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Some celebrities have become more socially conscious in the age of mass media — but some appear to have no qualms about shirking this for big bucks.
In the sub-continent, the insensitive marketing of fairness products – and the trend of their celebrity endorsement – has been met with a harsh backlash, yet the trend continues unabated.
The latest Bollywood star to endorse a fairness product is none other than the Bang Bang actor, Hrithik Roshan, who has stepped in as the second celebrity brand ambassador of the Emami ‘Fair and Handsome’ face wash, reports Indian Express.
Previously, Shah Rukh Khan had endorsed the same product during a career-high, following the record-breaking success of Chennai Express in late 2013. As a reaction to his endorsement, actress Nandita Das, who is known to refuse roles that ask for the lightening of her skin, became the face of Women of Worth’s Dark Is Beautiful campaign, which has gained traction since.
At the time, the campaign asked the ad be retracted and called on Shah Rukh Khan to promote responsible advertising. Despite their efforts, Emami has succeeded in roping in yet another Bollywood star to endorse the same product.
Other celebrity endorsers of fairness products include John Abraham for Garnier's men's range of fairness creams, Shahid Kapoor for Vaseline's fairness cream, among a host of actresses like Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif for L'oreal, Ponds, Neutrogena and Olay respectively.
Locally, A-lister Fawad Khan has been the face of more than a few skin lightening brands, notably a Fair and Lovely facewash for men.
That didn't spark off the kind of controversy ignited by TV personality Zubaida Tariq, whose skin whitening soap, sold with the tagline ‘Ab gora hoga Pakistan’, provoked the ire of many, many people.
Read Also: Zubaida Apa: Mistress of spices
In reaction to Hrithik's endorsement, the Dark is Beautiful campaign asks its Facebook followers their views on the need for stricter regulation by the Advertising Standards Council of India:
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On DawnNews
Comments (32) Closed
Mar 10, 2015 03:13pm
so did Shah Rukh Khan, and a 100 other so called stars! The subcontinent is cursed with pigmentation insecurity since the Raj days. Deplorable.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:39pm
what wrong in being black, brown, yellow or white...The saddest part of the human race is we're obsessed with this idea of 'us and them,' which is really a no-win situation, whether it's racial, cultural, religious or political.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:55pm
If the price is right!!!!!
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Mar 10, 2015 04:12pm
@RavanSingh "The subcontinent is cursed with pigmentation insecurity"
Subcontinent? This is mostly a problem with Indians and the fake Bollywood culture that you guys have.
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Mar 10, 2015 04:13pm
jo bhi bolo, Hrithik is the most good looking actor in Bollywood.
The companies have identified that there is a market for fairness products and promotion is required to sell these products. Those who are protesting against ethical issues in Advertisements should go and close the companies and make 1000s working in those companies JOBLESS.
It is the complexity of the darkest who are fighting against fairness products because skin complexion can become lighter and one may look fairer, but the one who comes with a guarantee of everlasting darkness definitely feel the pain.
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Mar 10, 2015 04:23pm
I really don't understand this "fairness equals to beauty" mentality tbh...it's pity that how people are unhappy with their appearance and try to look like white people
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Mar 10, 2015 04:47pm
height of stupidity... I met a white woman (french) and she told we are obsessed with tan colours, brown colours and alwys sit on beeches in sun to make our skin like that. One can alwys like any colour but praising only that colour is stupidity, and is it possible that anyone can change from black to white by using any cream ??? I know how much my room mate had put effort, but after 15 yrs also he is black only. Hope he is not offended.
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Mar 10, 2015 04:50pm
Ha Ha Ha...white people want to have a tan and become brown while brown people want to become white..Lol
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Mar 10, 2015 06:00pm
This happens alot in India but rarely in Pakistan
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Mar 10, 2015 06:26pm
I'm a dasky, but I never use fairness cream. all these are stupidity & who stupid told fairness equals to beauty??
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Mar 10, 2015 06:27pm
To the people on the forum, I only have to say this. Go to any discussion board and you will hear so called gentlemen use " black " this or that to elevate themselves and denigrate others that they do not see eye to eye with. Where do you think that came from?
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Mar 10, 2015 08:18pm
@lafanga , so true.
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Mar 10, 2015 08:52pm
In India, beauty is considered directly proportional to fairness/whiteness.
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Mar 10, 2015 09:15pm
he is fair and handsome so let him do if he wants to. after all he is not air brushing his complexion. it will suit him. we have made a hullabaloo of fair complexion. its for those who have fair skin and they obviously would want to wear similar creams only. north Indians are fair people and there are some fair and beautiful people in south india too eg Aishwarya Rai and etc. so people with dark skin should not feel any sort of complexity at all. one should be comfortable in ones own skin
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Mar 10, 2015 09:57pm
The whole subcontinent have obsession with two things..one is fair color and the second is English language....
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Mar 10, 2015 10:11pm
if woman shed the insecurities about their looks..... a lot of multi-billion dollar businesses would shut their shutters down...........
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Mar 10, 2015 10:34pm
"Dark is Beautiful" - but the same people look down on much darker people from Africa. Some of my friends, occasionally call African Americans as "Kulla" while they are only few shades lighter than them.
In my opinion everyone is beautiful and the beauty is in the eyes of beerholder!
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Mar 10, 2015 10:50pm
@lafanga
You mean Pakistanis like you have arrived
recently in Pakistan direct from Germany ?
Looking at the current Pakistan men's hockey
and cricket teams they could,with the greatest
respect,be representing Sri Lanka !!
Please learn to see yourselves as others see you.
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Mar 10, 2015 11:41pm
who cares.....
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Mar 11, 2015 12:04am
@GLASSYMAN its sleek advertising with psychological twist. First say white is beautiful, then say here we have a cream you can use to be white. Only Indians fall for it. No other country think they need it, not even Africans.
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Mar 11, 2015 12:10am
Hrithik Roshan is the most handsome personality in the entire South Asia.
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Mar 11, 2015 12:38am
@TKhan
You are one of the few sane desis.
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Mar 11, 2015 12:46am
An old Indian song, ' hum kaley heyn, to Kia huwa, dil waley heyn'.
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Mar 11, 2015 12:55am
In Asia even if you have the features of a burst bag but are fair skinned you will be classed beautiful, i think people with brown and dark skins are more attractive, my best friends sister is very fair skinned she is younger then my friend she thinks just because she has fair skin she is stunning she says it as well, but she is not she has horrid features, not much to look at, my friend on the other hand has tanned skin light brown but she is beautiful when she walks into a room everyone looks at her but she does not realize this.
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Mar 11, 2015 12:56am
@me do you live in pakistan it happens all the time in pakistan as well.
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Mar 11, 2015 06:32am
There is a similar campaign known as 'Dark is Divine' run by a young activist Fatima Lodhi in Pakistan. Nandita in India and Fatima in Pakistan are raising awareness against discrimination faced by people with dark complexion.
I've heard so many times that only education will bring about change in attitude but sadly what you notice is that educated people in show business are openly promoting fair complexion is better message.
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Mar 11, 2015 08:43am
@GLASSYMAN "if woman shed the insecurities about their looks..... a lot o"
I didn't know hrithik is a women
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Mar 11, 2015 11:38am
don't know how this fairness bias came to human genes, i am sure dogs and other mammals do not have this bias.. and how come a person as fair as Hrithik Roshan can convince people that he needs and uses fairness cream, that is how he became fair?
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Mar 11, 2015 12:40pm
on the flip side, i don't understand why is there a problem if people are using fairness creams or whatever? I am a punjabi guy from Delhi and is usually called "quite fair" but when i drive my bike for an hour or so in the pollution and sun, I may need to use a little bit of cream to keep my skin impression intact. I am most respectful towards people of contrasting colors and don't differentiate between them. My girlfriend of 5 years is from Bangalore and can be categorised as dusky which I totally love . Hate for fairness and such things is fast assuming feminist proportions and people are hating them for no reason.
PS : I too despise ads which show people being rejected for marriages, jobs, from social circles due to their skin tone. Being a north Indian it couldn't be further from the truth as our southern brothers (no disrespect to them) are far more intelligent and capable so the idea of getting rejected due to skin color is laughable and pitiful!
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Mar 11, 2015 02:29pm
I am very saddened and shocked to learn that Dawn has all the time in the world to talk about Hrithik Roshan and the Simpsons and so much more nonsense but they don't even mention the film Jalebi, I wonder is it because it's a Pakistani film? Please do a little better than that and support your own products too.
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Mar 11, 2015 02:38pm
My apologies I have noticed that we have decent article on Jalebi and I was getting upset for nothing because I thought Jalebi was not mentioned.
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Mar 11, 2015 03:04pm
sharuk,Hrithik Roshan they are mega star and there is no doudt that theri skin care treatment would be oviously very exensive and exclusive but i really believe that nothing is so good as natural remedies like when i tried many products most of the time it would not that much effective but sometime affect my skin.finally i used natural products it really worked on me you can take a look
http://j.mp/beauty904
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