These stars mean money!

These stars mean big bucks. And the endorsers know this. 

To decode why advertisers love these stars are ace ad filmmaker Pralhad Kakkar and ad-man-turned director Vivek Sharma. Take a look:

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

She was the face of brands like Coca-Cola and Nakshatra diamond jewellery in India. She also completed nearly a decade of endorsing Swiss luxury watches, Longines, and the international soap Lux. She's been the brand ambassador of global haircare brand L'Oreal since 2003.

"She is the only actress I know who has a very international face," says Pralhad.

She emerged as the top female celebrity endorsing the maximum number of ads last year. She made headlines when she replaced Aishwarya Rai in the Nakshatra account, and Sushmita Sen in the Pantene ad. Other ads to her credit are Slice, Veet and Dyna sandal soap.

So what's the reason behind the rush for brand Katrina?

"Katrina has a very charming and universal face. She has a freshness, which gets better with time. Models tend to use a lot of facial muscles to express themselves but Katrina is a very sober and effective," says director Vivek Sharma whose Kal Kisne Dekha will release in May.

"I think she makes a great ad face but she hasn't been endorsing too many prodcuts lately," says Vivek.

Even though she's no Katrina, Priyanka is still a favourite with advertisers. She endorses as many as eight products including Nokia, Sunsilk, Ponds and Tag Heur.

A relatively new name to the list of top ad faces, Urvashi was the face of Ponds, Kit Kat and Globus

"Of the newer generation, I think Urvashi makes a good ad face. She has the saleability factor," Pralhad says of the actress who made her Bollywood debut with Naqaab. You may have also seen her on the desi version of Fear Factor with Akshay Kumar.

Mr Perfectionist reigns the ad world with his meticulous work. He has played various characters -- man and woman as well as a sardarji in the recent Tata Sky ad. He also endorses products like Samsung mobiles and Coca-Cola.

"If you observe the recent commercials, character-based roles are doing very well," says Vivek. "Even the recent Vodafone ad is doing extremely well. So humourous, character-based ads are an ad-maker's pick."

King Khan grabs the top position according to a TAM Adex study.

The star endorses as many as 21 products. Apart from promoting his Knight Riders through the Sprite account, Shah Rukh also lends his name to Linc pens, Navratna oil, Emami and Dish TV.

Amitabh Bachchan has been a brand ambassador of products like ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Cadbury's, Hajmola, Navratna oil and Emani Boroplus.

"He will always remain a public figure," says Vivek. "People will buy a product if he endorses a brand. They look up to him."

Just two films old, Ranbir managed to emerge as a youth icon and is the hottest young brand endorser in town. But the actor is very selective, which is why he endorses only two products -- Pepsi and Panasonic.

The only odd-man out in this list of film stars is cricketer Dhoni who comes second after SRK in the TAM Adex study. The handsome player endorses products like Dabur, Aircel, Lays, Big Bazaar, Reebok and Videocon.

"People use Dabur products because they think it gives them the inner strength like Dhoni," says Vivek.