Indian Cricket Captain and one of India’s highest-paid celebrities, Virat Kohli surprised everyone when he recently hinted at giving up his brand ambassador duties for Pepsi, as carbonated drinks don’t align with his fitness and diet mantra. Though Pepsi is in talks with the cricketer, looks like Virat is no longer keen to renew his contract. Meanwhile, the buzz is that the cricketer has signed a 100-crore deal with Puma, and has also hiked his endorsement fee to Rs 5 crore a day!
Interestingly, Virat has been associated with Pepsi since six years and while his move is being appreciated, it has set off an important debate. “The fact that celebrities like Virat are rethinking their choices would directly raise their brand value,” says Amer Jaleel, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Mullen Lintas.
Virat Kohli
Being responsible
Will this mean that Virat will now endorse only those products that he uses, thereby being selective with his brand promotions? If yes, Virat will join the list of celebrities who are of late becoming conscious about what they promote, as they feel that they have a responsibility towards society.
Brand strategy specialist Harish Bijoor says, “The laws today hold a celebrity liable for being associated with products that are ostracised by society, so they have to be careful.”
Virat’s not the first
The Indian skipper isn’t the first one to break away from promoting fizzy drinks. Closer home, we have Pullela Gopichand who, in 2001, refused to promote fizzy drinks. Much later, Amitabh Bachchan, too, took a similar stand. Says ad man Prahlad Kakkar, “Amitabh Bachchan declined to be the face of Pepsi saying that he wouldn’t recommend it to his kids. It was a brave decision. Virat agreed to endorse it six years ago because he needed the brand. Now that he is on the top, he can choose what he wants to endorse.”
The million-dollar question, however is, will Virat stand his ground and not sport the Pepsi logo at all, even if it is the primary sponsor of the Indian team? “This is where things will start getting blurry,” concludes Abhijit Avasthi, the co-founder of Sideways Consulting.
