Hrithik Roshan in legal trouble over 'misleading' Mountain Dew ad; Consumer Court issues notice

Jhalawar: A consumer court in Rajasthan's Jhalawar has issued legal notices to Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, global beverage maker PepsiCo, and Indian distributor Varun Beverages in a case over a Mountain Dew advertisement that a complainant says misled the public. 

Why did consumer court issue notices?

The legal notices were sent after an advocate Gurcharan Singh filed a complaint with the Jhalawar District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission arguing that the advertisement made bold claims about the drink’s effects. 

The court has given all three parties one month to respond in writing. 

Why did the court take action?

The legal issue arose from a complaint filed in January 20 by advocate Gurucharan Singh, in which he told the District Consumer Commission that the Mountain Dew television advertisement, featuring Hrithik Roshan, where the actor appears as a brand ambassador, suggested that the cold drink could boost courage, energy and even help people overcome fear are misleading.

Singh said that after getting influenced by the advertisement, he purchased the drink and consumed the beverage but did not experience any of the effects claimed.

The advocate argued that neither the product nor the ad has scientific proof to back up such promises and said that both the company and the film star are jointly misleading consumers. 

His petition pointed to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which says advertisements with false information about a product’s benefits or nature can be considered misleading.

What's the court's view so far?

After reviewing the initial filing, the consumer court found enough merit in the complaint to proceed. It ruled the case deserves a response from the actor, the manufacturer and the distributor before the matter moves forward. 

The next steps will involve the court examining whether the claims in the advertisement hold up under scientific evidence, or if they simply exaggerated the product’s benefits to attract customers.