Adverts that feature the actor have been pulled.
Bjyu’s, India’s largest ed-tech company, has paused all adverts featuring Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan amid his son’s arrest.
Valued at £15.7 billion, Byju’s is the biggest start-up in India.
Netizens criticised the ed-tech company for endorsing ads featuring the actor.
Some netizens claimed that endorsing an education app by someone whose child has been arrested will impact their image badly.
While Byju’s is one of Shah Rukh Khan’s largest sponsorship deals, he is also the face of several companies including Hyundai, LG and Dubai Tourism.
Rohit Ohri, group chairman at creative ad agency FCB India, said:
“Byju’s has benefitted immensely from its association with Shah Rukh Khan.
“Shah Rukh’s association with the ed-tech brand has been so intrinsic and so deep, that even if Byju’s is pausing the advertising, for now, it will be very difficult for the brand to delink itself from Shah Rukh Khan.”
Adverts that feature the actor have been pulled amid the ongoing investigation against his son Aryan Khan.
Aryan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3, 2021, after a drug bust on a Goa-bound ship.
Following his appearance at Mumbai’s Esplanade Court on October 8, 2021, Aryan has been denied bail.
He has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in Arthur Road jail.
Byju’s reportedly pays Shah Rukh Khan Rs 3 crore (£293,000) annually for endorsing the brand.
The actor has been a brand ambassador of Byju’s since 2017.
Byju’s decided to pull the Shah Rukh Khan adverts as the company would not like to be associated with the actor given the controversy around his son.
However, it is not clear if the company has dropped the actor as their brand ambassador altogether.
Byju’s had launched a new ad campaign with Shah Rukh Khan less than three weeks ago.
Aryan Khan and seven others were caught in a drug bust on a Cordelia cruise ship sailing from Mumbai to Goa.
The NCB seized 13g of cocaine, 21g of hashish, 22 MDMA pills and 5g of MD.
Aryan’s mother Gauri Khan turned 51 on October 8, 2021, the same day her son appeared in court for an interim bail hearing.
Several Bollywood celebrities extended their support on the interior designer’s birthday including Ananya Panday and Zoya Akhtar.
Shah Rukh and Gauri’s 21-year-old daughter Suhana Khan also took to Instagram to share a photo of her parents.
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