Diwali is over but controversies surrounding Diwali advertisements refuses to die down with another ad now facing the brunt of public boycott, this time for featuring a man named 'Damodar which many have seen as an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After the row over Aamir Khan-Kiara Advani's ad for AU Small Finance Bank which was slammed by certain sections of Indians for being "anti-Hindu", internet users have found yet another advertisement to pan - the new Cadbury Diwali ad. The ad features a lamp seller named Damodar who apparently is struggling to make ends meet. It ends with a customer gifting him a box of Cadbury Celebrations chocolates as a Diwali present.
The ad seems to have enraged many on the internet, including a certain VHP leader, Prachi Sadhvi, who took to Twitter to point out how the ad was actually an allusion to Narendra Modi's father Damodar Modi. She and others claimed that the ad intended to show Modi's family background in poor light.
"Have you carefully observed Cadbury chocolate's advertisement on TV channels? The poor shopless lamp seller is Damodar. This is done to show someone with PM Narendra Modi's father's name in poor light. Chaiwale ka baap diyewala. Shame on Cadbury Company".
The claim has led to some hilarious memes and responses on the microblogging platform:
Yet others pointed out how "insidious propaganda" can lead to misinformation.
This is not the first time that brands in India are facing backlash over advertisements launched during Diwali.
Last year, the clothing brand Fab India had to give vehement clarifications after its ‘Jashnn-e-Riwaz’ ad campaign for a clothing line launched around Diwali was dubbed “anti-Hindu”. The company later said that the was not for its Diwali collection after trolls attacked the company for using Urdu words like “Jashn” to signify the Hindu festival of Diwali.
Before that, Tanishq had to pull down a Diwali ad featuring actresses Nina Gupta, Shayani Gupta, Nimrat Kaur and Alaya F due to outrage over Shayani Gupta’s message to celebrate a “cracker free” Diwali. Netizens claimed the ad unfairly attacked Hindu festivals.
