3.3 THE PROBLEM OF ENDORSEMENTS Sapna Soaps and Detergents is a company floated by a women's co-operative society. The company manufactures and markets 'Sapna' brand of bathing soaps and a detergent powder under the same brand name. Both the soap and detergent are targeted towards the middle class house-wife who is seen as both price and quality conscious. Accordingly, both the soap and the detergent are suitably designed to position for the middle class housewife. The company is now in the process of launching its ad campaign through press and audiovisual media. In keeping with its policy of targeting the middle class housewife the company decides to utilise testimonial advertising. Its press and TV ads feature a popular stage actress named Rashmi in a 'slice-of-life' sequence. The actress Rashmi has played many roles of a middle class housewife who raises a fight against many ills of the society particularly those exploiting women. Her plays have been highly acclaimed. In fact she has earned the image of a female crusader against exploitation of women. So much so that Rashmi has time and again been pulled into real life issues concerning women and has emerged as a social worker in her own right. When the company chose her as their model they expected some of her image to rub-off against their brands thereby helping to promote a middle class image. However, Smt. Bajaj and Smt. Kumar, the company chair-person and its marketing manager respectively are24 Case Studies in Marketing Management stunned one day on seeing the newspaper. The newspaper prominently carried a news that Rashmi had been arrested by the local police on charges of drug trafficing and that a raid on her house had yielded huge quantities of brown sugar and 'ganja." Mrs. Bajaj rings up Mrs. Kumar and expresses her hesitancy in releasing the ads of the company to the media in light of the news item in the newspapers. They both are of the opinion that these ads featuring Rashmi may now not succeed in materialising any benefit for the company's brands. On the contrary, a greater harm can not be ruled out they feel. At the same time both realise the fact that the company has already spent huge sums of money in getting the press and TV ads prepared. 1] Do you agree with Smt. Bajaj and Smt. Kumar on not releasing the Rashmi ads to the media ? Give reasons. 2] In your opinion will the testimonial affect of the ads featuring Rashmi be greater than their personality symbol effect. Give reasons