These Vintage Ads Featuring Bollywood Celebrities Are So Damn Epic

You’ve seen them on screen, but you’ll love these vintage print ads featuring your favourite Bollywood’s stars. 

Megha Mathur
Entertainment
Updated:
Actor, singer Kishore Kumar endorses Brylcreem in this vintage print ad (Photo: <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/218846863116233143/">www.pinterest.com</a>)
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Actor, singer Kishore Kumar endorses Brylcreem in this vintage print ad (Photo: www.pinterest.com)
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These superstars of Hindi cinema have rocked the big screen for years. But do you remember them in these print ads? Not only do these vintage adverts take us right back to their hay days, they also make for a quirky look at the evolution of advertising and celebrity endorsements. And who knew there was a ‘Dilip Kumar’ brand of pickles?! Make sure you scroll right to the end for that one.

Amitabh Bachchan is real superstar material, just like the suiting brand he’s endorsing here. (Photo: www.rediff.com)
Zeenat Aman poses for Lux (Photo: 8ate.blogspot)

Zeenat Aman’s greatest passion was changing hairstyles, and the late 70s were the best years of her life, as she confesses in this Lux ad.

Jackie Shroff at his macho best (Photo: satyamshot.wordpress.com)

Jackie Shroff endorses a cigarette brand. By the way, these costed only a rupee for a whole pack of ten.

Dream girl Hema Malini endorses Lux (Photo: blog.buzzintown.com)

Hema Malini says in this ad that she loves Bharat Natyam, new saris and this beauty soap that is available in a variety of pastel shades. 

Vinod Khanna got his confidence and freshness from Cinthol (Photo: satyamshot.wordpress.com

You might recall Vinod Khanna running on the beach with a horse. Well, back in the day, he was the epitome of manly freshness, thanks to this print commercial. 

Mala Sinha endorses Bollywood’s favourite beauty soap too (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

Actress Mala Sinha endorses the film industry’s favourite beauty soap too. 

Tanuja features as the face of Lux too (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

The vivacious Tanuja endorses Lux as a beauty treatment that she couldn’t do without. Interestingly, this is the only beauty soap ad that you might have seen, that seems to have been shot at night. Only half of her face is really visible. But her spunk and energy are the same as ever. 

Prem Chopra plays the cool, the smart, the modern man for this ad (Photo: uturn.co.in)

This dashing side of Prem Chopra was a rare appearance in films. Check out those intense eyes and that jawline. Ooh and the neat shiny crown of hair. Prem Chopra had never looked this handsome on screen.

Nirupa Roy used Lux too? (Photo: cinegems.in)

The mother of Bollywood choose the pure, white luxury of the Lux beauty soap and suggests you get the big bath size, just like she did. 

Helen looks her stunning bold self in this Lux print ad (Photo: www.cuttingthechai.com)

Helen danced through our hearts with her elegant yet spunky numbers. In this ad she says that her dogs are very special to her and that she loves dressing up and travelling abroad. And of course, Lux keeps her glowing and youthful through it all. 

Rajesh Khanna’s role in Red Rose (1980) sparked the idea for this print ad (Photo: www.cuttingthechai.com)

Rajesh Khanna was stylish and had a hysterical fan following. Hence, the perfect choice for brand endorsements. 

Sharmila Tagore looked her elegant, coy self in this Lux ad (Photo: www.india-forums.com)

If Sharmila Tagore trusted this beauty soap for her lovely skin, why wouldn’t we? 

Gabbar eats glucose biscuits? (Photo: onlybombay.blogspot.com)

Well it’s hard to imagine Gabbar getting his strength from glucose biscuits, but we get the point. This endorsement does seem a bit misplaced, but it is pretty cool to see the bandit we love the most, getting this excited about biscuits.

Parveen Babi loves the mild gentleness of Lux, just like she loves writing poetry (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

One of Hindi cinema’s true divas, Parveen Babi’s gorgeousness could sell anything. Her natural, non-made up look here adds a ton of freshness to this Lux ad. 

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Ashok Kumar endorses a brand of suit length fabric (Photo: www.cuttingthechai.com)

With a giant diamond ring on his finger, actor Ashok Kumar urges you to give Ambiking suitings a total test before you buy yourself a suit length. It seems, the ring serves as one of the parameters. The grand old man of Hindi cinema looks suave and stylish in this one. 

Meena Kumari endorses Lux too (Photo: colorsprinkles.wordpress.com)

Wow! Now that’s seriously vintage. The enchanting Meena Kumari was also the face of Lux. 

A little less macho, a lot more chocolatey: Jackie Shroff endorses Cadbury’s drinking chocolate. (Photo: www.india-forums.com)

Jackie Shroff was never quite the chocolatey hero, but he sure could get us to switch from tea to a cup of hot chocolate. 

Saira Banu poses for a Lux print ad (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

This Lux ad claims that even the petit, the delicate Saira Banu, found the fragrance of this beauty soap simply irresistible.

Model turned actress Prema Narayan endorses Lux (Photo: abhisays.com)

She was Femina Miss India World in 1971 and then turned to acting in Bollywood films. Prema Narayan’s role in Amanush (1975) was quite the deviation from her sex symbol image.

Rekha poses for Lux (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

Talking of divas and beauty soaps, how could we forget Rekha?

Jackie Shroff again, this time endorsing an after shave (Photo: photos.filmibeat.com)

Bhidu is at his rustic, unkempt, macho best in this ad for an after shave brand. 

Nanda introduces a new Lux fragrance (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

Actress Nanda was chosen as the one to launch a new fragrance in the popular beauty soap range.

Kishore Kumar went perfectly well with Brylcreem’s tagline ‘For successful men’ (Photo: www.pinterest.com)

Actor, singer, comedian Kishore Kumar probably was someone who needed a ton of Brylcreem in his life, thanks to his eccentric dance moves in some of his quirkiest songs. 

Bollywood actress Shyama added more vintage to the Lux campaign (Photo: cinegems.in)

Shyama starred in the melodious numbers ‘Ae dil mujhe bataa de’ and ‘Ae lo main haari piya’ and surely added a ton of ‘vintage’ to this famous beauty soap campaign.

Shatrughan Sinha looks disappointed at having run out of soda (Photo: www.mbaskool.com)

While Bagpiper soda had all the makings of a great occasion and that’s why Shatrughan Sinha seems to be annoyed at having run out of it. His expression is quite funny, isn’t it?

Asha Parekh also endorsed Lux (Photo: idiva.com)

The demure Asha Parekh flaunts a playful smile in this print ad. 

Who wouldn’t want some Dilip Kumar pickle? (Photo: www.brunchnews.com)

Dilip Kumar was the face of a pickle brand? Really! Wonder what these tasted like. Also wondering why this ad reads ‘This is not a cheap product manufactured for commercial profits.’ Well, whatever it might have been, I’d surely have loved to know how tangy this was. Wouldn’t you?

Published: 17 Sep 2015,03:52 PM IST

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