In an unexpected turn of events, a deodorant company recently released two advertisements for one of their body spray products. Since the ad aired on television, it has sparked outrage among netizens and caused a massive uproar on and off social media. Body spray advertisements were chastised for promoting r*pe culture. As seen in the advertisement, women are put in a difficult situation when they are afraid of being sexually assaulted.
One of the commercials begins with a couple sitting in a bedroom, followed by a few guys barging into the room and asking him, “Shot mara kya?” ‘Ab hamari baari,’ The man then approaches a table, grabs a bottle of deodorant and begins spraying it on himself. When she sees this, the girl in the video smiles. The other advertisement depicts a gang of boys standing directly behind a girl in a store, saying, “Hum chaar aur ye ek, toh shot kaun lega.” When she sees them talking to the spray bottle, the girl in question expresses relief once more.
Soon after it started trending on social media, Bollywood celebrities banded together to condemn the brand for creating such a hurtful advertisement. Richa Chadha said on Twitter that an ad goes through several layers of decision-making and that the brand should be sued, while Priyanka Chopra called it “shameful, disgusting, and appalling.”
Shameful and disgusting. How many levels of clearances did it take for this commercial to be green lit. How many people thought this was ok? I’m so glad that it was called out and now the ministry has taken it down. Appalling!
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) June 4, 2022
“This ad is not an accident,” Richa Chadha wrote. A brand goes through several layers of decision-making to create an advertisement. The creatives, the script, the agency, the client, the casting… DO THEY ALL THINK R*PE IS A JOKE? Revelatory! This brand and the agency that created this advertisement should be sued for the filth they’re serving.” In response, Priyanka Chopra Jonas said, “Shameful and disgusting.” How many levels of clearance were required for this commercial to be approved? How many people thought this was acceptable? I’m glad it was brought to light, and the ministry has now removed it. Appalling.”
In a recent development, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry requested that the ‘derogatory’ ads be removed from Twitter and YouTube.