MasterCard will be Irrfan’s first international endorsement

Is MasterCard, the leading global credit card company, looking to extend its Bollywood brand ambassadors beyond Anil and Sonam Kapoor? The film industry’s suave father and stylish daughter endorsed a digital campaign titled ‘Fulfill a Promise’ for MasterCard and the Singapore Tourism Board last year that was meant to entice Indians to the South-East Asian island country. Indications are that the credit card giant is now keen to increase its presence in India, which it sees as one of the fastest growing e-commerce nations, by roping in Irrfan.

Why Irrfan? Why not! The Bollywood actor, who’s just had a release last week in Qarib Qarib Singlle, is a hot favourite in Hollywood. He’s done big films like Jurassic World, The Inferno and Life of Pi among others. And he’s also fast becoming a popular brand ambassador after endorsing the likes of Syska LED, Treebo Hotels, Religare, Xolo mobile phones, Edelweiss’ Business Loans, Ceat Tyres, IndiaMART, Vodafone, Indica Hair Dye and KEI Wires. MasterCard will be Irrfan’s first international brand assignment.

Peeping Moon.com has learned that Irrfan has signed the deal for a whopping fee. The MasterCard campaign will be shot in Jaipur this week. Advertising gurus are not surprised that unconventional-looking actors like Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are slowly replacing conventionally good-looking actors like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. One veteran ad-filmmaker said for a multinational brand like MasterCard seeking to establish itself firmly in Indian minds it made sense to use Bollywood actors who were household names.

Here, the scales tipped heavily in favour of Irrfan because like Priyanka Chopra now he too has made big strides in Hollywood since the time he did Mira Nair’s The Namesake in 2006 and Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart in 2007. MasterCard is said to be encouraged by the ‘Digital India’ initiative that recommends Indian consumers to make digital payments in their daily lives and is looking to tap Bollywood film launches as part of its marketing campaign.