7 Celebrities Who Turned Down Big Brand Endorsements On Moral Grounds

Brand endorsements play a huge role in Bollywood celebrities income. Many big brands including Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. indulge in paid celebrity endorsements as a part of their marketing strategies. In fact, some stars like Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aaryan are made in millions for a single Instagram post featuring a brand name.

However, sometimes ethos of the brand they are asked to endorse doesn’t align well with their moral compass. Some still continue to endorse such brands while many can’t bring themselves to terms with it. Hence, many Bollywood celebrities who value their morals above money have ended up rejecting once-in-a-lifetime kind of endorsement projects. Here are some to name the few.

1. Sai Pallavi

The South Indian actress took no time to say NO to a worth Rs 2-crore promotional ad for a fairness product brand. She thought, it would be irresponsible for her if she endorsed such products that peddle low self-esteem in people.

2. Akshay Kumar

Bollywood’s Khiladi Kumar who is at the top of his career, always encourages good health practices among his followers. He never smokes, drinks or stays up late at night. Thus, endorsing a Pan Masala brand was a next to impossible thing for him. He took no time to say no.

3. Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan was moved by the question of a school girl who asked him why he endorses a soft drink brand if it’s a poison. Surprised by her innocence, he decided to stop endorsing soft drink brands in future. He also urged other celebrities to stop doing so.

4. Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is rarely seen in any brand endorsement. The reason behind it is the carefulness with which the actor picks a project for himself. Aamir Khan only endorses things that have a social cause attached to it. Probably, that’s why he is seen mostly in state-run ads linked to water conservation, eradication of Polio, etc.

5. John Abraham

Being a fitness enthusiast, John Abraham has abstained from alcohol and tobacco. He also has a strict policy that he should not be approached with an alcohol or tobacco brand endorsement.

6. Ranbir Kapoor

Being a naturally-fair person, Ranbir Kapoor believes that working in a fairness cream advertisement would be next to cheating his fans. Thus, he never took up any fairness brand endorsement in his career. Although, his love interest Alia Bhatt is seen in a fairness cream brand endorsement as of now.

7. Kangana Ranaut

Just like Ranbir Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut has also rejected multiple fairness cream ads. It must have costed her lots of money, but the Panga actress is very serious about sticking to her moral values. She has been very particular in doing brand endorsement and only accepts offers after thoroughly doing a background check of the product.

While the above-mentioned actors have blatantly rejected brand endorsements that don’t align with their moral values, some celebrities continue to endorse such products. Yami Gautam has been working as a brand ambassador of Fair & Lovely for years, Ajay Devgn is associated with Vimal Pan Masala, Alia Bhatt is doing brand endorsements for a Garnier Fairness Cream, etc. Not only this, even biggies like Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra etc. have endorsed fairness cream brands.