Pan Masala Mafia | How Surrogate Ads work? | Dhruv Rathee
You must have noticed a whole bunch of your favourite celebrities and actors advertising pan masala and gutka products lately. But if you look closely, they say that its only elaichi and bottled water. A very simple answer. What exactly is happening here? How are celebrities and pan masala companies silently promoting cancer causing products? In this video, I explain the concept of Surrogate Advertising and how these pan masala companies try to fool their customers.
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00:00Hello, friends!
00:01Have you ever noticed your favourite celebrities in the TV and newspapers
00:04advertising Paan Masala and alcohol?
00:06But when you look at these ads carefully,
00:09you see that they are not actually ads for alcohol or Paan Masala.
00:12Instead, they are ads for cardamom, mouth freshener and soda water.
00:17This is called surrogate advertisement.
00:20In today's video, let's understand this surrogate mafia in depth.
00:31It's your life.
00:32Make it large.
00:33Kamala Pasand.
00:34Unique taste.
00:35This is the new revolution I want to start.
00:38It's called Matangiri.
00:39Cheers!
00:44Like cigarettes, Gutkha is a product that has tobacco in it.
00:47And people chew it.
00:49There are a lot of research papers in which it has been proved
00:52that eating Gutkha increases the risk of mouth cancer.
00:55This is the reason that for many years,
00:57the sale of Gutkha has been banned in most of the Indian states.
01:00Under the Food Safety and Standards Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales Regulations 2011,
01:06the government banned Gutkha and Paan Masala
01:09which contains tobacco and nicotine.
01:11They cannot be sold.
01:13But when this ban was implemented,
01:15these companies found a loophole.
01:17They said,
01:18okay, we have removed tobacco from our product.
01:20We are now selling tobacco-free Paan Masala in our packet.
01:24But along with that,
01:25they started selling tobacco-free Paan Masala in a separate packet.
01:29Instead of one packet, they started selling two sachets.
01:31One has tobacco-free Paan Masala
01:33and the other has only tobacco.
01:35So that the buyers can buy both the packets together
01:38open both the packets, mix them and eat.
01:41The same thing happened.
01:42The interesting thing was that
01:43there was also betel leaf in their tobacco-free Paan Masala.
01:46Which is a potential cancer-causing agent.
01:49But this loophole was in Section 2.3.4 of this regulation.
01:53Here, the wording was
01:55that in any food,
01:57in any food,
01:58adding tobacco is prohibited from now on.
02:01So what did they do?
02:02Okay, we didn't add tobacco in our food.
02:04We are selling tobacco separately.
02:06And this loophole was created here.
02:08This was one thing.
02:09Apart from this,
02:10these companies have also lied to their customers.
02:13In August 2019,
02:1412 Paan Masala brands
02:16were analysed in Bihar.
02:19The State Health Department
02:20had sent their samples to the National Tobacco Testing Laboratories.
02:24Out of these 12,
02:257 samples were found to be nicotine-positive.
02:28Among these 7 brands,
02:29brands like Kamla Pasand, Rajnigandha, Rajshri were also included.
02:32On their packets,
02:33these companies had written
02:35that there is no nicotine in their Paan Masala.
02:37It is nicotine-free.
02:38But actually, nicotine was found in their samples.
02:40Apart from this,
02:4112 Paan Masala brands
02:43were also using harmful chemical Magnesium Carbonate.
02:47There is a lot of mischief in their products.
02:49But now let's talk about
02:51how these companies,
02:52through advertisements,
02:53fool people.
02:55The thing is,
02:56earlier,
02:58Tobacco ads were legal in India.
03:00Tobacco could be advertised freely.
03:03You must remember,
03:04Akshay Kumar's ads used to be made earlier.
03:07We, the people who drink red and white,
03:09have a different story.
03:10Here, they were promoting smoking.
03:12Thankfully,
03:13Akshay Kumar makes anti-smoking ads today.
03:16He makes anti-smoking ads
03:18that you see in cinemas.
03:20Actually, banning these tobacco ads
03:22was done in May 2003.
03:24Under COTPA 2003.
03:27The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products
03:29Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation
03:31of Trade and Commerce Production Supply
03:33and Distribution Act, 2003.
03:35This change was not limited to India.
03:37The World Health Organization
03:38adopted the WHO-FCTC Treaty in May 2003.
03:42Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
03:45The aim of this treaty was
03:46to discourage the use of tobacco in the world.
03:49And 181 countries ratified this Convention.
03:53But here, companies found a loophole
03:55through surrogate advertising.
03:57What usually happens, friends,
03:59when a parent company
04:01launches different products,
04:03they are launched by different brand names.
04:06Their tagline is different.
04:07Their logo is different.
04:08For example, do you know,
04:10Hindustan Unilever Limited
04:12is the same company
04:13that makes Cornetto Ice Cream
04:15and Horlicks Powder.
04:17Not only this,
04:18Horlicks and Boost
04:19are products of the same category
04:21but belong to the same company.
04:23Hindustan Unilever Limited.
04:25But their brand names are different.
04:27What do Paan Masala Gutkha companies do?
04:29They do the opposite.
04:31They sell their different products
04:33with the same brand name,
04:34same tagline, same logo
04:36and similarly in sachets.
04:38They sell their non-tobacco products
04:40with the same name, same tagline, same logo
04:42so a brand recall will come to people's minds.
04:45This is called surrogate advertising.
04:48People will get confused
04:49whether it is a tobacco Paan Masala ad,
04:51a cardamom ad,
04:52or a mouth freshener ad.
04:53But this is done on purpose.
04:55They want people to be confused
04:57because they want to make an ad for their Paan Masala
05:00and show in small letters
05:02that this is a cardamom ad.
05:04This is called surrogate advertisement.
05:07Look at the Kamla Pasand ad
05:09where on the front page of the newspaper
05:10Amitabh Bachchan and Ranveer Singh are making an ad for it.
05:12If you look carefully,
05:14in very small letters
05:16it is written that
05:17it is actually a silver-coated cardamom ad.
05:20Apart from this newspaper advertisement,
05:22there is also a 20-second video ad
05:24that Daddy likes classical songs
05:26but son loves Yamla Pagla.
05:28Both have different colours
05:29but both have a unique taste.
05:31Kamla Pasand.
05:32In this ad, they're holding a sachet
05:34of Kamla Pasand
05:35and eating it.
05:37In the ad, it is not even mentioned
05:38what they're actually eating.
05:39But in very small letters,
05:41if you look carefully,
05:42it is written
05:43that they're actually eating
05:44a silver-coated cardamom
05:46of Kamla Pasand.
05:47Its sachet looks exactly like the Paan Masala
05:50which has tobacco in it.
05:51Similarly, if you look at Vimal's ad
05:53which has Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn.
05:55Even in this ad, it is not mentioned
05:56that it is a cardamom.
05:57But in the end,
05:58for a few seconds,
05:59it is shown that
06:00on the sachet,
06:01it says cardamom in small letters.
06:02Similarly,
06:03alcohol brands
06:04make surrogate advertisements
06:06of bottled water and soda.
06:08In fact, music CDs as well.
06:10Who listens to music
06:11through CDs these days?
06:12It is not that our government
06:14does not know
06:15what is happening here.
06:16Advertising Standards Council of India
06:18or ASCI,
06:19has made advertising regulations
06:21regarding surrogate advertisements.
06:23That is,
06:24there are laws regarding
06:25surrogate ads.
06:26These laws say
06:27that the product extension
06:29should be genuine.
06:30Meaning,
06:31if you're selling cardamom,
06:32bottled water or soda,
06:34then this brand
06:35has to show the same product
06:36that actually exists.
06:38It cannot be said
06:39that we're selling cardamom
06:40and actually,
06:41no cardamom exists.
06:42It is not available in any shop.
06:43The product has to be genuine.
06:44And according to the rules,
06:45the net sales turnover
06:47of this product
06:48should be at least 20 lakh per month
06:49at the time of launch.
06:51Or,
06:52the company can show
06:53that they have made
06:54any asset investments
06:55for this product.
06:56For example,
06:57land purchase,
06:58factory construction,
06:59machines or software.
07:00Which is exclusive
07:01only for this product.
07:03Its value
07:04should be at least
07:0510 crore rupees.
07:06The next rule says
07:07that this product extension
07:08should be registered
07:09by the government authority.
07:11GST,
07:12FSSAI
07:13or FDA.
07:14And it should also be audited
07:15by independent organisations.
07:18And it has also been said
07:19that
07:20any surrogate advertisement
07:22which is a banned product,
07:23cannot hint at it.
07:25Cannot point it out.
07:27For example,
07:28Shah Rukh Khan's Royal Stag ad
07:29says
07:30mix small
07:31and make large.
07:33Now,
07:34they're not talking about
07:35whisky here.
07:36They're talking about
07:37music CDs.
07:38It doesn't seem believable.
07:40For this reason,
07:41ASCI
07:42banned 12 advertisements
07:43in the beginning of this year,
07:45in January.
07:46When they investigated
07:47and found out
07:48that they're actually
07:49doing such ads
07:50which are hinting
07:51at their banned products.
07:53Pointing it out.
07:54These ads were run
07:55during the last IPL.
07:56And Royal Stag,
07:57Sterling Reserve,
07:58Blenders Pride
07:59were included in it.
08:00The judgement was given
08:02that these ads
08:03can be run again
08:04after suitable modification.
08:06You can imagine
08:07how easy it is
08:08from the perspective
08:09of these companies.
08:10The ad was banned
08:11but after a few changes,
08:13these ads can be published again.
08:15The number of products
08:16manufactured by Paan Parag
08:18had an annual sales turnover
08:20for 2020
08:21of 4,100 crores.
08:23So,
08:24you can imagine
08:25that these companies
08:26are earning in thousands of crores.
08:28For them,
08:29a monthly sale of 20 lakhs
08:31i.e. a sale of 2.4 crores per year
08:33can be very difficult.
08:35These laws
08:36are not
08:37strong laws at all.
08:39Similarly,
08:40how difficult it can be
08:41to modify an ad
08:42and show it again.
08:44There is a negligible impact
08:46of existing laws
08:47on these ads.
08:48If a company
08:49is following all the rules,
08:51for example,
08:52Kamla Pasand Vimal and Rajni Ganda
08:53have a silver-coated
08:54cardamom business
08:55which is meeting
08:56the minimum sales turnover
08:57requirement.
08:58And actually,
08:59their genuine product
09:00does not contain tobacco.
09:02Despite this,
09:03using the same brand name,
09:05using the same taglines,
09:06and creating a recall value
09:08of Paan Masala,
09:09isn't this surrogate ad
09:11unfair?
09:12Isn't it unethical?
09:14In my opinion,
09:15the solution is simple.
09:16The government should make
09:17such a law
09:18that if any company
09:19is selling alcohol or tobacco products
09:21under one brand name,
09:23then the same brand name
09:25or brand tagline
09:26cannot be used
09:27for other products.
09:29If Vimal wants to sell
09:30his Paan Masala,
09:31then he cannot name
09:32his cardamom product
09:33after Vimal's cardamom product.
09:36Or he cannot name it
09:37after the same product.
09:38If a Kingfisher Beer exists,
09:40then Kingfisher Soda
09:41cannot exist.
09:42Both the brand names
09:43will have to be different.
09:45Then remove the name
09:46of Soda from Kingfisher
09:47and do something else.
09:48And this is a very simple solution.
09:49The ban should be imposed
09:50on the fact that
09:51there should not be
09:52the same brand names
09:53or similar brand names.
09:54And to do this,
09:55a strong political will
09:56is needed.
09:57If the government wants to do this,
09:58then such a law
09:59can be introduced today.
10:00But the entire responsibility
10:01cannot be put on the government.
10:03If we put politics
10:04and law aside,
10:05then even the celebrities
10:06have a responsibility
10:08to not advertise such things.
10:11An oncologist from Goa,
10:12Shekhar,
10:13who is the President
10:14of the National Organisation
10:15for Tobacco Eradication,
10:16wrote an open letter
10:17to Amitabh Bachchan
10:18in the month of September
10:19that he should stop
10:20doing such ads
10:21and withdraw these ads.
10:23On 9th October,
10:24I also tweeted
10:25specifically pointing out
10:26Amitabh Bachchan
10:27and Ranveer Singh.
10:29And a lot of people
10:30had raised their voice
10:31against this
10:32whenever celebrities
10:33do such ads.
10:34It is a simple thing
10:35that they are so rich
10:36and they are earning
10:37millions of rupees.
10:38Then did such desperation
10:39come that
10:40they started doing
10:41such cheap ads?
10:42What was the benefit
10:43of becoming an influencer
10:44or a celebrity
10:45that you sell such things
10:46to cancerous people?
10:48When a lot of people
10:49raised their voices
10:50about this,
10:51two days later,
10:52the news came that
10:53Amitabh Bachchan
10:54has withdrawn
10:55from the Pan Masala ad campaign
10:56and has returned the money.
10:58It is worth seeing
10:59how true this is
11:00because even today,
11:01the same Amitabh Bachchan
11:02ad is still seen
11:03on TV.
11:04Apart from this,
11:05there is a long list
11:06of these celebrities
11:07who are literally
11:08selling cancer
11:09to the people of the country.
11:10Ranveer Singh,
11:11Shah Rukh Khan,
11:12Ajay Devgn
11:13and many other celebrities
11:14who have done ads
11:15for mouth fresheners
11:16in the past,
11:17surrogate ads
11:18for Pan Masala
11:19or for cardamom.
11:20Salman Khan,
11:21Hrithik Roshan,
11:22Manoj Vajpayee,
11:23Tiger Shroff,
11:24Saif Ali Khan,
11:25Aamir Sharma,
11:26Sunny Leone,
11:27Govinda,
11:28Mahesh Babu,
11:29Ravi Kishan,
11:30Arbaaz Khan,
11:31Sanjay Dutt
11:32and Akshay Kumar.
11:33However,
11:34those celebrities
11:35should also be credited
11:36who used to do such ads
11:37but later realised
11:38that they were doing it wrong
11:39and stopped doing such ads.
11:40For example,
11:41in 2016,
11:42the Additional Director
11:43of the Delhi Government's
11:44Health Department
11:45had appealed openly
11:46to all celebrities
11:47to stop doing such ads.
11:48After this appeal,
11:49Sunny Leone promised
11:50that she would not sign
11:51any such future contracts
11:52for such products.
11:53But there are many
11:54shameless actors
11:55who are openly
11:56doing such ads
11:57till date.
11:58Ajay Devgn's
11:59classic ad
12:00which is seen so many times,
12:01Khub Jamega Rang
12:02Jum Mil Baithenge Teen Yaar.
12:03Another bagpiper ad
12:04which featured
12:05Shah Rukh Khan.
12:06Vimal's ad
12:07which is seen
12:08till date
12:09which has
12:10Shah Rukh Khan
12:11and Ajay Devgn.
12:12Personally,
12:13I have no enmity
12:14against any celebrity.
12:15I have named
12:16many celebrities
12:17whom I myself
12:18like to see
12:19and I like their work.
12:20Shah Rukh Khan,
12:21Akshay Kumar,
12:22Hrithik Roshan,
12:23I like to see them
12:24in films.
12:25Sonu Sood,
12:26who does
12:27a lot of charitable work,
12:28I like him.
12:29Manoj Vajpayee,
12:30one of the most
12:31talented actors here.
12:32But what is wrong
12:33happening here,
12:34it is very important
12:35to point it out.
12:36Because
12:37the society
12:38is having
12:39a very negative
12:40impact on the people
12:41of the country.
12:42That is why
12:43it is very important
12:44to point it out.
12:45And if you too
12:46see your favourite celebrity
12:47doing such
12:48disgusting surrogate ads,
12:49then you too
12:50raise your voice against it.
12:51Do not become
12:52a victim of it.
12:53Send this message
12:54to them on their social media.
12:55Explain it to them politely.
12:56I hope
12:57that after this video,
12:58there will be a good change
12:59in the country
13:00regarding these things.
13:01Thank you very much.