Jewelry brand Tanishq on Tuesday withdrew its advertisement which featured a family of people from two different faiths. Tanishq withdrew his advertisement after a fierce attack on social media in which some people accused him of promoting ‘love jihad’ and ‘fake secularism’. Tanishq said in a statement that he is saddened by inadvertently hurting feelings. He said, “The film hurt feelings contrary to its purpose and triggered sharp reactions.”
The move triggered intense debate on social media and elsewhere. Tanishq had released the advertisement last week to promote his jewelery collection Ektavam and since then controversy has arisen. The hashtag ‘Baycott Tanishq’ started trending on Twitter regarding this advertisement. The 43-second ad featured a pregnant woman being carried by a woman for her baby shower ceremony. Later people realized that the woman who was carrying him was his mother-in-law.
In the advertisement, a young woman wearing a sari and a bindi addresses the older woman as mother, who is wearing a salwar kurta and has her head covered with a scarf. The young woman asks, “You don’t do this ritual?” To which the mother replies, “The tradition of keeping daughters happy is in every household.” The advertisement shows the joint family, in which the hijab A woman is seen wearing a sari, a woman wearing a sari and a man wearing a Namaji cap. The video on YouTube reads, “He is married into a family that loves him like a child.” Only for that they perform a ritual which they do not usually perform. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions and cultures. ”
– Tanishq (@TanishqJewelry) October 13, 2020
The debate over the advertisement started and tweets started demanding a ban on the advertisement and boycott of the Tata brand. Tanishq first shut down the comments and likes and dislikes on his ad on YouTube and withdrew the video altogether on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Tanishq said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened by the hurt and we are withdrawing this film keeping in mind the skills of our employees, partners and store personnel along with hurt feelings.” . ”
The spokesman said that the idea behind Ektavam campaign was to bring together people from different walks of life, local communities and families in this challenging time and celebrate the beauty of unity. A new debate started on Twitter about the withdrawal of advertising. It included Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, writer Chetan Bhagat and actress Swara Bhaskar. At the same time, actress Divya Dutta, who gave her voice in this advertisement, said that it is very disappointing that the jewelery brand withdrew its advertisement after the adverse reaction.
When a Twitter user questioned whether he had a voice in the advertisement, Divya Dutta replied, “Yes this is my voice.” It is sad that it has been withdrawn. “Tharoor tweeted,” So the staunch Hinduists have called for a boycott? In order to bring Hindu-Muslim unity to the fore through this beautiful advertisement, a call has been given to boycott Tanishq Jewelery. If the Hindu-Muslim “Ektavam” bothers them so much, why don’t they boycott India – the symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world. “Tharoor’s associate Abhishek Singhvi supported him.
Singhvi tweeted, “Those boycotting Tanishq’s advertisement don’t see a daughter-in-law who is happy with her mother-in-law.” You have seen a lot of serials and news. ”Two States writer Bhagat said that the company should not get bullied. “As a Tata group, Tanishq was expected to be impartial and courageous,” he said. If you have done nothing wrong, if you have shown something beautiful about our country, do not worry. Be an Indian. Be strong.”
Actress Swara Bhaskar also criticized and tweeted, “such a big company, such a weak spine.” Actress Richa Chadha said, “It’s just shortsighted to react to TBH, paid Twitter trends and fabricated outrage.” The advertisement was lovely. Standing with it would have made him a visionary. ”Blogger and writer Richa Singh supported the company. He said that those who are preaching that Tanishq should not withdraw the advertisement, apparently do not own jewelery shops. He tweeted, “In a turbulent environment like the present time, they will first protect their employees and business interests and then think about your revolution.” So please, leave it. ”
Polarization was visible directly from October 9 when the advertisement was first released. Many took on Tanishq for presenting imaginary inter-religious connections and promoting ‘love jihad’. At the same time, she was praised by many others for showing her harmonious India.
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