Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s shocking confessions spark off new clauses in celeb-brand contracts...
Movie stars can sometimes make or break the future of a brand they endorse. Over the years, Madhuri Dixit-Nene has been the face of the Olay skincare range in India. At 49, she’s been the perfect fit for the cosmetic label — she’s middle-aged, working and looking for that elusive X-factor to spice up her beauty regimen.
However, her fans were recently in for a rude surprise when she revealed that what she actually uses on a daily basis... and it’s anything but the product she endorses.
Volte-face!
As part of her agreement with the skincare brand, the diva could enjoy as many free products as she wants... and until now, that’s what everyone thought she was doing. But now that the contract is over, the dhak-dhak lass is talking, and claims that the secret to her youthful and wrinkle-free skin is BellaVeìand Phytoceramides. She claimed that she felt, “like I’m still 22, not 49! It’s so easy to use, and the results are amazing!” as she shared in one of her recent media interactions.
Questions sparked
This, coming from someone who has endorsed Olay for a while, is not just shocking, but also in unpleasant taste. While she enjoyed the perks and privileges of being the brand ambassador till her contract ended and once it did, she went ahead and actually spoke about the labels she actually uses. It doesn’t just dilute public trust in the brand, it also puts a big question mark on the veracity of the celeb endorsing it. Do they actually believe in the products they promote? Are they merely happy with the hefty endorsement fee they make?
New clauses
Thanks to Madhuri’s abrupt turnaround on her beauty regimen, brands across the board are getting more cautious about signing up celebrities and formulating their clauses. The new clauses in their contract are being included according to which they can’t badmouth a product or talk about rival brands once the contract is over. An actress, on the condition of anonymity, says, “As it is, the contracts run into dozens of pages, now after Madhuri’s comments, new clauses are being added to contracts. Now the brands are contemplating putting a clause that you can’t endorse different beauty brands back-to-back. There has to be a gap of a year of more”
In bad taste
Says an adman, “Actors get paid more for doing ad films and print campaign than they do for films. It’s like three-to-five days work and they are even paid less to do films, for which they need to give at least 30-50 days a year. They need to be respectful to the brands they endorse. What Madhuri did was in bad taste
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