Ad Featuring Amitabh Bachchan Termed Misleading By CAIT

An advertisement featuring Amitabh Bachchan has upset the traders’ body CAIT. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has reportedly filed a complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against a Flipkart advertisement, which features Big B. In its complaint to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the CAIT reportedly claimed that the advertisement is ‘misleading’, and contains false information on smartphone prices, which is detrimental to offline retailers. As per PTI, they have also demanded the immediate suspension of the advertisement. According to the report in PTI, CAIT demanded a penalty to be imposed on Flipkart, as per the provision of the Consumer Protection Act for ‘false or misleading advertisement’. The traders’ body also demanded that Amitabh Bachchan be penalized with a fine of Rs 10 lakh. In the complaint, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal stated that the e-commerce company had misled the public. As per the definition under Section 2(47), Flipkart, acting through Amitabh Bachchan (endorser), has misled the public regarding the price at which mobile phones are being made available by sellers/suppliers in the smartphone market of India, stated Khandelwal.He further added that the ad is misleading as it doesn’t contain truthful and honest representation, and is incorrect, malicious, misleading, and manipulative. As per reports, Amitabh Bachchan allegedly endorsed the e-commerce company’s claim that exclusive deals and discounts on mobile phones were solely available on their platform, insinuating that the deals won’t be available offline at retail stores. Meanwhile, on the work front, Amitabh Bachchan will next be seen in Ganapath, starring Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon.  He will also be seen in Kalki 2898 AD with Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan.