The Tata Group’s Tanishq has taken down yet another advertisement after a conservative section of the social media targeted the brand for featuring a character who refused to burst firecrackers on Diwali and advised others to do the same. The theme of the Tanishq advertisement was celebrating Diwali with family and close friends, especially in times as challenging as living through a pandemic.
In the advertisement, a character played by Sayani Gupta said that she would celebrate Diwali with “lots of diyas, laughter, and positivity”, and “definitely without firecrackers”.
“I don’t think anyone should light any firecrackers,” the character said in the advertisement, leading some social media users to protest against what they claimed was a rejection of Hindu rituals.
The advertisement also features actors Neena Gupta, Alaya F, and Nimrat Kaur.
This was not the first such incident. Tanishq was also under fire a few weeks ago for showcasing an inter-faith match in one of its advertisements, which too was eventually pulled down.
In 2019, a detergent brand caught itself in a similar crossfire after it released an advertisement promoting Hindu-Muslims unity.
Indian brands are not the only ones that have caused social media users to outrage. In January 2019, a Gillette advertisement asking men to “shave their toxic masculinity” was denounced in internet circles for allegedly “shaming men”, accusing the brand of virtue signalling. Some objections even stated that the director of the commercial was a woman.
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