Market Another Day: Pierce Brosnan’s Pan Bahar TVC Banned In India

Pan Bahar recently shocked everyone with their latest TVC featuring the suave Pierce Brosnan. Of course, we didn’t digest it without massive trolling! Twitter went bananas and trolls had one fun field day! But then along came directors’ and producers’ worst nightmare, the Central Board Of Film Certification Chief Pahlaj Nihalani.

You know how matters usually end up, when Mr. Nihlani comes in, don’t you? To give you a hint, the Pierce Brosnan ad has been banned from national and satellite television. Here’s what the CBFC Chief told DNA:

“I haven’t seen the ad. But it is very difficult to believe Pierce Brosnan has done this. Money can hardly be a criterion when you’re selling death to people. However, he has chosen to do what he has done. But there is no way we can certify the ad. All paan masala, tobacco, alcohol ads are automatically and unconditionally banned.

“Even the liquor ads showing big stars like Shah Rukh and Saif, which pretend to sell non-alcohol products while actually selling the alcohol brand, are illegal. You can’t use a name associated with an alcohol to sell any other product. I repeat, all paan masala ads are banned by the government on all public platforms”, he added.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering just why Pan Bahar felt the need to get a Hollywood star on board, it was in support of the Prime Minister’s ‘Make In India’ campaign. It’s okay we too took some time to wrap our heads around that.

“As we support our country’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, we are proud to have Mr. Brosnan on board and would like to thank him for lending his image for the short film of Pan Bahar and taking the brand to next level while making it classier with his elegance and style.

The company added that their product is tobacco-free and therefore cannot be banned. “There is rave on social media regarding the new (ad) however we believe there is lack of awareness about the product that Mr. Brosnan has done a short film for – a Pan Masala (Indian mouth freshener) which has betel nut, Lime, Catechu, Cardamom seeds, Sandal wood oil, and Kewara in it and there is NO Tobacco No Nicotine content in this product. Also confirming there is no tobacco product under this brand name… attached (is) the certificate for the declaration of NO Tobacco, No Nicotine from the brand. We need to convey the same to media so that they are aware of the fact before publishing any negative comments.”

If you still haven’t seen Mr. Bond sashaying around with a box of the Indian mouth freshener, fulfill all your desires now. Watch the video below.