Recently, two big jaw-dropping news of the advertising and marketing industry got us thinking.
Amitabh Bacchan decided to pull out from his endorsement deal with Kamla Pasand, a pan masala brand and Byju’s pulling off ads featuring Shahrukh Khan after his son Aryan Khan’s alleged drug episode.
The incidents put a spotlight on how the halo effect can affect the perception of people related to celebrity endorsements. Endorsement by celebrities cannot only help position but also re-position existing brands.
The brands can receive criticism as well as an appreciation for their decisions at such times. Byju’s led to a sudden increase in sales as it introduced Shahrukh Khan as their brand face, the actor being popular among all age groups but when the recent incident happened, the brand’s knee-jerk reaction was trolled and supported too.
While in Big B’s case, he took the right decision of stepping out and paved the way for others to follow.
The law prohibits advertisements for products that are harmful to consume. So marketers use other products that are its extension or resemble them to promote or advertise them indirectly. This is called as surrogate advertising.
The Advertising Standards Council of India’s guidance says that “celebrities should not participate in advertisements of products which by law require a health warning in their ads or packaging”.
In nutshell, brands should always remember the words of advertising tycoon Leo Burnett: “Let’s gear our advertising to sell goods but let’s recognise also that advertising has a broad social responsibility.”
If your brand’s human face is in the bad books of society then you should take care of that because as a brand you are passing on the wrong message to others. Also, if you are in a recognizable position then you must be aware of your doings and act wisely.
Stay tuned.
