Govt changes stance on Bachchan, Incredible India

It's the job of the creative agency to select brand ambassador, not govt's, officials say now

The Union government has moved to distance itself from a controversial appointment, as the Panama leaks are being probed and film star Amitabh Bachchan is one of the names linked to those accounts. Bachchan had in a tweet denied any involvement.

In January 2016, officials in the tourism ministry had told media that Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra would represent Incredible India, a campaign to promote the country as a tourism destination. As a formal announcement was awaited at that point, officials did not want to be quoted.

They had pointed out on January 27, that this would be the first instance of the government directly dealing with a celebrity for brand endorsement without the involvement of a marketing or advertising agency. The duration of appointment was also fixed—for three years till 2019. Not just that, “sources” in the government also said both actors had agreed to be mascots for the campaign without any fee, like Aamir Khan had done before.

Cut to April 2016, and the tourism ministry is speaking in a different voice, mostly off the record, again. Their latest version is that the process of selecting a creative/marketing agency is currently on as the term of contract with the previous one ended recently. Khan, who was the face of the Incredible India campaign for 10 years, was replaced following a controversial comment on rising intolerance in India. Khan was selected through creative agency McCann Worldwide.

On whether the government had decided not to have Bachchan as brand ambassador following his alleged links with the Panama controversy, ministry officials said, “It is up to the creative agencies to select a brand ambassador. It is not the job of any government.” They said the process for selecting the agency was now on.

The ministry of tourism was supposed to sign an agreement with the two actors by February, officials had said in January. But, there’s no deal as the selected agencies will decide, they point out now.

Bachchan, already brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism, was said to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s choice as the new face for Incredible India.

Amitabh Kant, who was then secretary at the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion had defended the government’s stand to replace Khan. He had said Khan had damaged the brand identity of the country with his remarks.

The government may indeed have a view on appointing Bachchan in the same role, when the film star’s name is embroiled in a controversy. As people in the know said, it is always the client who decides the brand ambassador.