Virat Kohli drops Pepsi, fairness cream ads over junk food and racism concerns

[Abdullah719]

Keen to be seen as a socially responsible youth icon, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli has stopped endorsing soft drink maker Pepsi and fairness products because of their association with junk food and racism.

The 28-year-old swashbuckler is among the most sought after for endorsements but Kohli has decided that he would lend his name only to brands which he himself uses and believes in, people in the know of his endorsement deals said today.

The first casualty of this principle has been his association with Pepsi, a company he had been endorsing since 2011.

Kohli refused to renew the contract which ended in April this year, saying at the time that he would not ask people to consume something that he himself does not.

Kohli has time and again endorsed healthy lifestyle, which has been key to his awe-inspiring fitness levels and endorsing a soft drink certainly appeared to be a contradiction.

While Kohli's management firm Cornerstone refused to answer queries on the matter, a market insider, who has worked closely with the Indian captain on brand deals, said he is now more aware of his social responsibilities.

"Virat also no longer endorses fairness creams or products of that genre. Virat has risen through the ranks by virtue of talent and hard work," the official, who has worked with Kohli told PTI today.

"The fairness products which relate one's success with skin tone is something that goes against the values for which Virat stands," he added.

Industry experts also feel that since Kohli is currently the brand ambassador of global nutrition company 'Herbalife', which deals in nutrition and weight management care products, it is only appropriate that he picks his other endorsements carefully.

Herbalife also has sports drinks on their product list.

"If Virat is endorsing health products of Herbalife, endorsing any junk food or fizzy drinks contradicts with his image also," said another image consultant, who has worked with top celebrities from all walks of life.

Currently, Kohli charges Rs 4.5 to Rs 5 crore per day for a brand. For any celebrity, the per day charge could mean either shooting for the brand or making appearances.

Pepsi did not say how much it paid Kohli for endorsing the brand. But it is known that he has over Rs 100 crore deals with sports goods major Puma and tyre manufacturers MRF.

Puma makes make all the customised merchandise for Kohli, just like it has done all these years for sprint king Usain Bolt.

The Indian captain also endorses luxury German car brand Audi and Tissot watches to name a few. Kohli currently endorses 17 brands -- all carefully chosen keeping in mind his social connect.

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...-food-and-racism-concerns-117091600271_1.html

 

[kingusama92]

"Kohli charges Rs 4.5 to Rs 5 crore per day for a brand"

 

[Slog]

So in his early career when he didnt have much of a wide choice of sponsors he was fine with them but now he isnt?

 

[kingusama92]

So in his early career when he didnt have much of a wide choice of sponsors he was fine with them but now he isnt?

Yup.

I suppose it's better than nothing.

Lebron James is still sponsoring Sprite with those cringy ads.

 

[Slog]

Yup.

I suppose it's better than nothing.

Lebron James is still sponsoring Sprite with those cringy ads.

haha Wasim Akran is still being sponsored by Pepsi. And guy has had diabetes for so long. Last thing he should be doing is being sponsored by Pepsi

 

[JaDed]

The PR genius,wish he was as good as a batsman is he is in PR and talking.

 

[shaz619]

Good on Kohli, he's a more mature and changed man now; with experience it is possible for people to evolve as difficult as that may be for folk to understand.

 

[CricketCartoons]

It is easy to show ethics and morality when you have money.

 

[AlizeeFan]

It is easy to show ethics and morality when you have money.

It's easy not to show with money too.

 

[Leo23]

So in his early career when he didnt have much of a wide choice of sponsors he was fine with them but now he isnt?

Yup.

I suppose it's better than nothing.

Lebron James is still sponsoring Sprite with those cringy ads.

early in his career he wasn't very serious about fitness so he probably consumed soft drinks

although i think he still uses fairness creams.

 

[Leo23]

"Kohli charges Rs 4.5 to Rs 5 crore per day for a brand"

only when he attends a promotion or shoots an ad. they don't pay him daily.

so it is probably once a month or maybe less

still huge money for someone living in india

 

[ToeCrusher2]

A true icon, legend of the game, a great role model for kids, and above all a great human being #ALLHAILKINGKOHLI

 

[Leo23]

to be honest kohli endorsing tissot is not right either

the money he has he will never personally buy a tissot

he probably wears watches worth inr 3-4 crore or so

but it's strange how much money these brands pay for endorsement

how many people will actually buy tissot because of kohli that they are willing to pay him crores?

can some marketing expert explain how they do the calculations?

 

[DoosraTeesra]

to be honest kohli endorsing tissot is not right either

the money he has he will never personally buy a tissot

he probably wears watches worth inr 3-4 crore or so

but it's strange how much money these brands pay for endorsement

how many people will actually buy tissot because of kohli that they are willing to pay him crores?

can some marketing expert explain how they do the calculations?

I know no one who actually buys stuff endorsed by celebrities.

 

[Abdullah719]

to be honest kohli endorsing tissot is not right either

the money he has he will never personally buy a tissot

he probably wears watches worth inr 3-4 crore or so

but it's strange how much money these brands pay for endorsement

how many people will actually buy tissot because of kohli that they are willing to pay him crores?

can some marketing expert explain how they do the calculations?

Nothing wrong with endorsing a product even if he isn't a regular user; it's not harmful, at least.

However, I've always found it weird how sportsmen endorse things like Pepsi which is detrimental to health so good on him to avoid endorsing these products.

 

[Poutine]

Classy gesture by Kohli, better late than never.

 

[CanadianG00se]

to be honest kohli endorsing tissot is not right either

the money he has he will never personally buy a tissot

he probably wears watches worth inr 3-4 crore or so

but it's strange how much money these brands pay for endorsement

how many people will actually buy tissot because of kohli that they are willing to pay him crores?

can some marketing expert explain how they do the calculations?

You're confusing two different things. He refused to endorse Pepsi because of health problems it causes whereas Tissot have no such issues. Secondly if Kohli was middle class individual he would have no issues wearing Tissot but he would still have same opinion regarding consuming Pepsi/Cola.

Massive respect for Kohli; not many would turn down multi-million dollar contract for greater good.

Im no marketing expert but id say people now a days are endorsed based on his/her influential power. Kohli have around 18M followers on twitter, thats massive. Its no rocket science that Kohli will fetch far more endorsing a brand than say someone like A Rahane. If im not wrong, Kohli was rated in top10 most influential sport person on planet. After Tendulkar, Kohli has to be most influential cricketer world has ever seen.

 

[Chrish]

It is easy to show ethics and morality when you have money.

Still it's the right thing to do, isn't it?

 

[kingusama92]

I know no one who actually buys stuff endorsed by celebrities.

I think it's more about the brand's image. You want to associate the brand with stars so people realize it's a legitimate option.

But shoe deals are huge in Basketball.

That's the only time where star power has definitely mattered.

 

[humzy]

Its refreshing to see a superstar with a smart head on his shoulders.

He obviously has grown and educated himself on morality behind the products he endorses.

Personally I don't eat or support half of the things I did at 21 compared to now at 28.

I rarely see this in cricket especially from Asian stars.

 

[Specialisttailender]

"Kohli charges Rs 4.5 to Rs 5 crore per day for a brand"

Sachin for a very long time(until 2003 ?), lived in a 5-6 story apartment in the same area where he grew up as a child. There was an old watchman as a security who also covered 4-5 neighboring apartments. Nothing fancy.

 

[JaDed]

I know no one who actually buys stuff endorsed by celebrities.

You never saw anyone buy Jordans?

 

[JaDed]

I think it's more about the brand's image. You want to associate the brand with stars so people realize it's a legitimate option.

But shoe deals are huge in Basketball.

That's the only time where star power has definitely mattered.

Exactly, we see Iphone X and what not but Air Jordan is the one to do that in shoes almost 10 years before

 

[captain.hansolo]

why that fair and lovely snake oil is even sold in india is beyond me. the manufacturers of that grotesque product should be dragged through the streets and have hungry crocodiles tear them limb from limb. ok maybe not limb to limb, but they should be forbidden from selling any product.

but this speaks something about india too. that a product this appalling is even sold in india...

 

[LastManstanding]

You're confusing two different things. He refused to endorse Pepsi because of health problems it causes whereas Tissot have no such issues. Secondly if Kohli was middle class individual he would have no issues wearing Tissot but he would still have same opinion regarding consuming Pepsi/Cola.

Massive respect for Kohli; not many would turn down multi-million dollar contract for greater good.

Im no marketing expert but id say people now a days are endorsed based on his/her influential power. Kohli have around 18M followers on twitter, thats massive. Its no rocket science that Kohli will fetch far more endorsing a brand than say someone like A Rahane. If im not wrong, Kohli was rated in top10 most influential sport person on planet. After Tendulkar, Kohli has to be most influential cricketer world has ever seen.

Pulela Gopichand did the same thing many years ago and he wasnt earning a fraction of what Kohli is earning now.

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...elieved-pullela-gopichand-114021600678_1.html

 

[kingusama92]

why that fair and lovely snake oil is even sold in india is beyond me. the manufacturers of that grotesque product should be dragged through the streets and have hungry crocodiles tear them limb from limb. ok maybe not limb to limb, but they should be forbidden from selling any product.

but this speaks something about india too. that a product this appalling is even sold in india...

More than the product, their ads are disgusting.

I have never seen such disrespect for people with a darker complexion.

 

[Leo23]

You're confusing two different things. He refused to endorse Pepsi because of health problems it causes whereas Tissot have no such issues. Secondly if Kohli was middle class individual he would have no issues wearing Tissot but he would still have same opinion regarding consuming Pepsi/Cola.

Massive respect for Kohli; not many would turn down multi-million dollar contract for greater good.

Im no marketing expert but id say people now a days are endorsed based on his/her influential power. Kohli have around 18M followers on twitter, thats massive. Its no rocket science that Kohli will fetch far more endorsing a brand than say someone like A Rahane. If im not wrong, Kohli was rated in top10 most influential sport person on planet. After Tendulkar, Kohli has to be most influential cricketer world has ever seen.

most probably not

if he wasn't a cricketer he wouldn't have been so health conscious

even as a cricketer he wasn't a fitness freak till 2013-2014

it was after a run of poor form and advice of fletcher as well as some self realization that he realized that fitness cannot be compromised on as a professional cricketer

 

[PakLFC]

Seeing old pics of Virat his appearance has greatly improved. Good lesson that don't anything you don't use yourself. We are what we eat and drink.

 

[Hamza_]

I wish living life like Virat Kohli.

But the man is a batting genius and with abundance of special ability.

So just forget it.

 

[Protea Fan]

I wish living life like Virat Kohli.

But the man is a batting genius and with abundance of special ability.

So just forget it.

lol nice one

 

[SandyB]

Good for Him . These soft drink giants in India, Pakistan and Bangla have long used the massive popularity of cricket to sell their ratehr unhealthy drinks.

How many posters here can think about your favorite cricketer's memories and NOT HAVE A pepsi/coke AD come in mind ? Add to this, all those WC special editions (remember pepsi blue and pepsi gold anyone) ?

 

[Syed1]

The PR genius,wish he was as good as a batsman is he is in PR and talking.

Considering that he is well on his way to being a LOI ATG and quite a good batsman in Tests this seems like a massive whine!

 

[captain.hansolo]

Seeing old pics of Virat his appearance has greatly improved. Good lesson that don't anything you don't use yourself. We are what we eat and drink.

you can be sure that Kohli has not had a taste of sugar or soda in four years. the level of discipline that chap has, the diet he has, it is nothing short of the type of restrain and regiment that formula 1 and top tennis athletes follow.

it is all proteins, and good fats with some complex, non-grain carbs. he probably eats more vegetables like broccoli and kale in a day than most of us eat in a week. he is even on record to state that he eats no red meats, or dairy products, and his protein is either all plant protein or grilled chicken.

 

[captain.hansolo]

Good for Him . These soft drink giants in India, Pakistan and Bangla have long used the massive popularity of cricket to sell their ratehr unhealthy drinks.

How many posters here can think about your favorite cricketer's memories and NOT HAVE A pepsi/coke AD come in mind ? Add to this, all those WC special editions (remember pepsi blue and pepsi gold anyone) ?

well they are sponsored by that product, so they are obligated to promote it. i think the only person to actually use a product that he or she promoted was kapil dev, when he promoted pamolive shave cream.

 

[PakLFC]

you can be sure that Kohli has not had a taste of sugar or soda in four years. the level of discipline that chap has, the diet he has, it is nothing short of the type of restrain and regiment that formula 1 and top tennis athletes follow.

it is all proteins, and good fats with some complex, non-grain carbs. he probably eats more vegetables like broccoli and kale in a day than most of us eat in a week. he is even on record to state that he eats no red meats, or dairy products, and his protein is either all plant protein or grilled chicken.

I think dairy products cause skin problems, right?. Anil Kapoor and Imran Khan are also health freaks. There is always time to change eating and drinking habits even if you catch some disease. Better late then never.