Amitabh Bachchan has terminated his contract with a pan masala brand, saying he was not aware that it “belongs to surrogate advertising”. Surrogate advertising is a method of advertising used to promote banned products such as cigarettes and alcohol over another. Big B took this decision when he was requested by a national anti-tobacco organization to distance himself from the ad campaign. Amitabh’s fans also criticized his advertisement a lot.
An official statement said that Amitabh Bachchan has distanced himself from the brand. “Kamla Pasand… A few days after the commercial aired, Amitabh Bachchan approached the brand and distanced himself from it last week,” the statement said.
It said, “On investigation of the sudden move, it was found that when Bachchan was associated with the brand, he was not aware that it was covered under surrogate advertising, Amitabh Bachchan terminated the contract with the brand. And at the same time, the money which was received for promotion has also been returned.
Earlier, a letter was written to Amitabh Bachchan and Shekhar Salkar, president of the National Organization for Tobacco Eradicational, stating that pan masala affects the health of citizens.
It also states that since Big B is the government brand ambassador for the pulse polio campaign, he should immediately quit the pan masala advertisements.
The letter read, “As an oncologist and member of an NGO working in the field of tobacco cessation, I am aware of the questionable measures taken by various influential and renowned Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh and Hrithik Roshan. I am sad and agitated to wage a war against which tobacco use has increased among the students.”
Last month, when Amitabh Bachchan was asked by his fans why he chose to advertise the brand Pan Masala, Amitabh himself responded on social media.
He said, “I am apologetic. If someone is doing good in any business, then one should not think that why are we joining him. Yes, if there is a business, then we also have to think about our business in that. Now you are feeling that I should not have done this, but yes I also get money by doing this.
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