Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma looked quite displeased with sportswear brand Puma as she criticised the brand for using her images without permission on Monday.
However, it turned out to be a publicity prank as the actress took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a video of herself speaking about the brand’s proposal.
Puma India’s Pre-planned marketing gimmick
On Monday, Anushka Sharma took to Instagram and schooled sportswear brand Puma for using her photographs without permission. The actress asked the brand to take down her photos as she was not their brand ambassador. The video went viral across the social media platforms as Puma got heavily criticised for the act.
However, on Tuesday, Anushka posted one more video on her Instagram account which brought a twist to the tale. “Wait, will I have to wear sports bra all day? It is like being stuck at the same job as Virat. Ab bolenge ‘har jaga logo dikhna chahiya’ (they will now say the logo should be visible everywhere),”Anushka said while speaking about the alleged deal with the brand.
“Very self-obsessed. Uhhh, these guys are going to force me to be friends with that creepy cat (seen on the brand’s logo) now? Literally found that thing in our bathroom one day. Using my soap. Cats can’t even have a bath,” Anushka further added.
Puma India too took to their official Instagram handle as they posted a picture of a contract that mentioned ‘Puma x Anushka’ with ‘confidential’ written on it. The brand wrote, “Hey @anushkasharma, we should’ve reached out sooner! Should we take things to the next level, then?” Anushka had then taken to Instagram Stories to share the same, and wrote, “I’ll sleep on it”.
Netizens quickly realized that it was a promotional gimmick used by Puma India to grab some limelight and everything was pre-planned by the brand and Anushka Sharma. Puma India was actually successful in doing so as the videos posted by Anushka went viral across all the social media platforms. The promotional idea was liked by a few social media users while others criticised and termed it as a lame publicity stunt.