Context. संदर्भ. సందర్భం Maggi noodle food, marketed by Nestle in India, is under close scrutiny in India, about Maggi's contents and their effect on health of consumers. Some Police cases have been registered against film stars Big B (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ms. Madhuri Dikshit.
It is a world-wide well-known fact that celebrities all over the world, particularly the sports persons, film and TV stars and singers, make millions and billions of bucks, endorsing all sorts of products in the world. Their sponsors seem to believe that by showing celebrities and stars, billions can be minted, under the assumption that millions and billions of gullible people buy their products, if celebrities and stars endorse them. So far, sufficient dependable studies are not available to prove the DIRECT PROXIMATE CAUSE-&-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS between Celebrity-endorsement-advertisements and the sales graphs. consumers buy, believing the words of celebrities and stars.
Celebrity and star brand ambassadors and endorsers, in their eagerness to maximise their total revenue (Our modern economics says that every business person should maximise his-her revenue), forget everything else, and repeat like parrots whatever their sponsors say, without verifying the field level facts behind them.
While it is true that celebrity star brand ambassadors cannot act as detectives in the genre of Sherlock Holmes and Watson, they have to take reasonable minimum care and exercise diligence inm MAKING REPRESENTATIONS ON BEHALF OF SPONSORS. IF they reproduce everything their sponsors dictate, like faithful dogs in HMV logo "His Masters' Voice", then, there will be a danger of their either misrepresenting, or becoming a conspirator to a fraud. This is because, common people think that celebrity stars are great persons with 100x more intellect when compared to their own intelligence. The common people may not know that celebrities can be more imbecile than themselves (common people and consumers).
Celebrities and stars who face prosecution will now employ top Indian Supreme Court lawyers who will charge some millions for their appearances. Those great celebrity Indian Supreme Court lawyers can now find out some loop-holes in law, rules and procedures, case-law, and of course, save their celebrity clients. Thereafter, both can buy posh homes in Central London, or somewhere else, and live as neighbors.
Multi National Companies (MNCs) throughout the world know their business tactics. This is not the first time, they face a scenario of possible prosecution, suits for compensation, or a ban on sale of their products. The MNC defence, attacking, business tactics can range from bribing to intimidation. In the continuum of the spectrum, there is also a possibility of their bringing pressure from the Presidents and Prime Ministers of their parent countries, on the Government of India. In case of Nestle, which is a Swiss MNC, we can expect phones from American President, Swiss President or the British PM, or all, one after another. Say for example: Obama in the morning, Cameron during lunch time, Ms. Simonetta Sommaruga in the evening.
This is not an impossibility. The present job of most of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Europe, North America, ANZ, ASEAN, seems to be precisely this only-- pleading on behalf of their Corporates, some thing or the other.
Example: Every European, Noth American, ANZ, ASEAN Head of the State/Govt./some Ministry will invariably ask India about the progress the Indian rulers have made in making India, more EASY TO DO BUSINESS IN INDIA. Conversely, the Indian Prezs, PMs, Foreign Ministers, Commerce Ministers, when they go abroad, make promises that everything has been liberalised and reformed. Of course, they may not make a promise of going to the extreme point of permitting MNCs to literally or metaphorically cannibalise Indian people, but the leverages which the MNCs will be extended to, in the regulation of environment, health, monopolistic behaviors, misleading stakeholders, tax evasion, are going to be far higher than what permissions are given 100% native businesses, particularly the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises).
Bringing pressure from foreign Presidents/PMs can happen, even in case of religious conversions. It is an open fact, that alien religions have poached, and are poaching into India, in the guise of running hospitals and schools. The missionaries, whenever they find, that there is the slightest resistance to proseylitization, from the Indian society,-- immediately messages go to their donors and sponsors abroad, that there is no religious freedom in India, and that Indian Constitution is being violated. The foreign donors and sponsors approach their Presidents/PMs representing as if some apocalypse is taking place in India. Without verifying facts, immediately the foreign Presidents/PMs may either directly phone to their Indian counterparts, or direct their Ambassadors/High Commissioners to meet persons at very high level.
Indian Media too, very often, blindly give wide and detailed publicity to the advertising campaigns of the MNCs. For example, let us see this NESTLE MAGGI MARKET PROMOTION report at the website afaqs.com. It is published as a news item.
Click to go to http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/34668_Maggi-Spreading-happiness-in-2-minutes
(To continue सशेष ఇంకా ఉంది.).
