Marketing is done with the goal of making the public believe that the brand is the best fit for them. Sometimes, however the brands do not anticipate that their campaigns and advertisements could be offensive to certain sections of the public. Time and again many such advertisements have drawn negative publicity for the brand. Let us have a look at some of such advertisements.
- Pepsi Ad Featuring Kendall Jenner:
In the advertisement, Jenner is initially seen in a photo shoot. Thereafter she sees a couple of protestors and then goes to join them only to give Pepsi cans to everyone and this stops the protest. The ad was not taken in a good light and the advertisement was looked upon as a mockery of several serious protests going throughout the world. The criticism of the ad got wind after Martin Luther King’s daughter tweeted this:
2. ‘Ye Toh Bada Toing Hai!’ Advertisement by Amul Macho:
Several brands have time and gain been ridiculed for including sex appeal to sell the product. Something similar happened with an Amul Macho ad which featured a newlywed washing her husband’s underwear in a sensual manner. The ad did not work with the Indian audience and then the brand had to change their campaign by involving Saif Ali Khan and coming up with the tag line ‘Bade Aaram Se’.
3. Dove’s Ad About Inclusivity or Racism:
Dove soap released an ad featuring a series of “racist” images that appeared to show a black woman turning into a white person. It used a series of three images, showing a black woman peeling off her T-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath her skin. This enraged the pubic and the ad was criticized on social media platforms. Dove later apologized for the ad saying “We have removed the post and have not published any other related content. We apologize deeply and sincerely for the offence that it has caused.”
4. Zomato’s Hritik Roshan Ad:
Zomato’s advertisement in which Hrithik was seen ordering food from ‘Mahakal’ when he felt like having a ‘thali’ became controversial when devotees of Ujjain’s famous temple — Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple — demanded immediate withdrawal of the advertisement. Zomato later apologized for the ad and clarified that the ad referenced to the ‘thalis’ at ‘Mahakal Restaurant’, and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple.
5. Audi’s Chinese Wedding Ad:
Audi was criticized for an advert in China, which internet users branded as sexist. The ad compares buying a car to finding a wife. It shows a woman having her nose, ears and teeth inspected by her mother-in-law on her wedding day. Audi later apologized for the ad saying that the brand “deeply regrets”.
