Virat , SRK, Deepika and ranveer amongst top 5 endorsers

When cricketer Virat Kohli became the new king of the advertising world last year, it signaled a trend that is fast catching up in the endorsement space. Brands are preferring young celebrities to cater to the millennial population.

Kohli dethroned Shah Rukh Khan to become the most valuable celebrity brand of India with brand value of USD 144 million, up by 56 per cent in 2017. King Khan slipped to second rank, with a brand value of USD 106 million, down by 20 per cent compared to 2016.

According to a Duff and Phelps report, out of the top 15 celebrities on the brand value list, 10 celebrities belong to the millennial population including actor Deepika Padukone, retaining her position on third, Ranveer Singh at rank 5, Alia Bhatt at position 9 followed by Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anushka Sharma and PV Sindhu.

While the top 15 celebrities' brand portfolio consists of 234 product brands, the millennial celebrities have a huge share in the pie with 149 products that accounts for 64 per cent of the entire brand portfolio of the top 15 celebrities.

There is no denying that millennial endorsers are replacing older faces. And the proof of this is beverage industry leader Coca Cola's decision to not renew its contract for Thums Up brand with megastar Salman Khan for the first time since 2012. They instead decided to sign Ranveer Singh who symbolizes youth, and thus fits better with the brand.

Similarly, Honda decided to appoint upcoming actress Tapsee Pannu as the brand ambassador for scooters targeted at young riders.

Skin care giant Garnier appointed Tiger Shroff as their new brand ambassador, who can now be seen promoting the product brand alongside John Abraham and Sushant Singh Rajput. Garnier associates Tiger Shroff with having natural, sporty, action oriented, adventurous and fun traits.

Another young celebrity that replaced industry veterans was Alia Bhatt who was brought on board by Philips as the ambassador for the company, replacing Kareena Kapoor. She also replaced Priyanka Chopra for Garnier.

Joining Bhatt's league was Anushka Sharma who became the brand ambassador for Clean & Clear, replacing John Abraham and Bipasha Basu, who were associated with the product for a considerable number of years. Her approachable attitude also got her the TVS Scooty ad, which was previously exclusively endorsed by Preity Zinta.

In 2017, Alia Bhatt featured as a top endorser in four of the top five segments which includes personal care, food and beverages, automobiles, smartphones and clothing. Another star who was also a new entrant in the top 15 brand value list, Varun Dhawan, featured as one of the top five endorsers in two of the top five segments.

The food segment also shows similar trends. Juhi Chawla was replaced by Parineeti Chopra in the Kurkure ad for her young and sprightly image. Similarly, Lays Chips' previous ambassador Saif Ali Khan was replaced by Ranbir Kapoor.

The smartphone category is dominated by millennial celebrities including Alia, Deepika and Ranveer.

Millennial celebrities have become the first choice for brand endorsements as companies want to have a greater focus on youth, and they feel that the face of their product brand should be a person with a youthful image to connect well with their target audience.

India is expected to become the youngest country in the world by 2020 with a median age of 29. The upcoming generation has a higher earning capacity and a different lifestyle as compared to their predecessors, the report added.