Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan top youth icons of India

If age is just a number, one place that this saying resonates loudest is in Brand Equity's Most Exciting Youth Brands Survey.

Reason: the 15-24 year olds consider Sachin Tendulkar (38), Shah Rukh Khan (46) and Salman Khan (46) as their Top 3 icons; the arguably more dashing and fresh Virat Kohli, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan can wait on the sidelines, presumably till the grey hair pops, for their turn.

Though the average age of the Top 3 icons in our survey is 43 years, they clearly have a lot going for them: they are seen as trendsetters in their profession; inspiring role models; have a great style quotient; and are evidently convincing brand ambassadors for brands they endorse.

Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Futurebrands, a marketing consultancy firm, isn't surprised to see the names on the top of the list. "It is not right to say that youth relate only to young people. What they look up to today is achievement by the person; therefore real age doesn't really matter."

Harish Krishnamachar, country head & SVP, World Sport Group (India), the agency that manages Tendulkar's brand associations thinks that age has nothing to do with what Sachin endorses. Most of his associations are long term and people come to him because they consider him someone who has made it big in cricket on his own ability.

"Sachin is an inspiration to a lot of people because of the way he conducts himself in public and that again creates a good impression of him. However, we do ensure there is a consistency in the way people see him," adds Krishnamachar.

© Economictimes