Pepsi drops Dhoni from the squad; Ends the 11 year old partnership
Pepsi drops Dhoni from the squad; Ends the 11 year old partnership

India’s captain cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has been dropped from PepsiCo’s endorsement squad and thus, the company has ended its 11 year partnership with India’s most successful cricket captain. Dhoni, currently leading India’s ODI and Twenty20 squad, has been the face of the brand since 2005, with many mammoth advertisement campaigns under his belt including ‘Oh Yes Abhi’, ‘Change The Game’ etc. The move can be marked as one of the setback for the star cricketer and also indicates that his successful run with the advertisers might be losing its pace.

Confirming about the company’s move, Vipul Prakash, VP, PepsiCo Beverages India said that at PepsiCo, company’s focus in advertising and marketing is to make its products the hero and celebrate the hero. The idea will always play the most important role. If there's a role for the celebrity that helps take forward the idea of celebrating our product, company is more than happy to taking it further.

PepsiCo which is popularly known for its beverages brand Pepsi, also produces 7Up and Mountain Dew drinks and Kurkure snacks. Company has a history roping in popular Bollywood celebs and sports personalities for the endorsement of its various products.

Experts said Dhoni's run with advertisers may be tapering with Kohli having emerged as an icon. Kohli, full of the youthful swagger that advertisers want, is said to be charging close to Rs 2 crore a day versus Rs 1.5 crore by Dhoni. In terms of annual contracts, Dhoni's asking price of Rs 8 crore may not be finding too many takers, experts said.

 
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