Giva withdrew the advertisement after netizens criticised actress Kriti Sanon’s outfit as too revealing for a traditional festival. Photo: YouTube
Last week, jewellery brand Giva withdrew an advertisement it made for Raksha Bandhan after netizens criticised actress Kriti Sanon’s outfit as too revealing for a traditional festival. The incident is the latest in a series of brands backtracking on their advertisements following backlash that is often religiously or communally charged. Given India’s current socio-political climate, are brands overreacting to manufactured outrage? Mitushi Sharma and Santosh Desai discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Sonikka Loganathan.
Was this ad withdrawn primarily because of concerns for employee safety or to minimise commercial losses?Santosh Desai: There are two aspects to this controversy. One is that the brand did not anticipate that there would be a problem. Therefore, it is withdrawing the advertisement out of fear for the safety of its employees or because of the political storm that has been created. The other reading is that this outrage is being manufactured by the brand itself. Giva is not like Tanishq, which has enormous publicity. If Tanishq did something that it did not know would cause outrage, then it would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind. Giva has managed to create a conversation that would have been impossible for a small brand. The brand is either cynical or naive.
