Opinion Gavaskar, Sehwag, Kapil Dev — why cricket’s biggest names leave a bad taste in the mouth
They have come together in IPL to promote “silver-coated elaichi” — a mouth-freshener made by a famous pan-masala company. Pan masala, the real money spinner, is sold with a health warning
Kapil Deve; Virender Sehwag; Sunil Gavaskar. 
After winning the 2001 All-England Championships, badminton star Pullela Gopichand turned down an offer to endorse a cola brand. He wasn’t playing a sport that paid well but Gopichand wasn’t ready to let money shake his conviction. Aware of the health hazards, he had stopped drinking carbonated beverages by then. In the highly commercialised sporting ecosystem, Gopi is an exception.
Some of cricket’s biggest names have left a bad taste in the mouth with their choice of endorsement during the ongoing Indian Premier League. In a casting coup, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Kapil Dev and Chris Gayle have come together to promote “silver-coated elaichi” — a mouth-freshener made by a famous pan-masala company. Pan masala, the real money spinner, is sold with a health warning.
During ad breaks of the most-watched cricket league in the world, the four greats mouth poorly scripted lines about the stroke-making approach of their respective generations before they pop contents from a sachet. There is no pretence — the brand name of the pan masala company is clearly visible. During an over-break of the IPL, the captive audience also comprises millions of school and college-going impressionable youngsters.
Cricketers have other questionable connections too.
Today’s top cricket stars, M S Dhoni, Virat Kohli (he decided not to extend a cola-drink deal) and Hardik Pandya included, endorse fantasy leagues, a legal business similar to sports gambling, which is banned in India. They encourage people to make money by predicting player performances but it’s an open secret that the house always wins. However, courts have said that the fantasy sports format is a game of skill and not chance, hence shielding operators from the betting/gambling tag.
During the two-month IPL, the annual El Dorado for advertisers, Gavaskar, Gayle, Kapil Dev and Sehwag have helped increase the brand awareness of pan masala. Each of them comes with star power and can sell almost anything. Gayle, a T20 great, makes anything he endorses look cool. Sehwag’s rustic charm can work wonders. Ads from the 1980s featuring Gavaskar and Kapil Dev still have resonance. What prompted Kapil to go from the charming “Palmolive ka jawaab nahi” to “Kamala Pasand elaichi, anokha swaad”?
The misstep can’t be put down to naivety. These cricketers are not the first celebrities to be wooed by pan masala manufacturers. Bollywood’s biggest actors have faced similar backlash. Two years ago, Amitabh Bachchan withdrew from endorsing “silver-coated elaichi” after he was trolled. Akshay Kumar apologised to “all fans and well-wishers”. He too, like Bachchan, was promoting elaichi and after the negative press said he would be “extremely mindful in making future choices”.
Even a martini-sipping sophisticated James Bond stained his reputation and tuxedo. Delhi health officials issued a notice to Pierce Brosnan and threatened him with a fine and jail time for appearing on newspaper front pages and on TV promoting pan masala. Brosnan apologised, and his justification: He was told the blue tin contained a popular “mouth freshener”.
The clever ploy in play today is pitching “silver-coated elaichi” as a “brand extension” (a standalone product by the same company) to circumvent rules that ban celebrities in surrogate advertising of products that need a health warning.
Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI’s celebrity guidelines already require celebrities to not endorse products which need any health warning. Surrogate advertising is not allowed but there is no restriction as of now on endorsing brand extensions.” However, Kapoor added: “Such participation could invoke the provisions of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) which is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. While such products (silver-coated elaichi) may clear hurdles issued by the Cable TV Act and the ASCI code, it is potentially in violation of the COTPA.”
India’s greatest Test opener once berated a cricketer on air for his untucked jersey. But when on a sticky wicket, Sunny G’s conscience hasn’t pricked him.
The quartet of elaichi chewers too have faced flak like Bachchan and Kumar. But every evening they have no qualms about appearing in ads which raise moral questions. At the same time, they are experts on official pre-and-post-match IPL shows — a win-win for India’s pan masala billionaires.
nihal.koshie@expressindia.com
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