Emami signs up Malaika 'Munni' Arora to endorse Zandu Balm

NEW DELHI: Riding on the success of the hugely popular item number ' Munni Badnaam Hui' from the film 'Dabangg', Kolkata-based FMCG company Emami today said it has roped in Malaika Arora Khan as the brand ambassador for its pain reliever brand -- Zandu balm.

Emami has signed up a deal with Malaika for two years and is understood to have paid around Rs one crore for getting her to endorse the brand.

"We have signed up with Malaika as the new brand ambassador for two years and the new ads will go on air from this month end," Emami Director Mohan Goenka told PTI.

He said the new TV commercial will not only effectively promote the brand, but will also help in increasing the number of young buyers for the product.

The development comes after Arbaaz Khan Productions and Emami Ltd settled a dispute that arisen over the usage of word 'Zandu balm' in the song.

In September this year, Emami served a legal notice to Arbaaz Khan Productions for using the brand's name in the song citing copyright infringement.

Later, both the parties settled the dispute amicably and decided to use grabs of the chartbuster song for Zandu balm's promotional campaigns.

Emami has also bought the rights for the 'Munni Badnaam Song' from T-series.

Currently, cricketers Virendra Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik and Amit Mishra can be seen promoting the brand on TV.

Confirming the development, Arbaaz Khan, the producer of 'Dabangg' said: "There were some issues which we decided to settle and agreed that Malaika will endorse the brand. Today was the last day of shooting for the new ad in Mumbai."

Emami has also brought on-board Tamil superstar Suriya (who already endorses Emami Navratna cool oil) and Telugu star Junior NTR for the new ad to be shot in shot in Tamil, Telegu and Hindi by noted adman Prahlad Kakkar.

Prahlad Kakkar was the one to initiated settlement of the dispute between the two parties.

In September, Emami had also announced signing up with another Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu. "We have not yet decided which brands Basu will endorse," Goenka added.

Malaika currently endorses a few brands such as Zapak.com and Streax hair colour.