MEDIA MATTERS
Brand equity on the line
SEVANTI NINAN
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Can a product endorsement damage a celebrity's brand value?
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Photo: AFP
Consistent endorsement: Amitabh Bachchan.
WHAT does the Samajwadi party have in common with Navrattan Tel, Pepsi, Dabur Chyawanprash, Cadbury chocolates, Parker pens and Reid and Taylor suitings? You know the answer to that one. But Amitabh Bachchan's loyal association with the first of these, the political party he has consistently endorsed over at least three elections, raises an interesting question. Can a brand damage a celebrity? Can the man who urges you to protect your child with a few drops of polio vaccine be still looked up to when he is also the man who tells you that notwithstanding gruesome disappearances of over 40 poor families' children, crime isn't a big deal in Uttar Pradesh? The subtext is of his pitch is, yes I know about Nithari and all that, but look at the larger picture. Stuff happens. How can a bunch that have done so much for me be bad?
Forgiving bad judgements
Are people buying that or is a little voice whispering inside, how cynical can this man get? Can a much-loved icon lose his sheen because of a dubious endorsement, or does long-standing public adoration give Mr. Bachchan a Teflon coating that insulates him from an unfortunate decision or two? Given the Indian record, the latter is more likely to be the case. If we forgive celebrities bad behaviour presumably we can forgive them questionable judgement. Some of us made uncharitable noises about Bachchan putting himself at the service of a chocolate maker whose chocolates were found to have worms. But the issue died down. And brands continued to chase Bachchan.
For two months now the actor has been selling us the ruling coalition in Uttar Pradesh. The campaign surfaced in January, shortly after the Nithari serial killings came to light towards the end of December. Mulayam Singh's rival politicians have protested, and journalists and bloggers have sniped about Bachchan's decision to do this campaign. Actors the world over endorse politicians and parties. But not all ruling politicians have drawn flak for sheltering people accused of crimes as Mulayam Singh has, be they Raja Bhayya or Mukhtar Ansari. Celebrity endorsements usually become controversial when a celebrity loses his or her sheen because of out-of-line personal behaviour. Such as a heavyweight boxing champion accused of rape (Mike Tyson), or cricketers accused of involvement in match fixing (Mohamad Azharuddin), or a film star guilty of hunting protected wildlife or killing pedestrians (Salman Khan). The brand then has to decide whether to drop or retain them. But what if the brand chosen by a celebrity is controversial and continues to become more so? Bachchan's decision to step in at this point is a conscious one. It is almost as if he is putting his own brand equity on line.
Then again, one of the reasons marketers list for a campaign that fails to click is dissatisfaction with product performance. Mr. Mulayam Singh and his government could come in this category. We have to wait for the outcome of the elections to see if Mr. Bachchan's efforts will bear fruit or fall by the wayside because the voting public has made up its mind on the basis of its own perceptions about this government.
By the time this column comes out, this advertisement series may have been ordered off the air, just as Bachchan's pulse polio ads have been, on the grounds that they constitute an unfair influence on voters. But, like the India Shining advertisements of 2004, Bachchan's "UP mein julm kam hai" sales pitch will go down in the history of political persuasion as a case study to be analysed.
Cashing in on a craze
Silly season: The media has its silly seasons (some would say it is a year-round affliction) and this is one of them. World Cup cricket hasn't even begun at the time of writing but the overkill is palpable. We have converted a favourite sport into an orgy of nationalism. Even Doordarshan News, unfailingly led by its competition, has a twice-daily show called Mission World Cup which is as clunky as everything else it does. And all those channels which came into existence with the rights for past cricket series, are able to get by this in silly season by digging out any old cricket match they might have in their archives.
TV anchors sign off wishing the Indian team all the best, reporters in Jamaica end their piece to cameras urging viewers to pray for the team. A Zee Business reporter thought it was his job to ask NRIs descended from the U.S. to sing "Hum Honge Kamiyab" for the benefit of his cameraman. A channel urges you to sms the word "cheer" so that it can count and display the cheers of an invisible nationwide audience. Have they all gone dotty? They have, they have. With an eye on the till.
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