Ranbir, Deepika to endorse Pepsi with Shahrukh

Pepsi has roped in Bollywood's debutants Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone as its new brand ambassadors. The duo will be seen with Shah Rukh Khan in Pepsi's first campaign of 2008.

Ranbir and Deepika join Pepsi's brand ambassadorial team comprising stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham as well as cricketers including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa.

PepsiCo India executive vice president - marketing, cola Sandeep Singh Arora said, "The inherent qualities of Pepsi - the youthful spirit, irreverence and competitive streak, hold the key while signing on a brand ambassador. The brand ambassadors of Pepsi are not only the face of the brand but also help strengthen the brand's connect with its consumers. We are very happy to associate with Ranbir and Deepika and welcome them on board."

Kapoor added, "I am extremely proud to be associated with Pepsi - an iconic drink of today's youth. It is a privilege for me to join Pepsi's league of such eminent achievers. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Deepika as Pepsi's new brand ambassador. It has been a great experience working with SRK and Deepika in the new Pepsi Ad."

Padukone said, "I would like to thank Pepsi for choosing me as its brand ambassador. I have always loved the drink and enjoyed the youthfulness of its commercials thoroughly. I would also like to congratulate Ranbir on becoming Pepsi's new face. It was fun working together with Ranbir and Shah Rukh Khan in the new Pepsi ad."

Mukesh Ambani, Mallya, SRK win IPL bids

The high-profile Indian Premier League on Thursday received overwhelming response as India's top industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya , and film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta won bids to own teams in the Twenty20 venture.

After much suspense, Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president and IPL governing council chairman Lalit Modi named the winning bidders, who shelled out staggering amounts to become owners of the Mumbai-based teams.

Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya in the bid for the Mumbai team, for US $111.9 million.

The liquor baron, however, won the bid for the Bangalore team, for US $111.6 million.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan, joining hands with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team, for US $75.09 million.

Fellow-actor Preity Zinta and her boy friend Ness Wadia won the bid for the Mohali team, for US $76 million.

Among others, GMR Holdings was successful in bidding for the Delhi team (US $84 million), while India Cements bagged the Chennai team (US $91 million), Deccan Chronicle the Hyderabad (US $107.01 million) outfit and Emerging Media the Jaipur team, for US $67 million.

The bids of ICICI , Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified, Modi said.

"We can say that all the hard work fructified and the IPL is here to stay," Modi said.

Asked if Shah Rukh was bidding just to use cricket as a means to promote his films, Modi replied, "Shah Rukh loves cricket and that's why he invested his money. It has got nothing to do with film promotion.

"We have heard a similar complaint in the past but the Board never endorsed those views," he added.

He also dismissed suggestions that there was a conflict of interests in Indian Cements, which has BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan as a shareholder, becoming a team owner.

"Mr Srinivasan is just a stakeholder there and he is not the owner. So there is no such conflicts of interests," he said.

Modi admitted that some of the contracted international players would skip the twenty20 tournament, which begins on April 18 owing to national commitments, but said the pool of players is big enough.

"A team needs only four players from abroad and we already have a huge number of them contracted with us. You will have enough of them from the day one," he said.

In all, 59 matches will be played over 44 days, with ICC umpires officiating the games that will be broadcast live on SET Max.

"We already have 80 contracted players and their auction would start soon. Each franchise will consult with the IPL Governing Council before naming the teams and discussing revenue sharing," Modi said.

ICC's anti-doping and anti-corruption units will also keep an eye on the Twenty20 league, he added.

Asked if the base price of US $50 million was too high, he replied, "It's up to the bidders to decide if the base price was high. Since the winning bid proved much more than the base price, you can't really say that it was too high."

Schedules and operational guidelines of the league will be announced later.

Stung by the Essel Group-backed Indian Cricket League, the BCCI had announced the IPL to counter the rebel venture, which has left many state teams depleted.

New Zealand [Images] has also suffered a lot as six Kiwi players joined the ICL and pace spearhead Shane Bond too is ready to take the plunge.

The following are the bid amounts:

Vijay Mallya - US $111.6 million, for the Bangalore team.

Shah Rukh Khan - US $75.09 million, for the Kolkata team.

GMR Holdings - US $84 million, for the Delhi team.

Mukesh Ambani - US $111.9 million, for the Mumbai team.

India Cements - US $91 million, for the Chennai team.

Deccan Chronicle - US $107.01 million, for the Hyderabad team.

Emerging Media - US $67 million, for the Jaipur team.

Ness Wadia & Preity Zinta - US $76, for the Mohali team.