82% youth don't want to buy brands endorsed by drug-tainted celebs: Survey

 

The survey was done to comprehend sentiment over drug abuse by celebrities and if viewers would buy such brands.

With the Bollywood industry coming under the scanner amid mounting allegations of drug abuse during the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput's death, a recent study revealed that viewers considered drug abuse as a big negative for the celebrities' image and brand endorsements.

The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) conducted a telephonic survey over September 12-13 to understand the sentiment of youth between the ages of 18-30 (251 male and 236 female). The survey was regarding drug abuse by Indian celebrities and asked the respondents if they would buy products endorsed by celebrities found guilty.

The IIHB survey comes against the backdrop of Rhea Chakraborty's sensational disclosures on drug abuse in Bollywood.

Out of the 487 respondents surveyed, nearly 82% youngsters in the 18-30 year age bracket said drug abuse by celebrities made them ‘untrustworthy’, and they would not buy a brand endorsed by such celebrities. Nearly 92% of the respondents said they were aware of the names disclosed over the past week. The report indicated that the respondents had near zero tolerance for drug tainted celebrities endorsing brands. When asked if the rampant drug abuse would make celebrities untrustworthy for brand endorsements, an overwhelming 88% of the respondents said that brands using such celebrities would lose their credibility, and they might stop trusting such brands anymore.

This survery also indicated that the news of involvement in drug abuse for celebrities like Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh named by Rhea Chakraborty in her statement to NCB, would deal a huge blow to their careers and also hurt their image in the long run. A majority of the respondents recalled Sara and Rakul's names the most along with Rhea Chakraborty and Simone Khambatta.

When asked if a celebrity would be guilty just because of being named in media, nearly 60% of the respondents said there was no smoke without a fire. At least 22% said that the absence of a rebuttal or denial by Sara or Rakul implied an affirmation.