Cautions other celebrities to evaluate products they endorse.
By Prabhav Hiremath
MUMBAI: Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has decided to stop endorsing Pepsi, after a school girl asked him a question at an event held in Jaipur: why was Bachchan promoting the beverage which her teacher had termed as “poison”. The question stunned the star who could not reply immediately to the query.
Later, speaking at a meet at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, he said: “I just felt if this is an impression that we create in the mind of a possible buyer, I must not be doing it. And I stopped endorsing it”.
He also urged other celebrities to carefully select the brands they endorse.
“I look into it… I meet the client and ask them about it… I don’t endorse tobacco or alcohol because I don’t have them…then why I should endorse them?” he responded to a student’s question – on what basis he chose to endorse brands.
Bachchan added: “I tell this to my son, Abhishek and to daughter-in-law, Aishwarya also…if you have to endorse a product then you have to conduct your life in such a manner that it does not affect others’ lives.”
The current celebrities endorsing Pepsi are the ‘Besharam’ boy Ranbir Kapoor and Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even the Baadshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan had his name tagged to Pepsi for over 10 years before ending the tenure a while ago.
The other brands that are under Bachchan’s umbrella are Binani Cement, Parle Goldstar Cookies, Kalyan Jewellers, and Himani Fast Relief.
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