After much brouhaha over Aamir Khan’s ouster as the brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign, it has finally been confirmed that the actor-filmmaker will no longer be doing the ads. So, there is speculation now that it’s Salman Khan or Amitabh Bachchan who will get to be the new brand ambassador of Incredible India. The Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism had hired Mc Cann Erickson to create the campaign around Incredible India. The television commercials (TVCs) and ad spots featured Aamir Khan. It was speculated that Aamir Khan was removed from endorsing the nation’s tourism industry due to his casual remarks on intolerance in the country.
The actor had said that his wife Kiran Rao wonders if one should leave the country, especially after the Dadri lynching incident. Well, Aamir is out of the campaign, all right. But that’s simply because his contract was over, for which the agency was paid Rs 2.96 lakh. It had nothing to do with the intolerance debate, or so we are being asked to believe.
Aamir Khan has issued a statement saying that he has not charged a fee for any of his social ads, including Incredible India that he has endorsed for a decade now. ”It has been an honour and a pleasure for me to be the Brand Ambassador for the Incredible India campaign for the past 10 years. I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it. I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me. It is always an honour for me to be of service of my country, and this is how it will always be. It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be. I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country. Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that’s the way it should be.”
The Ministry of Tourism had released a statement on January 6 on Aamir Khan and Incredible India, saying, “In response to certain news reports appearing in the media, about Shri. Aamir Khan, the Ministry of Tourism clarifies that there is no change in the stand of the ministry in this matter. The Ministry further clarifies that at present it has a contractual agreement with creative agency Mc Cann Worldwide to produce social awareness campaign and the said campaign featured Shri. Aamir Khan.”
So, who will it be next to take on the role? Salman Khan or Amitabh Bachchan? Salman Khan with his controversial career but lovable persona could be sutiable, but Amitabh Bachchan would be more ideal. The gentleman who has endorsed the Gujarat Tourism campaign earlier has also been doing the polio vaccination and other social message ads for the Government of India. He would be the best bet for Incredible India, we feel! What do you think?
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