Pepsi-Co has signed Shafali Verma as its “swag star”. She is not only the youngest but also the only cricketer to be endorsed for this brand at the moment. India’s Shafali Verma is now a house-hold name. Recently, she has been ranked at the top of T20 Batting Rankings by the International Cricket Council (ICC). An insider from PepsiCo revealed that she has been signed for a year.
“The deal is inexpensive since Verma has just begun her career. If she continues to perform, PepsiCo will look at renewing it and taking it forward,” he said. However, A PepsiCo spokesperson could not be reached out for further comment.
This will be the first time that Shafali will be the face of a brand. However, last month Star sports had launched a campaign #TakeOntheWorld which featured her, just before the world cup.
Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana have been gaining popularity for a long time in the business of endorsements. However, they are far behind when compared to men cricketers. Smriti had a contract with Alcon Labourites and Power.
“I am thrilled to be associated with an iconic brand like Pepsi. Women are moving ahead in every sphere of life and it is time we live life confidently and on our own terms. I strongly believe in Pepsi’s philosophy of encouraging people to be their true self and be effortlessly cool yet confident in what they aspire to be,” Shafali said.
Raj had charged about Rs 30-40 lakh a year and had been the face of Australian Diamonds and Laver & Wood, on the other hand, T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur who endorses Ceat is learned to be charging Rs 40-50 lakh. Compared to India cricket captain Virat Kohli charges upwards of Rs 6 crore annually.
Shafali Verma started playing cricket after watching Sachin Tendulkar play his Ranji Trophy innings. She was only 9 years old when her father took her to the stadium in Rohtak, near New Delhi. Sachin inspired her to play cricket.
The youngster took less than 6 months to come up to the top list. The Rohtak girl had debuted in September last year against South Africa.
Pepsi had a two-year contract with 54-year-old iconic celebrity, Salman Khan, the deal was estimated at Rs 15 crore in December last year.
Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani are other celebrities endorsed by Pepsi.
The bright star Shafali who is the global talk due to high scores in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia is the only cricketer on the cola maker’s endorsement list. Virat Kohli did not renew his contract with PepsiCo in 2017 as he said that he only wanted to be associated with healthy beverages.
“This Women’s Day, we chose to celebrate the spirit of womanhood by associating with Shafali Verma, someone who resonates with the SWAG traits of being self-confidence and self-belief and is a trailblazer in the sports field. We are proud to have Shafali as Pepsi’s latest SWAGSTAR and with this association, we look forward to inspiring a generation of young Indian women as we tell her story of SWAG,” Tarun Bhagat, Director-Marketing, Hydration and Cola, PepsiCo India, said.
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