Adani Wilmar has removed all ads of its Fortune Rice Bran cooking oil featuring Sourav Ganguly across platforms after he suffered a mild heart attack on January 3, the Economic Times reported.
This action came after the social media users criticised and trolled the fortune rice bran oil add campaign wherein Ganguly was the brand ambassador. The brand claims as the oil keeps the heart healthy even after 40. The tagline for the campaign read, ‘Dada bole welcome to the 40s’. The ad is from April 2020 during the nationwide lockdown.
"The advertising featuring Ganguly has been removed across platforms," said one of the persons who is closely working on the campaign.
"Ogilvy & Mather, creative agency for the brand, is looking into the issue and is working on a fresh redressal campaign," he added.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President and former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 2 after he complained of chest pain. He was diagnosed with three blocked coronary arteries on January 2, following which a stent was inserted in one to remove the blockage. The doctor on January 3 said that he is stable and his health parameters are also normal.
Advertising agency officials said the Fortune brand will need to manage its consumer-centric communication fast to regain consumer trust.
Prathap Suthan, chief creative officer of advertising agency Bang in the Middle said, "It may be prudent to continue with Ganguly as the brand ambassador, but with messaging that can manoeuvre the situation to its advantage."
Brand strategist Lloyd Mathias pointed that the player did not lead an unhealthy lifestyle and that sportsmen with a 10-15 year playing life need to keep the earnings coming in.
He tweeted, "Seen many tweets on the irony in Sourav Ganguly endorsing Fortune RiceBran Oil. Got to realise it’s the risk one takes in any endorsement. It isn’t that Ganguly lived an unhealthy lifestyle. Importantly, sportsmen with a 10-15 year playing life need to keep the earnings coming in."
Karthik Srinivasan, a communications strategy consultant, in his tweets advised removing the ads as a first step.
Apart from the Fortune oil, Sourav Ganguly has also been the brand ambassador for its soya chunks.
Adani Wilmar is owned by industrialist Gautam Adani. The company sells range of edible oils including soyabean, mustard, rice bran and groundnut oil. It also sells soaps and sanitisers under the brand Alife. The company had launched the rice bran edible oil, which is considered a heart-healthy oil in many markets, in 2013.
Here are some of the tweets:
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