Our filmi personalities endorse various products everyday. While the products they endorse are meant for daily consumption, the campaigns are best forgotten

Indian film stars from across the country endorse various products—from toothpastes to luxury cars—but their campaigns lack the retention value and are soon out of the minds of the public. Let us look at some examples...
 
Our all-India hero Rajinikant's dashing son-in-law, Danush, who is a cool dude and who calmly uses Parachute’s cooling oil, has, this time, become responsible, though, a little bit naughtily.  
 
As he drives his auto with a nasty customer, who smokes and chews pan, finds the passenger not heeding to his requests, pulls a fast one by putting an urgent brake so that the entire pan spit sprays on to the uniform of two policemen on duty, spoiling their dazzling white shirts!
 
Ironically, the policemen take the law into their own hands, pun intended, and thrash the passenger!  Our cool dude just drives away....
 
Not to be outdone, as he relaxes in the beach, not being a life guard on duty, but having his Relaxo Hawaii sandals (chappals), Salman Khan hears the call of a damsel in distress, drowning at a distance in the sea. What does he do? Jumps into his Hawaii sandals, walks on the sea (remember the god man who tried to do that three decades ago went down like a stone in the pool?) and rescues her!
 
Not long afterwards, the same damsel is clinging on to a building on fire, and Salman rushes to her rescue with his Relaxo sandals, climbs up the towering inferno, very much like Spiderman, catches hold of her as she slips and falls, to rescue her!

Why should Shah Rukh Khan be far behind? He does not do anything so daring and adventurous, but deftly hands over a Fair and Handsome tube to someone who feels ill at ease for having not been endowed with a fair skin. A couple of applications later, viola, he is fair and handsome!

So is the lady who miraculously improves her facial colour with Fair and Lovely. Not to speak of the Ponds (not Bond, mind you) girl who is able to cover her underarm dark patch with the cream. Godrej’s Cinthol soap does the same to improve the complexion.
 
Mahesh Bhupathi takes care of his teeth with a 12-hour guarantee of Colgate, meaning, of course, you need to brush twice to be safe for the whole day! Shah Rukh Khan suggests Pepsodent for tooth care, though he has not given a time frame for its efficacy!

So, what do we do now? Let’s go with a shopping bag...

(AK Ramdas has worked with the Engineering Export Promotion Council of the ministry of commerce and was associated with various committees of the Council. His international career took him to places like Beirut, Kuwait and Dubai at a time when these were small trading outposts; and later to the US. He can be contacted at anantha_ramdas@yahoo.com.)