Tiny tots rule on small screen : Article

They've toppled the saas-bahu sagas with their superlative performances, as their soaring TRP ratings prove. And now comes the news that the lead pair of Balika Vadhu — a serial that talks about child marriage — has become hot property amongst advertisers too.

After sashaying down the ramp recently at a fashion show, child stars Avika Gor (Anandi) and Avinash Mukherjee (Jagdish) have been signed on for one year by Sweet Dreams as brand ambassadors for their lounge wear. What's more, they've replaced one of small screen's popular couples Aamna Sharif and Rajeev Khandelwal, who've promoted the brand for over four years now.

"We're a family brand, and have been promoting clothes for adults for years now. We thought it was time to concentrate on our young clientele, so who better than Avika and Avinash. As far as star kids go, they are the most popular at the moment. Honestly speaking, we hadn't even considered anybody else," said Hitesh P Ruparelia, team leader, Sweet Dreams, candidly admitting the kids don't come cheap, "We've paid them the same amount we would have paid older celebrities."

When reminded about one of Bollywood's youngest finds Darsheel Safary as an option, Hitesh revealed, "Big screen actors have their ups and downs and don't grab that many eyeballs as compared to TV stars. Plus, people tend to relate better to the latter, since they do not have the larger-than-life images."

Not surprising then is his revelation that the brand got a better response with their ad campaign with Aamna and Rajeev than with superstar Katrina Kaif, who was their ambassador for 18 months some time back. "If we were a very high-end brand targeting a niche clientele, we would consider Bollywood stars. But ours is a brand for the masses, so TV stars work for us," he adds.

The ad campaign with Avika and Avinash is slated for a February 2009 release, and Hitesh says, "For the next one year, all our campaigns will revolve around these two kids."