Celebrity Ads Without Celebrity Shoots? AI Is Changing the Economics of Endorsements

Celebrity endorsements have traditionally depended on a star’s time, with brands coordinating shoots, locations and crews. 

AI cloning offers another route: with permission, a digital version of a celebrity or creator can appear in campaign content without requiring them to attend every shoot.

This could make campaigns easier to adapt and create another revenue stream for people whose faces and voices have commercial value. But a convincing replica is not automatically a business asset: consent, licensing, payment and misuse all need to be addressed.

THE BIG SHIFT

  AI cloning is changing the question from “How do we book a celebrity?” to “How can we license and control an approved digital likeness?”

From Celebrity Shoots to AI-Licensed Endorsements

Traditional endorsements often require a celebrity to appear in a campaign or record material for a specific production. AI-assisted production can reduce some scheduling and location constraints by using an approved likeness in different settings.

Industry reporting has identified cricketers Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill among early adopters of this approach. Potential formats extend beyond conventional advertisements to branded videos, short-form series and other digital content. The exact possibilities depend on the rights granted in each agreement.

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A Rs. 6,500 crore pool and a 30-second problem

Two markets sit under this shift, according to industry estimates cited by The Economic Times:

The catch is speed. 

Sparkonomy cofounder Guneet Singh says an identity can now be replicated within 30 seconds, so creators who earn from their identity must be protected and paid when someone else uses it. 

He calls the creator opportunity similar to the celebrity one, "but at 1,000 times the scale." That is a founder's projection, not a measured figure, but there are far more creators than A-listers.

"The key thing is that identity can now be replicated within 30 seconds." — Guneet Singh, cofounder, Sparkonomy

Identity is turning from a content ingredient into a licensable asset.

That is why every platform in this story sells the same thing. Not the clone itself, but control over it.

As AI-led campaigns become more common, measuring their impact matters more than ever. 

Branded content is the bigger prize

Studio Blo cofounder Dipankar Mukherjee says brands are no longer stuck with conventional shoots. They can place a celebrity in any location or situation a creative brief demands. But he sees the bigger win in branded content: miniseries, microdramas, animated short-form, vertical series and even feature-length formats.

He expects 2027 to be pivotal as brands lean on AI for more engaging content.

"The future belongs to monetisation of consent." — Dipankar Mukherjee, cofounder, Studio Blo

No consent, no campaign.

Think of it as a simple rule: the money follows the permission. A clone built with a star's approval is an asset. One built without it is a legal problem.

Two platforms are building for this. Studio Blo's FAIMOUS lets celebrities create, control and license their AI clones. Sparkonomy's Open Creator Graph is open infrastructure where creators set how AI systems may use their content and likeness.

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Consent is the whole game

The same tech that enables licensing makes misuse easy. Mass adoption, says PwC India's Rajesh Sethi, needs five things. Use them as a checklist the next time you read an AI licensing deal:

• Standardised licensing terms

• Verifiable consent

• Systems to monitor usage

• A way to set pricing

• A way to facilitate payments

Courts are not waiting. Amitabh Bachchan, Arijit Singh and Raj Shamani have each won interim relief against unauthorised use of their names, images or voices. Analyst Mason's Ujjwal Chaudhry adds that the opportunity depends on infrastructure that protects identities and controls their commercial use.

"...personality rights into sharper focus in India." — Rajesh Sethi, PwC India, on the rise of deepfakes and voice cloning

The law is moving. The market needs standard rules faster than courts can write them case by case.

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As AI Takes Over Production, Creativity Becomes More Valuable

When production gets cheaper, the idea becomes the scarce thing. The marketers who win will pair creativity with AI fluency, data sense and legal awareness.

Four skills will separate people who ride this wave from people who watch it:

• AI fluency: know what the tools can and cannot do.

• Data sense: measure whether AI-led content actually performs.

• Legal awareness: consent, licensing terms and personality rights.

• Storytelling: when production is cheap, the idea is the product.

The tools will arrive faster than the people who can use them responsibly.

Your turn: pick a creator you follow. What would you license (voice, face, character), and what would you never allow? That second list is the heart of every consent clause.

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Key takeaways

• Likeness is the new product. Celebrities and creators can license AI versions of their faces and voices, not just their time.

• The pool is big. India's celebrity endorsement market is estimated at Rs 3,000 crore and influencer marketing at Rs 3,500 crore.

• Branded content is the bigger prize. Miniseries, microdramas and long-form formats may matter more than single ads, with 2027 expected to be pivotal.

• Consent decides who profits. Standard terms, verifiable consent, usage monitoring, pricing and payments all still need solving.

• The law is already moving. Courts have granted interim relief to Amitabh Bachchan, Arijit Singh and Raj Shamani.

• Skills decide who benefits. AI fluency, data sense, legal awareness and storytelling make the strongest mix.

The Future of Celebrity Endorsements Is Up for Grabs

AI cloning could let celebrities and creators earn from approved digital versions of their identities, while giving brands new ways to produce content. Whether it becomes a mainstream revenue stream will depend on the value it delivers, the quality of the technology and the safeguards that protect the people being represented.

Source: The Economic Times, “AI cloning opens new monetisation route for celebrities, creators”, Javed Farooqui, 5 October 2026. Market figures and industry projections are attributed to the reporting. This article is for informational purposes and is not legal advice.