How An Ad Featuring Amitabh Bachchan Landed Flipkart In Trouble

Trouble seems to be mounting for e-commerce site Flipkart after smartphone retailers have called out an advertisement by the online platform featuring Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan misleading.

According to a report by the Economic Times (ET), retailers have alleged that the advertisement misleads buyers into believing that online platforms offer better deals.

In the advertisement by Flipkart, which is aired to promote ‘The Big Billion Days’, Amitabh Bachchan could be heard saying that the kind of mobile deals Flipkart is offering will not be available at retail stores.

Irked over the advertisement, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has written to leading smartphone brands to highlight the issue.

They have also asked the brand heads to “issue either a joint or individual statement in prominent news media outlets, publicly clarifying that these statements are not accurate.”

“Our purpose in addressing you is to express our deep concern and disappointment regarding the recent wave of derogatory advertisements that have been proliferating across various online platforms, social media, and print media. These advertisements have been influencing the buying behaviour of customers through false and misleading statements, such as the one promoted by Flipkart with the endorsement of the megastar, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, stating, ‘yeh Dukan per nahin milne wala’ (This will not be found in stores),” AIMRA said in its letter to smartphone brands.