PepsiCo fights back with India chairman's ad

US cola giant PepsiCo has put the head of its India operations in front of TV cameras as it opens a new front in its drive to counter charges of high pesticide levels in its colas.

A just released ad shows PepsiCo India chairman Rajeev Bakshi walking a young man through a plant purification process and saying the colas carry his "personal guarantee" they are safe "for you, for me and for my children."

"Our consumer research and feedback indicated consumers wanted the company to directly reassure them our products are completely safe," Bakshi said.

The ad is the latest tactic in Pepsi's fight-back since a New Delhi environmental group last month released a report claiming high levels of toxic chemicals in 57 drink products from 25 Indian Pepsi and Coca-Cola plants.

The allegations were splashed on newspaper frontpages and prompted southern Kerala State to ban Coke and Pepsi, while five other states barred them from sale in schools and government offices. A national ban was demanded by the federal opposition, while protesters went on cola-bottle smashing sprees.

The cola rivals, which account for 99 percent of India's huge soft drinks market, have insisted through newspaper ads and public statements that their locally bottled drinks meet international safety standards.

The Indian government has since said the report by the Center for Science and Environment was "inconclusive," but the state-level bans on their products remain in place amid continued consumer wariness.

"Basic consumer confidence has been shaken and it [the ad campaign] is one step in rebuilding the connect and rebuilding consumer confidence," Abhiram Seth, PepsiCo India's external affairs executive director, said late last week.

The ad is initially being shown in Hindi with plans for it to be broadcast in other Indian languages later, Seth said.

Coca-Cola would not say if it plans to follow Pepsi's lead in putting its executives in front of TV cameras, citing commercial confidentiality.

But Kenth Kaerhoeg, group communications director for Coca-Cola Asia, said Coke has been offering guided tours through its plants in India to the public "so they can see with their own eyes the quality standards."

The firms joined forces early on to reject the pesticide charges, but say it has been difficult to get their case across to consumers.

"It's very hard to explain science," Kaerhoeg said.

Both also say the controversy has hurt Indian sales but would not disclose by how much.

"It's fair to say profitability hasn't been positively impacted," Seth said.

The firms say they responded fast to the pesticide charges.

But Richard Levick, head of Levick Strategic Communications, a US company specializing in helping businesses through crises, said the beverage heavyweights seem to have underestimated how swiftly the controversy would snowball.

"Perception always trumps the facts," Levick said.

PepsiCo India's move to feature its chairman in its ads is a good one "but they should have done it earlier," he said.

"Pepsi also had a secret weapon -- their new [global] chairwoman [Indra Nooyi] is born Indian," he said. "She should have left her business suit in Manhattan, put on her sari and come to India to say `This is important and we're taking care of it."

Western multinationals remain tempting targets for populist politicians in India despite its steadily liberalizing economy, Levick said.

"Pepsi and Coke are so powerful, they're the most recognizable brands in the world, they represent the West. They're brilliant targets," he said.