Bollywood celebrities like Swara Bhasker and Konkana Sen Sharma are lauding the decision of big brands such as Parle and Bajaj to not air their advertisements on ‘toxic’ news channels. They have showered praise on the companies for taking a moral stand against these media houses. The decision comes on the lines of the fake TRP controversy that was unearthed by Mumbai Police recently.
The decision was shared on social media by the Indian Civil Liberties Union. They tweeted, “Parle Products has decided not to advertise on news channels that broadcast toxic aggressive content. These channels are not the kinds that the company wants to put money into as it does not favour its target consumer. It's time more companies join the lead of Bajaj and Parle.”
Yayyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee! Three cheers for #Parle https://t.co/Ss5P6wmD22
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) October 11, 2020
Swara and Konkana both retweeted the tweet and applauded the stand. As reported by a leading daily, Parle’s senior category head Krishnarao Buddha said that the company will not advertise on news channel embroiled in the fake TRPs controversy. He said, “We are exploring possibilities wherein other advertisers can come together and sort of put a restraint on their advertising spends on news channels, so that there is some sort of a clear signal to all the news channels, that they better change their content.”
And #bajaj too! https://t.co/4DR3JJYwfp
— Konkona Sensharma (@konkonas) October 12, 2020
Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj told a news channel, “A strong brand is a foundation on which you build a strong business. At the end of the day, the purpose of a strong business is to also contribute to the society… Our brand has never associated with anything we feel is a source of toxicity in the society.”
(Source: Twitter/Mint/CNBC TV18)