Satya Meva Jayate – Truth Well Told
Thought Leadership For Reflection: In my last column I wrote of how Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan and others do not have credibility when they endorse an investment management brand, having deceived consumers by endorsing many fraud companies and brands. Since the topic is how advertising agencies, celebrity endorsements and brand marketers mislead and betray our trust, I write today of how Prasoon Joshi, Chairman and Creative Head of McCann (which brandishes ‘Truth Well Told’ as an agency vision) and actor Aamir Khan, who produces the TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, deceived the public with their half-truths and lies.
The advertisement was part of a “testimonial series” that the soft drink MNC came up with in 2003, after allegations that Coca-Cola was unsafe for consumption. Aamir Khan is among the celebrities who endorsed the advertisements and lied straight to our face that Coca-Cola was absolutely safe for consumption by everyone and even our children.
Aamir and Prasoon – even our school going sons Zorawar and Ransher, will tell you that Coca-Cola is unsafe for consumption and unhealthy. You must understand that your concept of “Truth Well Told” is not what truth or trust is about. Truth is always absolute and not a well-told, twisted half-truth. It is unfortunate that we live in a culture that is acclimatised to lies and half-truths and we the people, are blind to betrayal and tolerant to celebrity deception.
To quote Mark Twain, “Half-Truths are the most cowardly of lies”. We must remember that a half-truth masquerading as truth becomes a complete untruth and the most deceptive lie. Half-truths are the devil’s specialty. We can never have different versions of truth. There is no such thing as “your-truth” or “my-truth” - there is only “the-truth”. Truth is always absolute and the truth is that Coca-Cola is unsafe and unhealthy for everyone.
History has observed, that acts of immorality and ceaseless half-truths destroy the character of humanity and the society we live in. Aamir and Prasoon – I am sure as birds of a feather, you have mastered how to thrive with lies, but it’s time you came clean.
The mockery is that both these peddlers of half-truths are involved in the TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’. I always jest in my talks and ask people to imagine how this sounds: “Reliance Industries and Coca-Cola sponsor the truth”. Sounds sardonic, right? It’s bizarre the way people are misled by companies that survive on lies, but present the truth.
#IdeasForAction – Satyamev Jayate is not just a TV show, but the mission-statement of India. Satyamev Jayate means “only truth shall triumph”. Not half-truths or truth well told, but the absolute truth. However, most Indians do not know India’s mission statement and that is why the truth has gone missing from our culture. Sad that we have become a nation, where everything is based on lies. We must have a strict law for advertisers about the ethics of truthful messaging in advertising so that the consumer and public does not get misled by advertising agencies and their so-called credible celebrities. When the moral code is violated, then a legal code has to be enforced.
