subject: Kurkure Movie Receives Legal Notice from PepsiCo India [print this page] Kurkure Movie Receives Legal Notice from PepsiCo India
PepsiCo is one of the leading manufacturers and sellers of beverages and snack products across the world. There is no one in India, who has not heard about PepsiCo. PepsiCo has two Group Companies, which is PepsiCo (India) Holdings Private Ltd and Pepsi Foods Private Limited through which it conducts its business in India. It sells various beverages and snacks under its various well known brands in India including Pepsi, 7UP, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Lays, Cheetos, etc. Not only this, PepsiCo manufactures, markets and sells juices under the brand name Tropicana and bottled water under the brand Aquafina.
Kurkure is one of the most well-known snack brands in the Indian market since 1999. Kurkure is a snack product specially designed to suit Indian tastes. The said product was initially launched in one flavour (Kurkure Masala Munch) and is now available in a series of flavours (Kurkure Green Chutney Rajasthani Style, Kurkure Chilly Chatka, Kurkure Tamatar Hyderabadi Style, Kurkure Desi Beats, etc. to name a few) which are extremely popular amongst both the young and the old.
Kurkure has been endorsed by various well known celebrities like Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, etc. The electronic advertisements of the product have been telecasted with famous taglines (including Muh Kurkure Karo, etc).
The status of the brand Kurkure especially in the category of snack products is incomparable. A recent report in Economic Times has described Kurkure as one of Pepsi Co's "Iconic Brands".
Recently, PepsiCo India found that an adult entertainment movie has been named after "Kurkure", their well-known snack brand which is the sole flagship of PepsiCo. It has issued a legal notice over the producers of this alleged Kurkure movie. A notice has also been sent to other online properties by PepsiCo Inda hosting images, which are bad in taste and video clips of the said movie.
To start with, Kurkure has no obvious meaning in the Telugu language and the same appears to be deliberately adopted by the alleged Kurkure movie producers with an intention to give immediate recognition to an adult entertainment movie. The use of the said expression for an adult entertainment movie has occasioned severe damage to the brand value of Kurkure which has been tarnished and diluted to a great extent.
Needless to state that the use of the expression Kurkure, by the alleged Kurkure movie producers and that too for an adult movie is illegal, malafide, unethical, unfair and dish. What a pathethic way of spoiling the brand equity of a well-established brand and using the brand popularity to market one's own B-grade movie.
