At the Euro 2020 press conference, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo removed two bottles of Coca-Cola, after which the market value of Coca-Cola fell. The company suffered a loss of Rs 29,000 crore. Coca-Cola has been a sponsor company of FIFA since 1974. Still, the courage shown by Ronaldo is very unlikely to happen in India.
Stars from India are often seen endorsing Pepsi, Coca-Cola and even Gutkha brands. These brands get so much money that hardly anyone can leave them. Some brands are even considered proof of being a big star. It is rarely seen that Indian stars refuse any brand endorsement keeping in mind the health of the people.
Ajay Devgan and Shahrukh Khan never did a film together. It is believed that the relationship between the two is also not very good. No filmmaker could bring them together, but in March 2021, they worked together for the Vimal Gutkha brand. Hardly anyone can tell the value of this deal. Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn have worked together in Vimal Elaichi's ad. When this ad came out three months back, #NoMySRK trended on Twitter.
Some fans argued that Shahrukh is advertising Vimal Elachi and it is not gutkha, but people wrote on social media that if stars like Shahrukh or Ajay endorse Vimal brand, then they promote gutkha along with cardamom.
Aamir Khan's team told that Aamir Khan does not currently endorse any cola brand. Years ago he endorsed this brand.
Sunny Leone used to endorse the brand 'Mehak' pan masala. Five years ago, pan masala is not good for health, such a request was made by the government. After this, Sunny had announced not to ad for pan masala.
The ruling party BJP at the Center has earlier demanded the closure of Coca-Cola and Pepsi ads. This demand was made in 2006 when the BJP was in opposition.
Aamir Khan gave a statement against the Narmada project. Then there was the BJP government in Gujarat. The film 'Fanaa' was not allowed to release in Gujarat. Along with this, Coca-Cola bottles, ad banners and other property were also damaged in many places.
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli used to endorse Pepsi earlier, but four years ago he refused to renew his contract with Pepsi. Then Virat had said – I myself not drinking soft drinks, so I cannot ask others to drink it just for money.
Badminton legend P. Gopichand had flatly refused to endorse a cola brand. Pullela Gopichand had told in an interview to 'Business Standard' that he has given up using cola products since 1997. Gopichand had told that my family and my friends know that I had refused to endorse the cola brand. If you want, you can call it my personal ethics.
No sports celebrity in India is directly endorsing any cola brand, but the coverage partner of Preity Zinta's Punjab Kings is Coca-Cola. That's why players from Punjab Kings can be seen in Coca-Cola's ad.
No sportsperson endorses soft drinks in India, but P.V. Sindhu endorses Pepsi Company's Get Red drink. According to the company's claim, it is a sports drink. Similarly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni endorses the Coca-Cola Company's sports drink Powerade.
Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar said in a conversation that stardom is measured by some brands here. Like, if someone gets a Pepsi ad, he's a big star. Here this ad is not a matter of shame, it is an achievement.
Dr. Sandeep Goel, Managing Director, Radifusion and Expert on Human Brand said that the celebs here believe in the biggest Rupaiya. Money is everything in the celebrity endorsement game. There is a very limited time for celebs to be at the peak of fame. During this time, he wants to cash out as much as he can to his star value.
Big stars get 5 to 7 crore rupees for an endorsement of such a brand. So much money in a few days of ad shoot is a big deal. There are very few stars who can defy the lure of such offers. Here money is available very quickly and their visibility also increases, this is a bonus. For some time now, an atmosphere has been created against fairness cream, so now the stars are avoiding it.
Harish Bijoor, brand expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults, said that after Ronaldo, India's stars will also have to take a stand keeping public health issues in mind. If he does not speak, public pressure will increase. People will speak on social media.
He told that now the pro-consumer trend is going on internationally, not pro-market. Many celebs have started believing this and have started telling that what is not good for the public, they should leave or they should not. They don't care about the brand but their fans.
Harish Bijoor also told that the budget for Cola ads can range from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 12 crore. It depends on who and how many stars are working.
Will our stars continue to endorse brands of cola or harmful products? This question was asked to the team of Salman Khan, Tiger Shroff, Hrithik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan and Ajay Devgan, but till the time of writing the news, there was no response from their side.
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