But why blame celebs who have sought to monetise their short-lived fame? When it comes to consumer standards, they're the least of the problem, as several commentators have pointed out since l'affaire Maggi hit the front pages. Shouldn't this Bihar court or any other responsible authority also issue notices to the head of the Food and Safety Standards Authority that, we are given to understand from its website, "…has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption"? And FSSA is just one of myriad state organisations required to discharge duties in the interests of consumer protection.
But the other puzzling question this controversy raises is the issue of celeb advertising and why companies continue to spend crores on it year after year. For one, it is well accepted that this strategy has run its course - even Indian consumers aren't greatly influenced by it simply because there are so many celebrities endorsing so many products. It has increasingly become the lazy option among brand promotion strategies just when growing competition demands greater creativity. Gone are the days when wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer's flamboyant good looks could make Brylcreem famous in India. Or Kapil Dev's toothy advocacy of Boost made it a household name almost overnight. Then, the talented all-rounder was at the height of his considerable powers; today, bulked out and greying, he looks almost embarrassed about touting the virtues of a newly launched trading website.
Indian consumers may not be as evolved as western ones, but the celebrity crowds on hoardings, magazine ads and TV spot have only served to emphasise the illusory nature of the exercise. When Aishwarya Rai seductively promotes the multiple virtues of a foreign shampoo, you wonder whether the fabulous nylon wig she's wearing is made in China. It is unlikely, too, that the average housewife really thinks Madhuri Dixit is convinced of the so-called health benefits of instant oats noodles. After all, advocating dehydrated noodles as a substitute for a regular breakfast - that too for children - can hardly be a credible selling point but that's something for advertising watchdogs to note.
In any case, almost everyone knows that the celeb concerned probably doesn't even use the product or service, he or she is only Doing It For The Money. Big B was honest enough to publicly admit as much some years ago when his financial woes were acute. So affixing his much-loved face to an awesome range of products, from pens to soft drinks, insurance products and cement, may help his bank balance. It is uncertain whether it actually helped sell more pens, cement etc than a regular promo exercise. Likewise for Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni; their familiar faces peep out behind an array of goods and services so wide and bewildering that they tend to blur in consumer memory. This has done wonders for Messrs Tendulkar and Dhoni's personal wealth and created a virtuous circle of more endorsement contracts for them.
It has been suggested that the celebrities should be more circumspect about the products they endorse for their own sakes. Mr Bachchan said he ended his long association with Pepsi after a schoolgirl apparently asked him why he was promoting "poison", presumably depriving himself of many crores of rupees but enhancing his personal equity. We are told Aamir Khan does a considerable amount of homework before he chooses to endorse a product, including the company's work practices and so on. This is a development that post-dated his decade-old contract with Coca-Cola, which ended in 2009, and after his reinvention as the Virtuous Crusader via movies like Taare Zameen Par and, most of all, the suffocatingly precious TV series Satyameva Jayate. No doubt, he looks for brands that endorse his image. Frankly, someone like Pullela Gopichand is more to be admired for shunning a big contract to endorse a soft drink on the deeply-held belief that they're unhealthy in the first place.
The problem, however, can cut both ways. How can companies confirm that their brand ambassador is squeaky clean? This could be a particular problem in the scandal-ridden world of cricket (actor Salman Khan appears to be an exception, no doubt because of his insane popularity). But recall that some years ago, a massive Drink-Drive campaign had its star endorser Vijay Mallya. Look at how that worked out.