Rise in celebrity endorsements for personal hygiene brands
Sanchita Kalra
The increased focus on safety amid the pandemic has boosted the visibility of personal hygiene products. With actors such as Jacqueline Fernandez, Yami Gautam, and Nusrat Jahan being roped in as brand ambassadors, has the health and hygiene category become the go-to choice for celebrities? Ad filmmaker Pinaki Bose explains, “Other industries are lying low, and the focus is on healthy living. Any category that appeals to the masses appeals to celebs.” Echoing the same thought, brand guru Jagdeep Kapoor states, “A number of new brands have entered the health and personal care sector, and they can have a quick recall value only if they rope in a celebrity.” Meanwhile, Vikas Bagaria, founder of one such brand which got Fernandez on board says, “Sales are organic right now. Even if you don’t sign a celebrity, the product will sell. The real issue is the huge rise in competition. To stand out, a brand like ours needs to tie up with a celeb.” However, ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar warns that the endorser needs to be careful with the claims of the product to avoid legal action. He says, “You can’t make a claim until you prove it, so hygiene endorsements are vague unless there are trials.” Navneet Vyasan
Amid the controversy about artistes buying fake views on videos. singer Sona Mohapatra asserts that this is not just limited to rapper Badshah, who was summoned by Mumbai Police in connection with a case relating to buying fake followers on social media. “People paying money to gain fame and be perceived as successful is commonplace, says the singer, while adding that it is “dishonest and a marketing fraud”. The 44-year-old shares that it puts everyone under pressure. “Moreover, the money which can be used to pay composers and writers for their creativity, is being used for inflating digital figures to get millions of views and a hit,” she continues, “It has proven to be the death knell of creativity of the entertainment industry.” Mohapatra says film production houses and music labels are in on this scam as well. “The digital platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are overwhelmed by the amount of checks and balances required to clean this mess up. The digitalisation of music was meant to herald democratisation of access to music, instead it has become the opposite. Those with deep pockets have monopolised the digital space,” she says, and adds, “It is for the people of India to stop evaluating success basis these numbers and for corporate India to set up a common body that audits such databases regularly before paying these artistes.”