On Election Day, a small news item appeared in the morning papers. But for a photograph that accompanied the story, many would have missed it. A smiling Big B was snapped standing next to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The news said that AB was very keen to meet Dhoni as he had become a fan of his. Dhoni is the new sensation. His new-found celebrity status has given him many contracts. These days, he is appearing in public functions, shooting for ad films and receiving the honour to be the ambassador for some of the best brands in the country. This is only the beginning. As he hits more sixes and wins more matches for India, demand for his endorsements will increase.

One cannot but be reminded of another man who not so long back had all this and some. He also had the best brands begging him to sign on the dotted line. There were sports management companies vying with each other to earn the right to represent him. Yes, I am talking about the Prince of Calcutta, Sourav Ganguly. Today, the chips are down and so all but one advertising contract has been terminated. His lone companion is, incidentally, a brand of chips.

There, of course, is a very simple explanation for these two contrasting stories ? that of sunset and sunrise. Everyone prefers to worship the sun in the sky, not the one that had set yesterday. I am not too sure about the scriptures but that at least is the prevailing notion in the world of advertising. It does not appear to be an unreasonable notion either. Unless of course one pauses to examine the basic issue: why are celebrities used in ads in the first place?

There are three simple reasons. The most popular of them is that a celebrity mug shot on your ad makes it more noticeable. In these days of infinite ad clutter, this is a million-dollar prize. Many stars are paid a million dollars for it. The second one is more optimism than reasoning. One hopes that the love and affection that the public have for the star will rub off on to the brand. Most Amitabh Bachchan ads are created with this hope in mind. Then there are some, unfortunately only some, who seek the benefit of a higher order. They borrow one of the attributes of the public persona. So Akshay Kumar?s macho image is exploited by Thums Up or the ethereal beauty of Ash by a leading brand of diamond. A new entrant like Dhoni will thus be most amenable for use with any brand that wishes to promise power: Eveready or Exide, Tata Steel or TVS bikes.

That brings us back to Sourav. Is he still an attractive property for endorsing brands? The haste with which the advertisers have dropped him would tend to make the question superfluous. Yet the doubt remains; opinion polls in the media and posters at the cricket grounds would tend to suggest that a strong affinity still exists. There is an even stronger argument. Sourav in this last phase of his cricketing career has epitomised courage, fighting spirit and a never-say-die attitude. He has demonstrated a rare ability to stand alone and fight. Spare a thought for the lone warrior who walked in to face Shoaib Akhtar knowing that a failure would mean an end to his cricketing career. That the fate did not alter even after a decent performance on the pitch is a different story altogether. Cricket by then had become a game of not so glorious certainties.

Some years back an ad had said, ?When the going gets tough ? tough get going ?. Can you think of a better model for this ad than Sourav?