When a pan masala box fights back.
The last thing one can imagine 007 James Bond doing is chewing pan masala before doing he beats criminals black and blue, and bust mafia kingpins.
But hold on!
An Indian pan masala brand has done what most people may think is ridiculous, by roping Pierce Brosnan, the former 007, to act in its ad.
However, this could be the first time that one of Pierce Brosnan’s acts is failing to make an impact among his fans and he’s been ridiculed for poor selection.
In the ad, the old James Bond seems to have forgotten his Walther pistol on a very dangerous mission. The looks of Brosnan, who has a white beard, do not befit a British agent and by all indication, he seems to be enjoying retired life.
The only weapon that the GoldenEye Bond has in the ad is a pan masala tin, which moves by itself and beats opponents.
The brand wanted to prove that their small tin of pan masala is enough to fight bloodthirsty criminals, fully equipped with latest guns – an idea that seems to have been inspired by some spoof movie.
“We are the oldest brand of mouth freshener in India and we don’t produce either gutka or pan masala. But after the 1990s when gutka flooded the market, all mouth freshener products also got a bad name,” a spokesman for the company said.
“We are trying to change that perception and this is a first step.”
Brosnan, who earlier appeared in the ad of a popular Indian suiting, has also endorsed Swiss watches, chocolates, beer, credit cards and soft drinks. But this appearance of the aging bond has called for laughter and some smirk from his fans.
“Our choice of Pierce Brosnan as brand ambassador for Pan Bahar is in line with our campaign idea of ‘Pehchan Kamyabi Ki’ (the mark of success). Thanks to his previous avatar as James Bond, Mr Brosnan is seen the world over as a symbol of sophistication, suavity and success. And Pan Bahar, as his choice, reflects that aspiration in the consumer base we were targeting,” said Sambit Mohanty of DDB Mudra to NDTV.
At the end of the ad Brosnan says “Class never goes out of style”, but many of his fans feel that an actor of his class should have refrained from doing a pan masala ad.
Trollers on Twitter and Facebook were quick to react. Some have even started scripting new dialogues for 007. One such sarcastic dialogue read “I’m Bond (spits pan) James Bond (pan leaking down Brosnan’s beard.”
Social Media Update
Earlier, Pierce Brosnan would wait for MI6 orders to go on a mission.
Now he just takes supaaris.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 7, 2016
Now the ready excuse for everything will be…agar Pierce Brosnan Kar sakta hai toh humko bhi maaf hai😂
— J (@jiteshpillaai) October 7, 2016