Why has an Amitabh Bachchan Flipkart ad upset mobile-phone traders across India?
Traders criticized Amitabh Bachchan for a "biased" and "misleading" Flipkart ad.
Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan's Flipkart ad has stirred quite a commotion online. While some people found it worth sharing, others weren't too pleased.
What
Bachchan appeared in an ad for Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale, a weeklong sale on the e-commerce platform, which had many people upset.
- In the ad, Bachchan and Flipkart claimed that you can only get great discounts on mobile phones on Flipkart, not in regular stores.
- This angered the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), who felt it was unfair to local shops.
- They wanted the ad to be taken down, and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Flipkart and Amitabh Bachchan each for unfair practices.
- The Flipkart ad has now been taken down.
Shri @SrBachchan ji,
— Sumit Agarwal 🇮🇳 (@sumitagarwal_IN) September 30, 2023
STOP HURTING SMALL BUSINESSES!
You are the greatest showman of Bharat, which also means you have tremendous responsibility towards the nation and the citizens. In this advertisement for Flipkart you are demeaning the retailers of our nation by making… pic.twitter.com/wtHQkuw8M2
Why
- Now, in this ad, they said something that made a group called the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) really mad.
- They said that if you want to buy things like phones with cool discounts, you can only get them on Flipkart, not in regular retail shops.
But guess what? CAIT didn't like that at all.
- They thought it was untrue and unfair to regular shops.
- So, they complained to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and even expressed their disappointment in Amitabh Bachchan for doing the ad.
- The traders' group wrote a strong letter and told Amitabh Bachchan that his ad was making life hard for local businesses.
Aggrieved with misleading advertisement of #Flipkart endorsed by @SrBachchan , @CAITIndia today filed a strong complaint with #ccpa of @jagograhakjago demanding penalty for Mr Bachchan & imprisonment & penalty for #Flipkart as per Sec 2(47) of CCPA Act. No one how big may be… pic.twitter.com/QHlYorGMrs
— Praveen Khandelwal (@praveendel) October 3, 2023
What they are asking
CAIT wants the government to punish Flipkart and Amitabh Bachchan with a fine of Rs 10 lakh each.
- They said that Flipkart did something unfair by making this ad.
- They think the ad is wrong because it tricks people into thinking that only Flipkart has good deals on mobile phones.
- CAIT also believes that the ad lies about the prices of phones in the market and is misleading.
- They want the government to make Flipkart stop the ad, and they want Flipkart and Amitabh Bachchan to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh each.
The ad also left the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) upset.
AIMRA, which speaks for 1,50,000 mobile shops, wrote to top smartphone brands to tell them about the issue and asked them to publicly say that the ad is wrong.
📢 AIMRA India condemns the misleading advertisements by @SrBachchan for #Flipkart, and millions of shopkeepers seek immediate correction! 🛍️ We expect our Mahanayak to stand by the country's traders and avoid damaging their business with deceptive ads. 🙏 #StopMisleadingAds… pic.twitter.com/5Ex9Y6jINC
— ALL INDIA MOBILE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION (@AimraIndia) September 29, 2023
What now
While Flipkart has taken the ad off its platforms, Amitabh Bachchan is yet to speak on the issue.
The Big Billion Days sale, meanwhile, will kick off on October 8 and run till October 15.