When it comes to creating some instant online buzz for a product or building a more reliable and trustworthy image among the target consumer, celebrity endorsements can come in quite handy for a brand. When an influential person advertises for a brand, it gives a certain level of credibility to its product.
Not only companies but governments also hire celebrities to promote their welfare schemes and policies for wider accessibility so that their benefits are reaped by all sections of society.
For instance, Amitabh Bachchan has proved to be a big asset for the Indian government for the success of its “Pulse Polio” and “Clean India Mission” initiatives which are meant to improve the overall health of the general population.
But at the same time, Amitabh Bachchan has also endorsed a cancer-causing pan masala (Kamla Pasand). So, what does he stand for? On the one hand, he is urging people to use toilets to live a healthy and disease-free life, but on the other hand, he is selling tobacco to the youth.
Although, after getting trolled on the internet, Amitabh Bachchan has recently terminated his contract with the pan masala brand. He said that he was not aware of the product coming under surrogate advertising. Examples of such ads are of alcohol companies advertising Music CDs as the mass advertising of alcohol and tobacco products is banned.
But why did he choose to promote a tobacco product in the first place? Such a dignified actor couldn’t be as naive to not know what Kamla Pasand sachet contained.
From National TV’s Ramayana days to this day’s modern internet age, TV advertisements playing in the living room of an Indian household or on our smartphones have largely shaped up the thinking, preferences and morals of a huge section of Indian society.
Since advertisements have a reasonable amount of socio-cultural influence, should celebrities try to be selective about the kind of products they endorse and care less about their own monetary gains? Or should brands also question the way they market their products so that their advertisements do not seem insensitive to a particular section of society?