NEW DELHI: When celebrated Indian cricket team captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was rushed to the hospital last month and underwent coronary angioplasty, the nation's heart skipped a beat. 2020 had already taken so much and so many from us, would the new year, too, persist with that heartless run? Most breathed a sigh of relief when Dada emerged fighting fit from his brush with heart trouble. However, others were quick to point out that Ganguly is the brand ambassador of Fortune Oil, which promises heart health benefits. The irony was not lost on people, and the floodgates of trolling opened.
In a pickle, the Adani-Wilmar owned Fortune pulled down all ads of its ‘heart healthy’ rice bran cooking oil (promoted by Ganguly) across mediums, while also asserting that it will continue to work with the former Indian cricket captain.
Amidst this brouhaha, Ganguly received another angioplasty and had two more stents planted in his heart. But behind the scenes, Ogilvy & Mather, the creative agency for Fortune Oil, was working on a fresh campaign to redeem the brand.
Now, Dada has returned to bat for Fortune, saying "today seems like a good day to talk about the heart.” In a long form print ad featured in leading daily publications, Ganguly has penned a personalised note where he talks about the condition of his heart and what one can learn from this episode.
"My heart is just fine... The niggle was merely in the artery leading up to the heart. But it's all well now, and so am I," he assured.
He goes on to question "the fuss" surrounding his cardiac arrest and his association with Fortune. Since he's a sportsman and "fairly young", people don't expect him to suffer from a heart ailment, wrote Ganguly. However, there are multiple factors that can affect the heart's health and in his case, it's a family history of heart-related issues.
"But what works in your heart's favour is leading a healthy lifestyle. Which I did and still do... Love your heart. Take good care of it," he urged.
Ganguly’s latest endorsement of Fortune is a canny move on the part of the brand. Dada coming back to tout its health benefits not only serves to renew consumer confidence in the product but is also a thorough takedown of the trolls and naysayers. And the brand does this without even mentioning the product. It simply clears the air and takes the consumer education route by bringing the benefits of gamma oryzanol (present in rice bran oil) and heart health conversation to the fore.
