Bollywood stars and cricketers are seen as icons who people follow badly and want to become like them. This is the major reasons why popular brands pick them for featuring in their ads and influence audience to buy their products. Of course, stars do charge big money for featuring in ads but brands make sure they get the most out of these public figures.
Brands facing criticism for controversial ads is not a new thing but sometimes the brand endorsers also face the backlash due to the wrong choice of brand or the message brand is conveying through the ads. With this article, we are sharing some instances when cricketers had to face the heat of negativity for promoting brands using controversial ads. Have a look:
1. Virat Kohli
Indian team captain Virat Kohli is one of the most popular names when it comes to brand promotions. This is due to his continuous successful run and the passion that he brings in everything he does. In 2011, Fastrack hired Bollywood actress Genelia D’Souza and Virat for a series of ads. The ads were mostly romantic and both became a topic of jokes and criticism. In one ad, Genelia was seen seducing Virat and the duo start making love mid-air.
2. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh faced backlash for appearing in the ads of liquor brand ‘Royal Stag’. Besides the fact that he was seen promoting liquor, he even got ready to appear without his turban. This made Sikh communities angry and people demanded his apology for appearing in the advert in an ‘unethical’ manner.
3. Steve Smith
Steve Smith got criticised for Vodafone ads in which he talked about how much he was affected by the sandpaper-gate incident. People felt that it was ‘disgraceful’ on Smith’s behalf to monetise the controversy that ruined his career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkC46v_0nb0
4. MS Dhoni
The captain cool who has every big trophy of cricketing world also got involved in such issues. In 2010, he appeared in a controversial adv for McDowell’s, in which he is seen punching a Harbhajan Singh’s lookalike before making fun of him with some ‘witty’ lines.
In another incident, he was seen on the cover of a business magazine, posing as Lord Vishnu with the line “God of big deals” written on the cover. MS personally refused having posed as Lord Vishnu for the magazine, but people already MS was taken to the court and slammed for hurting the religious sentiments of millions of people.
5. Rishabh Pant
This is the most recent incident in which both Virat Kohli and Pant got brutally trolled. In the video commercial, both cricket stars are seen rapping about pimples and acne. Even, former Aussie batsman Brad Hodge lashed out at the cricketers for appearing in such an advert.
Also Read: 7 Times Bollywood Celebrities Were Slammed For Their Choice Of Brand Endorsements
