The manufacturer of
Pan Bahar pan masala has reportedly "sought clarification from
Hollywood actor
Pierce Brosnan after he alleged that the company made "unauthorised and deceptive use, of his image to promote a potentially harmful product.
It’s just a week back ‘Die another day’ actor hit the news headlines in India after he posed with pan masala and advertised for the tobacco-rich product. Soon after all hails broke loose in the social media.
In an interview to the
People Magazine,
Brosnan alleged gthat he wasn’t aware that he was advertising for a tobacco rich product. Instead he believed the campaign was all about a “breath freshener or a tooth whitener”.
An Ashok & Co's marketing official told the
Economic Times that the company has reached out to Brosnan's team. "There is some confusion and we are talking to his team to sort out the matter. We cannot comment any more at this stage,” the official told ET. Another official directly aware of the matter said
Ashok & Co was likely to issue a clarification on the matter in the coming week. To the credit of the company, Pan Bahar print ads and a TV commercial featuring Brosnan that ET checked did mention 'No tobacco, no nicotine'. Brosnan, who is getting trolled across social media on the matter, is learnt to have charged $2 million for two years for endorsing the brand.
The Bond star has released a statement claiming Pan Bahar had "violated his contract, by falsely presenting him as a brand ambassador for its entire product line. He told People magazine that he had committed to advertise for just one product under the Pan Bahar umbrella, which he claimed was an "all-natural, containing neither tobacco, supari, nor any other harmful ingredient.
He asked the company to remove him from the advertising.
