Celebs pushing junk food a global menace 

Cine stars endorsing brands from shampoo to inverters, thereby perpetuating existing stereotypes and prejudices about beauty, health consciousness and overall life standards, is commonplace in the advertising world. As acts of atonement perhaps, they are also grafted into endorsing public health messages for Pulse Polio campaigns and other social welfare activities, from time to time.

The present central government is continuing interpolation of movie glamour into mundane governance issues. Recently brand ambassador status was bestowed on Amitabh Bachchan, Raveena Tandon, Vidya Balan and Kajol for extolling virtues of the pet schemes of Modi sarkar during its second anniversary celebrations in Delhi – Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao and Swachh Bharat Mission.

With the summer season still on in the upper parts of India, it is but natural to recall the aerated drink advertisements that these stars promote, across all multimedia platforms. Despite empirical evidence provided by well-meaning civil society organisations about its zero-nutrient value and worse, toxic properties, many known cine names have exhibited no qualms in adulating artificial drinks year after year, upping their fee and pairing with cricket celebrities who too have become ‘partners in crime,’ so to speak.

Rather unsurprisingly, a recent report released by a leading US university endorses the very fact that health-conscious citizens have been imploring the youngsters to pay heed to. A vast majority of food and beverage products marketed by some of the most popular music stars in the US are unhealthy, a new study has found.

This type of advertising is contributing to the alarming rise in childhood and teen obesity, researchers from New York University (NYU) in the US have warned. "Because of our nation's childhood and teenage obesity public health crises, it is important to raise awareness about how companies are using celebrities popular with these audiences to market their unhealthy products," said Marie Bragg from NYU.

To identify popular music stars, researchers went through Billboard Magazine's "Hot 100" song charts from 2013 and 2014. They also verified their popularity and marketing appeal with teens by reviewing Teen Choice Award winners, and quantified the number of YouTube video views associated with the celebrities' food and non-alcoholic beverage brand endorsements.

Researchers then catalogued every endorsement between 2000 and 2014 using AdScope, an advertisement database that contains all forms of ads, including television, magazine and radio. They also searched for official commercials or endorsements on YouTube and in media sources. Endorsements were defined to include a celebrity's participation in a concert sponsored by a product.

They found that 65 of 163 identified pop stars were associated with 57 different food and beverage brands. Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the second-largest endorsement category, comprising 18 per cent of endorsements and ranking after consumer goods at 26 per cent and ahead of retail at 11 per cent, researchers said.

To assess nutritional value of the endorsed food products, they analysed nutrition information on food labels using the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM), which has been used in other food marketing research studies and provides a score that represents nutrient content. Twenty-one out of 26 food products – or 81 per cent – were deemed "nutrient poor."

It is not that every legend in the world of cinema readily extends his support to such acts – the name of Rajinikanth coming up on top in this scenario. Over the years, he has rebuffed, according to sources, many endorsement contracts for promoting FMCG products. Yesteryear titans of the movie industry too had never pitched for any product or service, other than lending their humongous popularity to social welfare causes like flood relief measures and raising funds for the Indian Army. It is time for a soul-searching exercise, for sure, one feels.

Unhealthy trends

• In the US, soda and other sugary drinks, fast food and sweets are among the most common food and beverage products endorsed by famous music personalities.
• A study found that 65 of 163 identified pop stars were associated with 57 different food and beverage brands
• None of the music stars identified in the study endorsed fruits, vegetables, or whole grains.
• The trend is similar in India, with a legion of cine stars and sports personalities endorsing non-alcoholic, aerated beverages
• Yesteryear titans of movie industry never pitched for any such product

By K Naresh Kumar