Brosnan gets Bond fans shaken and stirred over bizarre breath freshener ad

Former 007 star Pierce Brosnan sparked ridicule on social media on Friday by starring in a bizarrely uncool commercial for a mouth freshener. The actor, now sporting a full grey beard, is seen using a can of Pan Bahar to dispatch his enemies in a spoof James Bond commercial shown in India. It ends with him brandishing a tin, declaring: “Class never goes out of style.” But fans laid into the 63-year-old pointing out the product and the ad - full of trademark sports cars, tuxedos and beautiful women - were anything but class. Others mocked up spoof ads showing the red slobber and staining that the traditional pan masala mouth freshener leaves behind.

Butler: Mr. Bond, What would you like to have today? Pierce Brosnan: giu miu shum tissshooos pueeess.

Spoof Bond dialogue from Twitter user Mane

Pan masala has been controversial in India, not just because of the red mess it leaves behind, but because of suggestions that it can cause cancer. But it was the bizarre choice of a Bond actor to star in the commercial that had Indians shaken and stirred. “How desperate is #PierceBrosnan for money,” wrote one Twitter user, Aseem Chhabra. “Pierce Brosnan has now the License to Spit,” said another. Sambit Mohanty, of DDB Mudra, the ad agency which came up with the campaign, said: “Our choice of Pierce Brosnan as brand ambassador for Pan Bahar is in line with our campaign idea of ‘Pehchan Kamyabi Ki’ (the mark of success).”

Thanks to his previous avatar as James Bond, Mr Brosnan is seen the world over as a symbol of sophistication, suavity and success. And Pan Bahar, as his choice, reflects that aspiration in the consumer base we were targeting

Ad agency boss Sambit Mohanty

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