Glug, glug, glug...oops!

Industry watchers say the latest 'pesticola' controversy is unlikely to hit brand endorsements by celebrities.

Does too. Does not. Does too. Does not. Does too... That's the essence of the "pesticola" war which resurfaces time and time again to create a furore in the market.

There are a few court orders that fly around, a few denials from the companies and a few protests from the activists. When there is talk of banning these aerated drinks altogether, celebrity endorsers of the cola drinks have a tough choice ahead "" should they or shouldn't they endorse these products and brands?

Take Aamir Khan, who has recently discovered the activist in himself, post Rang De Basanti (think dams). In the last round of the controversy, he decided to lend stronger backing to the brand.

Coca-Cola India came out with an ad which had Khan gulping five bottles of Coke and claiming that there is no gadbad in your bottle of Coke.

Would he be open to giving a similar clean-chit today? We are yet to hear from the horse's mouth, but market observers feel that celebrity endorsements are unlikely to be affected.

"If there is any government entity which says that it's bad, then one might contemplate taking action on stopping endorsements," says Anriban Das Blah, vice president, GloboSport. This sports and celebrity management company handles tennis star Sania Mirza and Saif Ali Khan.

So unless cola is illegal, there is nothing amiss in endorsing it. "India is a marketing democracy too," says Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, "unless these drinks are officially banned, brand ambassadors are absolutely right in endorsing them."

This time the cola companies are not on the defensive at all, with ad campaigns proclaiming : "Pepsi is one of the safest beverages you can drink today."

Rewind to the worms in the chocolate season, and recall how Cadbury's made changes to its packing to ensure that the chocolates remain worm-free. Pepsi is saying that no changes need to be made.

And won't that hit consumption? Anand Halve, co-founder, Chlorophyll, says Indians have seen so much of these controversies that it doesn't affect them. "While some people might stop drinking it for one and a half day as a knee-jerk reaction, they will get back to drinking it on the second day."

Concurs Bijoor. "A cynical consumer (and there are many of those) will never stop drinking it, until its banned. The only affect it might have is on children whose parents bring them these drinks," he says. So the impact could be on the pet bottles of 1.5-2 litres.

Watch the story unfold, with or without a cola in your hand!