The Birla Sunlife insurance advertisement, depicting a somber version of the fiery Yuvraj Singh talking about the uncertainty of the future, being aired at a time when he has just been diagnosed with cancer may be in bad taste. The ad has attracted strong responses from fans and celebrities alike. People are perplexed by the insurance company making money out of someone’s misery.

However, it’s not as though the ad was strategically shot just after Yuvraj’s illness surfaced. Nandita Chalam, of JWT, the agency that conceptualized the communication, said, “We shot the ad last year, soon after the World Cup victory. At the time, Yuvraj couldn’t make it to the team because of a finger injury. We had no clue about his illness. In fact, we are considering taking it off air as it is bound to create a very negative impression of the client and the agency. People are thinking that we are exploiting his illness.”

The ad was aired a few days before the official diagnosis of Yuvraj’s illness. “We couldn’t run it last year as a different campaign was on at that time. This film is actually a follow-up on another ad that shows how even successful cricketers, who seem to be blessed with everything in life, have their own set of insecurities. And the illness that is being referred to in this communication is his finger injury,” says Nandita, who has written to her client, Ajay Kakkar, Chief Marketing Officer, financial services, Aditya Birla Group, requesting him to take the commercial off the air. However, she is yet to hear from him. Ajay was not available for comment till the time of going to press.

The advertising fraternity seems to think that people are reacting a little too strongly to the issue. Prasad Jindam, creative partner, Rediffusion, says, “Whether or not the ad was shot before or after his illness is irrelevant. At the end of the day, the premise is true to the product. It is a real life story and when the man himself (Yuvraj) doesn’t seem to mind it, why are people creating an issue out of it,” he says, adding, “It’s not as if a Yuvraj look alike was taken and they took advantage of his real life situation. And no matter how much people rant and rave about it now, the target audience will go and purchase the product because at the end of the day, it connects.”