Should brand ambassadors be held responsible for an unhealthy product?

Introduction

People should become more conscious now while buying the products - just because your favorite celebrities endorse it. Recently, a court notice was issued against celebrities like Ambitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit seeking an explanation from them regarding the promotion of Maggie Noodles. 

The Indian food inspectors, have asked Nestle India to recall the consignments of Maggie Noodles from the Northern states of Uttar Pradesh. The inspectors claimed that Maggie contained a high amount of MSG and lead which are extremely harmful for the consumers. Currently, many states such as Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana have pulled out the sales of Maggie from the states. 

Apart from Maggi, the consumption of many soft drinks such as Pepsi and Coke are also under scrutiny and analysis. Celebrities such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli have been promoting these products and may be next in line to end up in controversy. 

But, is it justifiable to held these brand ambassadors responsible for promoting these unhealthy products? Let's take a look.

                             

Brand Ambassadors should be held responsible for the unhealthy product. 

1. Misleading the consumers – The main role of an ambassador is to create awareness among the customers regarding a particular product. They should not mislead a consumer with wrong facts and figures. Most of the time, people buy certain products just because their favorite celebrities endorse it.

2. Research work – Brand ambassadors should be blamed if a product falls into a controversy because it is their responsibility to accept the role of an ambassador only after conducting a careful research. If not a research, they should at least try the product on themselves before endorsing it. 

3. Celebrity Contract – Every celebrity signs a contract before endorsing a product. If a product fails to satisfy the consumers or falls into a controversy during the tenure of the contract, the brand ambassadors are equally responsible as the company. 

Brand Ambassadors are not responsible for the unhealthy product. 

1. Cannot take a look – It is not possible for the ambassadors to go into the manufacturing units of the products every time and take a look at the process. Thus, they cannot be held responsible if something goes wrong at the manufacturing or packaging stage. 

2. Cannot send a notice to ambassadors – The court can send a notice to the company which manufactures the product and not to the ambassadors who promote them. Maggi is sold in various shops, and most of the times, shop keepers persuade the people to buy it. In such cases, the notice should be sent to shopkeepers also. 

3. Messengers – Ambassadors are mere messengers who try to promote a product in the society. They are not responsible if the company breaks the promise and delivers an unhealthy product. 

4. Credibility – Credibility of an ambassador is very important. Not every product are fake or unhealthy, thus, people believe the ambassador and buy the products. People or a company who try to sell unhealthy products try to take an advantage of the credibility function of the ambassador.

5. FDA should be held responsible - The license to sell a product in India is given by FDA. Only when this government agency gives license to sell a product in the market does the product come to the counters. If something has been authorised by the government body, there is no reason for the celebrities to doubt its authenticity. In such a case, rather than the celebrities, FDA should be held responsible.

Conclusion

Selecting a right ambassador is a crucial part of the marketing strategy. A right person who also knows how to handle a situation in crisis should be selected as a brand ambassador. 

Celebrities who act as a brand ambassador of unhealthy products should not be crucified in the controversies. They can withdraw their name as the ambassador of the product later on, and can also give an explanation for endorsing the product, to an extent. But they should not be pulled to courts to get involved in any cases etc.