–September 2025.

Celebrities still appeared in 25% of all TV ad time. The data covers Hindi film and TV stars and sports personalities on television; it leaves out South Indian film and TV stars, channel promos and social media ads.

Most visible versus most booked

Shah Rukh Khan was the most visible celebrity on TV, appearing in an average of 26 hours of ads a day across channels. M S Dhoni followed at 22 hours a day and Jasprit Bumrah at 7 hours. Visibility measures airtime, so a star with fewer brands can still dominate the screen.

By number of brands, the top of the table for January–September 2026 looked like this:

• Akshay Kumar: 35 brands (21 a year earlier)
• M S Dhoni: 33
• Shah Rukh Khan: 29
• Amitabh Bachchan: 27
• Ranbir Kapoor: 26 (22 a year earlier)
• Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly: 24 each (14 and 15 a year earlier)

Kareena Kapoor also had 24 brands, Pankaj Tripathi 20 (up from 13) and Hrithik Roshan 17, unchanged.

Where the celebrity money goes

Food and beverages accounted for 25% of celebrity-endorsed ad time, personal care and hygiene for 18% and household products for 9%, so the top three sectors made up just over half. By product, toilet and floor cleaners led with 8%, followed by toilet soaps at 7% and aerated soft drinks at 6%.

Paints used the widest pool of famous faces, with 36 different celebrities, followed by building materials (31), jewellery retailers (28) and spices (27). Film stars accounted for about 65% of celebrity ad time and sports personalities for 28%.

Among celebrity couples, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt had the largest share of couple-endorsed ad time at 19%, Storyboard18 reported.

The IPL effect

Celebrity ads peaked in April–June, the IPL quarter, at an average of 308 hours a day, against 252 hours in January–March and 234 hours in July–September. The slide in the third quarter fits the wider weakness in TV advertising this year, including the dip in ad activity during the BARC ratings blackout and broadcasters' push for relief as TV ad revenue slides.

Shah Rukh Khan also led TAM's visibility chart a year ago, as PressRoom reported in September 2025.