Will Deepika Lose Her Brand Value? Ad Guru Prahlad Kakkar Answers

 The   linking of  Brand Padukone  with  the drug cartel in Bollywood does not augur well for her   endorsement deals. Experts say s her brand and her endorsement deals are  bound to be affected.

 The  outspoken ad guru Prahlad Kakkar feels Deepika is paying a price  for  her impulsive behavior. “She  visited  the Jawaharlal Nehru University  in 2019 and showed her solidarity with  allegedly anti-national elements. This is the price she’s paying for it.”

Kakkar  thinks feels Deepika’s  brand will be  hit, albeit temporarily.  “There’s no evidence,no case , no proof of any drug abuse against her as yet. And  yet her image is tarnished temporarily. The brands that she endorses may not want  to  let her be visibly associated with their products for a while, until this whole furore dies down.They may  just stop her from being the face of their  product  for a while.”

Kakkar feels certain consumer  products do not want to be  associated with any  controversy.  “Not all, mind you.  But there is  a  certain kind of product that  stays away from controversy .And these may  temporarily decide to not air their  endorsements  with Deepika.After Salman Khan’s hit-and-run  case  ,Thums  Up dropped  him  like a  hot potato.”

Kakkar  doesn’t see any  such permanent damage being done  to Deepika’s image.  “She hasn’t done anything even remotely  culpable. But  she is a woman. And  if you notice, so  far only  the female actors  of Bollywood have been  called in  for questioning  by the Narcotics Control Bureau.”

Kakkar sees this as sheer sexism . “It  exists everywhere in our society.Women from the  Hindi  film industry  are being summoned  for  questioning about  substance abuse because they’re low-lying fruits. Men can have multiple affairs and get away  with it whereas  if a woman even  looks at a man she is considered wanton. That’s the way it  is.”

How far  would  the current  controversy affect Deepika’s  brand name?Kakkar says the damage  won’t be  permanent. “But like I said, several products  like to play it safe .They want the  entire population to approve  of  the endorsement. The  tilt against Deepika may be just  a small percentage  at the moment. But why would they want to  take even that risk?”