Former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly was in for a rude shock here Friday.
What shook him was a simple question: Why was he endorsing a brand that is similar to One Card One Nation, whose promoter was put behind bars for swindling money? What made it further unpleasant for Dada was the fact that he was also the brand ambassador for One Card One Nation.
“One Card One Nation is a thing of the past for me. It’s unfortunate to know something of that sort happened. I have asked my team to check their credentials,” replied Ganguly, while endorsing V4 Associates’ One Gateway Techno Services, which intends to club all your IDs into one document for ease of use.
The company was founded just a few days ago -- March 18 -- and managed to rope in a high-profile brand ambassador like Ganguly.
The management of V4 Associates was at pains to explain how its service works and if the same would be approved by the government. Simply put, the company wants to issue a common ID proof that could be used everywhere for identity verification. For instance, if you want a driving licence and a bank account, instead of submitting multiple documents as proof, you can flash the One Gateway document. But the problem is, unless the government approves this service, it will remain a non-starter. Strangely, the company is yet to get a nod from any government department. “We are talking to RTA Hyderabad to start a pilot. We may get it may be in the next 10-15 days,” said Vishwanath Sivaswamy, its CEO & MD.
Ganguly’s appearance for V4 raised a few eyebrows. “Whenever a celeb endorses a product, it gets attention. People think the product is authentic. Hence, those who endorse brands should be careful,” says Madan Mohan, Founder, Browne & Associates.