After facing flak for its beauty brand Fem’s advertisement that showed a same-sex couple celebrating the Hindu festival Karwa Chauth, Dabur has apologised and withdrawn the advert.
The advertisement for Dabur’s beauty brand Fem showed two women performing the customary ritual between couples that involves looking at each other through a sieve.
The development comes after the company faced backlash online. Dabur’s decision was also escalated after the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra warned of legal action against the firm.
“Fem’s Karwachauth campaign has been withdrawn from all social media handles and we unconditionally apologise for unintentionally hurting people’s sentiments,” Dabur India said in a statement on Monday.
बस यही करते रहो.. slam,bam,ban! So much for being the ‘Mother’ of democracy! Pity a giant like #Dabur refused to stand behind their AD. While I don’t endorse a fairness cream in principal I reserved my comment as they attempted to celebrate Inclusivity & #PRIDE So why hide now? https://t.co/avzq1XafgW
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) October 26, 2021
While many had praised the ad for its inclusivity when it first aired, many also complained about the continued spread of the ‘fair skin idea’ which has been increasingly criticized for being racist. And many also didn’t like the idea of a traditional Hindu festival being ‘modernized’ like this.
Idea behind the story:
Every time a brand in India tries to come up with an innovative advertisement for its brand, it somehow backfires leading to uproars of boycotting the brand by desi social media users. Sadly, it is happening again.
Dabur’s Fem Creme Gold Bleach rolled out an advertisement featuring a same-sex couple celebrating the festival. The advertisement shows two women getting ready for their first Karwa Chauth while applying the Fem bleach when they discuss the significance of the festival and the reason behind it.
The ad further shows another woman joining the two and giving each one a saree to wear at night for the occasion.
By the end of it, the ad shows both women facing each other with the traditional sieve and a decorated puja thali with water in front of them, making it clear that they are each other’s partners. The progressive ad was made to promote the spirit of love and inclusivity by all.
But the internet wasn’t really impressed with this progressive ad and several users on social media started using the hashtag #Boycott Dabur. Here are some reactions :
Meanwhile, people who have praised the advertisement posted comments like, “That’s cute.. I love it.. I hope one day we can change people’s mentality. Just be them real”, “I can’t believe this. Literally warms my heart”, “We stand pride!!! We cherish pride!! We loved pride!! Amazing ad, seriously!” and more.
Filmmaker-actor Pooja Bhatt on Wednesday criticised Dabur India Restricted after it withdrew an commercial that includes a lesbian couple celebrating Karwa Chauth. Dabur additionally apologised after Madhya Pradesh house minister Narottam Mishra criticised the advert.
Taking to Twitter, Pooja Bhatt wrote, “Bas yahi karte raho (stay doing this).. slam, bam, ban! Such a lot for being the ‘Mom’ of democracy! Pity an enormous like #Dabur refused to face the back of their AD. Whilst I don’t endorse a equity cream in main I reserved my remark as they tried to have fun Inclusivity & #PRIDE So why conceal now?”
Later talking with Hindustan Occasions, Narottam had stated, “I had requested to ship a caution to withdraw the commercial sooner than registering an FIR for hurting spiritual sentiments. It’s just right that they withdrew the commercial and likewise a comfortable apology for that.”
In a remark, Narottam had stated on Monday, “I believe this is a major topic. Extra so as a result of such ads and clippings are made at the rituals of Hindu gala’s simplest. They (the commercial) confirmed lesbians celebrating Karva Chauth and seeing each other through a sieve. In the long term, they’re going to display two males taking ‘feras’ (marrying every different one consistent with Hindu rituals). That is objectionable.”
Consistent with information company PTI, he had stated that he additionally reached out to the Director Normal of Police (DGP) to invite the corporation to withdraw this commercial. “And if it fails to take action, take prison steps after analyzing the commercial,” he had added.
Some people claims that this advertisement is the third video that has sparked controversy within a week, the other two being FabIndia’s new Diwali collection ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ and another one was by tyre major Ceat Ltd in which actor Aamir Khan is seen advising people not to burst crackers on the streets.
