Apollo Tyres, one of India’s leading tyre manufacturers, has been called out for the unauthorised and unscrupulous “free use” of Indian hockey goalkeeper Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh’s image.
Even as the Team India icon is being celebrated across the nation for his yeoman efforts in goal these past two weeks, Tuhin Mishra, managing director and co-founder of Baseline Ventures has slammed the corporate giant for its deplorable attempts to make “free marketing use” of Sreejesh’s image via “congratulatory messages”.
Mishra, whose agency manages Sreejesh, has declared plans to take necessary legal action against the tyre major in a LinkedIn post, where he writes: “Dear Apollo Tyres Ltd (Apollo Tyres), we expected that a firm of your stature will follow the rules. You will go & pay crores of money to the legend of Indian cricket (Sachin Tendulkar) and to Manchester United, but guess you don’t even think for a second to use the imagery & name of probably one of the greatest hockey players of India without paying a single rupee.
“Please don’t think he’s alone. We will take all the necessary action against this. But I also want to state that as a mark of respect for Sreejesh, I’m throwing away all of Apollo Tyres that my cars unfortunately have !!!!!
“It’s astonishing that how corporate India like yours is going to treat our Living Legend of Hockey !!!!! Baseline Ventures”
Recently, Manu Bhaker, the 22-year-old shooter who won two Bronze medals at the Paris Olympics on July 28, received similar congratulatory messages from brands that have never sponsored or been associated with her.
The brands congratulating Bhaker included Bajaj Foods, LIC, FIITJEE, Oakwood International School, Praneet Group, Radha TMT, Apricot Bioscience, Kineto, Xtrabrick Realtors, and Parul Ayurved Hospital.
According to Neerav Tomar, founder and MD, iOS Sports & Entertainment, the agency that manages Bhaker, brands using photos and videos of Indian Olympic medal winners in their ads without proper endorsement deals will face legal notices for violating personality rights.
