so the australia ad is out and aditya and i are happily proclaiming our love for australia…an un-scripted ad…it was terrifying to shoot…not only because i was terribly unwell that day but because as a theatre person i have always believed in the power of ‘THE SCRIPT!’…. it went off fine and well the results are for all to see!

this brings me to the point- aditya and i have been asked to endorse several products… for some brands we appear young, truthful and fun…and they seem to want to appeal to others like us which is great but we decided to make a conscious decision to support/ endorse brands and products that we totally and completely believe in…aditya has had several solo endorsements from peter england to lays chips– but we always decided we would endorse things we actually use or in this case a country we actually enjoy!

in a world where celebrity endorsements is big money i believe that when a celebrity endorses 8 or 9 products– as a consumer it gets confusing especially if they are in similar categories. for a celebrity to make a difference to a product, i believe that they should endorse fewer / more targeted products so that their being on screen makes you look up and remember the product that they are endorsing.

also i think celebrities should be accountable for the product that they are endorsing. they should believe in it. i still remember the amitabh bachchan ad for cadburys….after cadburys had had an issue with loose packaging and insects eating at the chocolate in supposedly wrapped bars. Not only did cadbury change how their chocolates were presented, they also had a very strong ad by mr. bachchan where you saw him walk through cadbury factories, discuss the issue and then give us the peace of mind by saying that he found all their systems clean and he believed in them. he addressed the consumer, made you remember the ad and added a stamp of worth to the product.

in today’s day and age -you never remember who’s endorsing what and with the amount of endorsements they are each doing you can’t remember what the car/phone/ soap is?!!!

it’s time for a rebranding exercise for both the brand and celebrities…let’s choose smarter, wiser and let’s not try and convince the consumer to use/ try something we’d never even touch unless we were paid crores to!