4 Times Indian Brands Faced Backlash For Their Ads

AU Bank' latest ad starring actors Aamir Khan and Kiara Advani may have tried to be unique with the concept but the netizens are not happy as the majority of them believes that it has hurt their religious sentiments. They reverse the tradition of the bride leaving her home to join her husband’s home post-marriage. In the spot, Aamir is seen joining Advani in her home.

Film director Vivek Agnihotri was the first person from the industry to react to the ad with a tweet. "I just fail to understand since when Banks have become responsible for changing social & religious traditions? I think @aubankindia should do activism by changing corrupt banking system. Aisi bakwaas karte hain fir kehte hain Hindus are trolling. Idiots," he posted.

#AamirKhan_Insults_HinduDharma is trending on Twitter today with most tweets calling for the boycott of the bank and Khan. This is not the first time Aamir Khan’s ad has touched the netizens in the wrong manner. In 2021, his ad for CEAT Tyres was called out for hurting the religious sentiments of people around the Diwali festival.

Let's take a look at some of the other ads that had similar impacts on the social media users.

FEM, DABUR

Dabur India faced backlash for its commercial of Fem bleach that was created for the occasion of Karva Chauth. The ad showed the love between a same-sex couple and this didn’t go down well with some of the Indian audience. Soon after facing the backlash and after receiving a warning from the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra of legal action against the firm, Dabur withdrew their commercial and issued a statement.

FAB INDIA

Fab India was at the receiving end for their Diwali-themed advertisement that was named as “‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’. An uproar was seen over the Urdu name used in the commercial and many sections of the society called it culturally inappropriate for “unnecessarily including Muslim ideologies in a Hindu festival”

MANYAVAR AD

Manyavar’s Mohey ad featuring Alia Bhatt faced backlash for trying to highlight sexism present in the ritual of Kanyadaan and tried to send out a message saying that daughters aren’t just a burden to marry off. They introduced the concept of Kanyamaan – Tradition wahi, soch nayi. The concept did highlight equality, but many saw it as an attack on the Hindu wedding ritual. Social media then saw the trending of the hashtag boycott manyavar.

TANISHQ AD

Tanishq’s ad of interfaith marriage raised eyebrows on the internet so much that the company had to pull the commercial down. The brand was accused of promoting love jihad and was called out for showing the custom of the bridal shower (godh bharai) in a Muslim household. While many criticized the ad, Shashi Tharoor stood strongly by the message sent out by the brand.