Amitabh Bachchan's pan masala ad has been making quite some noise. Not only did Bachchan terminate his contract but also returned the amount paid to him for advertising the brand. And what's more?
When the brand continued to air the advertisement, Big B even sent a legal notice. However, this is not the first time when the superstar's ad has made the news. Let's take a look at the times Big B's advertisements got into trouble.
Kalyan jewellery ad: The ad that was probably made with a good intention was accused of showing bank personnel in a bad light. The ad featured Amitabh Bachchan with his daughter, Shweta Bachchan Nanda. The two were seen having a bitter encounter with bank employees. Amitabh praised the ad saying he got emotional every time seeing it. However, bank employees felt, the ad was degrading them.
All India Bank Officers' Confederation with 3,20,000 bank employees launched a campaign seeking boycott of Kalyan Jewellers. "Any such hurtful interpretation being drawn is unintended. We state that the creative advertisement was a work of fiction and not a reflection of banking employees at large," Kalyan Jewellers had said while retracting their ad from all platforms.
Everest masala ad: Another ad that grabbed attention for all the wrong reasons was Amitabh Bachchan's Everest masala ad. In the ad, Amitabh was seen donning a lawyer's robe as two junior artists brought pav bhaji for him. He eats the dish and praises it. The Bar Council of Delhi had issued a legal notice over Big B wearing their uniform in the advertisement.
"You (the actor and others) have failed to take due precaution before using the lawyers' attire for advertisement and are liable for legal action for telecasting the advertisement without any authority. You are required to immediately stop all such advertisements and also give an undertaking to the Bar Council of Delhi, Bar Council of India and other states Bar Councils that the lawyers' attire shall not be used in any advertisement in future," read the notice.
Amitabh Bachchan's COVID caller tune: Right when we were getting used to megastar Amitabh Bachchan's voice as the caller tune on COVID - 19 preventive measures, a PIL had been filed in Delhi High Court seeking to replace his voice. "The government of India has been paying fees to Amitabh Bachchan for chanting preventive measures on the caller ringtone", said the plea. "Amitabh Bachchan is not having a clean history and he is not serving the nation by being a social worker", the plea further alleged.
Pan Masala ad: After featuring and promoting the brand, Amitabh Bachchan terminated the contract and returned the fee. Bachchan's official statement said," Kamala Pasand ... a few days after the commercial was aired, Mr Bachchan contacted the brand and stepped out of it last week. Upon checking why this sudden move – it was revealed that when Mr Bachchan became associated with the brand, he wasn't aware that it falls under surrogate advertising.
Mr Bachchan has terminated the contract with the Brand, has written to them his termination and has returned the money received for the promotion." However, when the ads continued to air despite contract termination, Big B recently sent them a legal notice seeking to stop airing the ad anymore.
