Tag: Endorsement Deals

Actors are the people who belong to some sets of the most famous people on this planet earth. They are the people who are probably the topmost entertainers in the world. They appear in movies and TV shows and are seen by the masses to entertain themselves. Theatres and all the mass production of movies take place in the world as a serious job and it has a lot of potential to drive profits.

In eight out of ten events, these actors act as an influencing personality in creating trends of sorts. Their influence is not just limited to the movies they do and the TV shows that they appear in, but it is more than that. If a movie star is famous and popular, brands throw money to have them in their advertisement. This is due to the power of influence that actors and influencers have in their hands.

There is a famous dialogue that says “With great power, comes great responsibility”, which is completely true. People who have immense influencing powers at their disposal, have to act very responsibly. Actors in this case have to be very careful, because of the kind of influencing power they have, whatever they say, most fans will follow.

A classic example is of actors promoting products that do not follow the ideology that they endorse. A piece of recent news which covered the same event was the Vimal Advertisement. The advertisement created controversy and held some really big names in the industry by necks. This article talks about that advertisement and how the advertisement hurt the sentiments of fans of Akshay Kumar all over India. Read on to know the story that sparked the Vimal ad controversy.

Akshay Kumar Vimal Ad
Vimal Advertisement
Akshay Kumar Vimal Controversy
Akshay Kumar Fans Reactions to Vimal Ad
Akshay Kumar’s Apology to Its Fans for the Vimal Ad

Akshay Kumar Vimal Ad

The controversy arose when Akshay Kumar joined hands with Vimal (The brand) to enter into an advertisement for the product that they sell. Akshay Kumar is a very famous advocate of healthy living and this advertisement for Cardamom (Paan masala) is the opposite of his ideology.

This sparked the fans of Akshay Kumar and general people to rant about the actor. Ajay Devgan and Shah rukh khan were also seen in the promo for the advertisement.

Vimal Advertisement

Vimal is a brand that sells Cardamom products. Paan masala is one of their top-selling products and they advertise the same product with many actors. Actors who have high influencing power and have a lot of fan following to their credit. Vimal’s brand ambassador for the most of time has been Ajay Devgan and he is the most recurring face in Vimal’s advertising.

The advertisements of Vimal are very unique and can be separated from the rest in an easy manner. Vimal has also made its own signature move, the Zuban Kesari salute is a constant companion in its advertisement. We see Ajay Devgan salute the Zuban Kesari’s move to foreign lands to promote the paan masala.

In the recent past, Shah Rukh Khan has also been seen in advertisements promoting the product of paan masala. The king khan of Bollywood is said to have a huge fan following and Vimal plans to capitalise on it by offering the role to SRK. Except for some trolls here and there, these advertisements were never a problem until Akshay Kumar stepped in. Let us see why people are outraged by such a little thing.

Akshay Kumar Vimal Controversy

Akshay Kumar is the name that tops the list of healthiest actors in Bollywood and all of India. Even in his fifties, this actor is super active and fit. Not only does he follow a fit routine, but he also encourages and motivates all of India to follow a good healthy routine. He is the brand ambassador of the Fit India mission and an inspiration for many.

The controversy began when he starred in a Vimal Advertisement. Soon after the advertisement started to air, people were agitated by the act of Akshay starring in an advertisement for a tobacco product.

Fans shared old videos of Akshay taking a public pledge of not endorsing tobacco products in future for any amount of money. Fans and others ranted that Akshay Kumar is a hypocrite and does not follow what he preaches. This controversy was a serious hit on the persona of one of the top paid actors in Bollywood.

Akshay Kumar Fans Reactions to Vimal Ad

As Akshay joined Ajay Devgan and Shah Rukh Khan for the advertisement of Vimal’s cardamom products, it started a controversy almost instantly. It is a brand that also sells tobacco products.

As opposed to most reactions to major events in India, this controversy did not split people into two opinions. Most people were against Akshay Kumar endorsing a product of tobacco. There were thousands and thousands of tweets against Akshay, people even made memes of the irony of the events. Not only on Twitter but on Instagram also saw memes and rants of people who were shocked at the hypocrisy of Akshay as an influencing personality.

For such a big actor like Akshay, this move was not a thoughtful move at all and could take a toll on his credibility and trust in the public. There were tweets that called out Akshay for being such a hypocrite. People called that Akshay just used fitness as a PR device and nothing else.

The co-founder of Monk Entertainment, Viraj Seth twitter “Everyone has a price” in relation to this matter.

People slammed Akshay for endorsing harmful products and they also took a jab at his healthy routine cover that he uses for PR. In a country like India where actors are more famous than most politicians and have a huge fan base, this act was no less than ugly. But actors are human too, they are often covered with greed and can’t see what the future repercussions will be.

Akshay Kumar’s Apology to Its Fans for the Vimal Ad

The advertisement made a lot of stir among fans and others, people ended up ranting about Akshay Kumar and his career. Not to mention that This was a big blow to the credibility of the actor and how people perceive the actor and his words.

Owing to this, Akshay Kumar responded with a heartfelt letter to his fans and followers. He was apologising in the note that he shared and said that he will use the proceeds from the advertisement for a noble cause.

He explicitly apologised for the association with the brand that promoted tobacco products and mentioned that he will use all the endorsement fees towards a noble and worthy cause.

Many actors supported his reply in the comments and shares. On the other hand, fans and followers were really agitated. Many said that the actor should not have done that in the first place. Others admitted that humans are greedy mostly and actors are no exceptions when greed takes over.

Ajay Devgan commented “It is a personal choice. When you do something, you also see how harmful it would be. Some things are harmful, some are not. I would say it without naming it because I don’t want to promote it; I was doing elaichi. What I feel is more than advertisements, if certain things are so wrong, then they should not be sold.”

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri, commented on Akshay’s post, “Sorry is just one word. But people need a lot of courage to say that.”

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Conclusion

As we mentioned earlier, actors are really a special category of people who get a lot of attention. Thus, the result of all that attention is a lot of influencing powers. They have to use that influencing power very wisely and thoughtfully, otherwise, they will communicate some unintended ideas.

Not only does this make them the butt of the joke but also demotivates people to believe in goodness. Earlier this week, in a new ad by Vimal, Shah Rukh and Ajay Devgan were seen welcoming Akshay to the ‘Vimal universe’. Vimal universe, because these advertisements are continuous and unbroken.

All three actors performed the Vimal salute and promoted the product by Vimal. The ad brought an outrage almost instantly on social media after getting aired. People slammed Akshay for endorsing harmful products and disregarded the fitness and health cover that he usually wears.

The controversy became so big in just a few days that Akshay had to reply to his fans. He came up and shared a note of apology with his fans and following. He said that he is deeply affected by the act that he has done and the sentiments that he has hurt.

Furthermore, he mentioned that he will be donating all the proceeds of the endorsement to a charitable and worthy cause, without utilising the fund for himself. He asked his fans to forgive him for this mistake and continue to support him the old way.

Many actors supported it but many fans said that he shouldn’t have done this in the first place. Acts like these, make people think that actors are all liars who just wear a cover of good habits. These acts make people believe that “Everyone has a price” and whatnot. Someone has said rightly that, Absolute power corrupts. Those people in power often do not have the people’s best interests in mind. Power puts the morality of a person to the test and most of the time, people fail.

FAQs

Is Akshay Kumar in Vimal pan masala?

After the huge backlash from his fans, Akshay Kumar stepped down as the brand ambassador of Vimal Pan Masala.

Who is the brand ambassador of Vimal?

Ajay Devgan, Sharukh Khan, and Akshay Kumar were the brand ambassadors of Vimal. But Akshay Kumar has stepped down as the brand ambassador of Vimal Pan Masala.

Who owns Vimal Elaichi?

The Manikchand Group owns Vimal Elaichi.