“With great power, comes great responsibility.” Folks, we have been hearing this line since time immemorial. However, even today, there have been instances where we have had to issue ‘gentle reminders’ to people who exert tremendous influence on public and hold positions of power. Well, our loved and adored Indian celebrities certainly come under this category.
Gone are those days where the job of a movie star ends at delivering a box office hit courtesy his acting mettle. Given the kind of popularity that they enjoy in the country, one can’t disassociate them from the fact that their actions tend to get copied or followed largely by the masses. In such a situation, it becomes extremely important for the celebrity to treat itself as a brand and most importantly be aware and cautious about all its activities, starting from your regular life habits to the kind of brands you associate yourself with for endorsements.
Despite all the PR campaigns and marketing guidance that they are blessed with 24/7 in their daily lives, a lot of celebs seem to be missing a trick or two when it comes to understanding what is good for their ‘brand-value’ and what is not. One wrong move or error in terms of brand collaboration can prove to be extremely costly as the stakes are high. In the recent past, we have seen some really popular A-listers getting trolled on social media for their choice of brand endorsements. So today, we compile a list to delve deep into finding out what exactly went wrong –
Amitabh Bachchan – Ranveer Singh advertisement for Kamala Pasand Tobacco: While Ranveer Singh has been quite bold and expressive when it comes to ad choices in the past, Amitabh Bachchan’s advertisement history says that he has always been very responsible as a social being and public figure. However, when his advertisement alongside Ranveer Singh came for Kamala Pasand Tobacco brand, netizens on social media and Youtube trolled that to a great extent. Later, media reports came on Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday this year that he terminated his contract with the ‘pan-masala’ brand.
Ajay Devgn – Shah Rukh Khan advertisement for Vimal Pan Masala: Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan are two of the most popular and respected personalities in the Hindi entertainment industry and in all these years, they have earned a lot of respect from their fans and admirers all over the country. However, no amount of stardom could save them from getting trolled on social media and YouTube when the duo featured together for an advertisement of Vimal ‘pan-masala’. The advertisement trended for all the wrong reasons.
Vicky Kaushal – Rashmika Mandanna Macho Underwear advertisement: Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna are literally enjoying an amazing phase in their professional lives and that’s why whatever venture they undertake seems to turn to gold for them. However, that wasn’t the case for these two youth icons when they featured in Macho underwear advertisement. The advertisement shows Rashmika getting attracted after seeing Vicky’s underwear and it was labeled as downright sexist. Both of them were trolled in comments by netizens for apparently being vulgar in their approach and it certainly didn’t please their fans.
Alia Bhatt and her Manyavar advertisement: Alia Bhatt is one of the most popular and adorable personalities in the Indian entertainment industry. It is only natural that a popular celebrity like her will be a hot choice for brands. The actress was recently roped in for an advertisement for Manyavar which apparently had a good message to reflect in its advertisement. Apparently, the advertisement wanted to highlight the fact that women should not be treated as burdens or an ‘object’ who should just be married off as early as possible, a section of netizens thought that the advertisement apparently disrespected the traditional Hindu rituals and as a result, #BoycottManyavar trended on social media during the rate for quite a long time.
Hrithik Roshan & Katrina Kaif in Zomato advertisement: Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif are two of the finest and most admired personalities in the Indian entertainment industry. Given their stardom and fan following, it’s only natural that both of them are favorite choices for brand endorsements. The two of them were recently roped in for a Zomato advertisement campaign recently and the result was not what they expected. While the intention was to highlight the fact that their delivery partners can’t even wait to click a selfie with a celebrity since they don’t want to be late for their next order, netizens pointed out in comments that it might just be a reflection of the immense pressure these delivery boys have to deal with if they deliver food late as the consequences might be a deduction of salary for the delay.
Shah Rukh Khan and ‘Fair And Handsome’ advertisement: Shah Rukh Khan aka King Khan is one of the most celebrated and influential personalities in the country. By influential, we simply mean that any action of his can influence the minds and hearts of many. When SRK featured in advertisements for ‘Fair And Handsome’ fairness cream, there was a lot of criticism on social media and even in general citing that a global icon like SRK should be a part of an advertisement that makes a ‘dusky’ man feel any less about himself.
Sachin Tendulkar and his ‘Paytm First Games Advertisement’: Even ‘Bharat Ratna’ Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t spared from netizens for his advertisement selection. The legendary cricketer was part of an advertisement campaign for ‘Paytm First Games’ which was supposed to be motivational. The advertisement showed Sachin Tendulkar’s journey from a child who used to just come to the ground to apparently ‘cheer’ the senior team to becoming one of the best cricketers the world has ever produced. While everything was fine about the advertisement, a lot of netizens criticized the fact that a child was slapped hard for doing what he finds happiness in. It was looked upon as a medium of spreading hate against children and this advertisement featuring ‘Little Master’ received a lot of criticism.
Well, going by these advertisements and ‘troll comments’, all we can hope for is that our celebrities take their ‘social responsibility’ as ‘public figures’ a lot more seriously as it is important to also practice what we preach in reality. Here’s hoping that our celebrities look forward to advertisement offers beyond just ‘financial benefits’ as too many hearts and emotions are connected with them.
