Dabur Withdraws Karwa Chauth Ad Featuring Same-Sex Couple Amid Outrage
An advertisement for Dabur¡¯s product, Fem Creme Gold Bleach, showed a same-sex couple celebrating Karwa Chauth. The clip has gone viral and has prompted several reactions from netizens.
Update
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Fem's advertisement that showed a same-sex couple celebrating the Hindu festival Karwa Chauth, Dabur has apologised and withdrawn the advert.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Fem's Karwachauth campaign has been withdrawn from all social media handles and we unconditionally apologise for unintentionally hurting people¡¯s sentiments. pic.twitter.com/hDEfbvkm45
¡ª Dabur India Ltd (@DaburIndia) October 25, 2021
¡°Fem's Karwachauth campaign has been withdrawn from all social media handles and we unconditionally apologise for unintentionally hurting people¡¯s sentiments,¡± Dabur India said in a statement on Monday.
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.
Original 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 :
It's high time that companies need 2 understand that 1-sided,biased Ads won't b tolerated anymore. Why do these companies come out during Hindu festivals like rain frogs? that 2 with a wrong impression. Were r they during another festival like Christmas,Eid,etc. #BoycottFem&Dabur pic.twitter.com/6wHa4LCAwl
¡ª ???? ??? ??????? (@virtuous_365) October 24, 2021
WHY these kind of woke experiments are being deliberately done only with Hindu Festivals & traditions?? #Dabur #DaburAd #KarwaChauth pic.twitter.com/QVbKfisER9
¡ª ??????????? ??? (@ekedia123) October 24, 2021
#BoycottFem&Dabur
¡ª KK Paliwal (@kk_paliwal) October 24, 2021
Hindu festivals are constantly being targeted,In this Ad, Dabur's Fem Bleach has also come down, it is a very bad bogus ad, in which a lesbian couple is shown making fun of Karva Chauth, their mother dies on Eid and Milad-un-nabi@NSO365 @nshuklaindia pic.twitter.com/wEOAcMyGoo
Selling fake products and producing false and hinduphobic ads to destroy our culture #BoycottFem&dabur @NSO365 pic.twitter.com/h5qx4Qjieu
¡ª Biswajit Nayak (@biswajitnayak24) October 24, 2021
If they start doing with other festivals, the ad agency handling this ad will have to be shut down, the actors will have to run for their life & everyone will have to print 1-page apology ads. When it comes to Hindu festivals, kuch bhi chalta hai approach is there by these people
¡ª DarkKnight (@iamshinerk) October 23, 2021
My opposition is NOT to these ads. I welcome them.
¡ª Arun Krishnan ?? (@ArunKrishnan_) October 23, 2021
I would just like to see similar themes for Eid, Christmas, Guru Parab etc.
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 stan pride!!! We cherish pride!! We loved pride!! Amazing ad, seriously!¡± and more.
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.
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Building, coordinating and crafting engaging content for lifestyle brand 'Evolve' at Indiatimes. Successfully revamping the lifestyle section including topics such as mental health, relationships, self, skin care, music etc. I collaborate with experts from various fields to gather insights and create well-structured pieces.
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