Online restaurant discovery service Zomato has recently been killing it with its advertisement game, with witty creatives and puns about pop culture in its hoardings.
But one creative in particular has caused the company to stop press and reflect.
The hoarding puns on ‘MC’ and ‘BC’ – acronyms for Hindi profanities – have been used by Zomato to imply ‘mac n’ cheese’ and ‘butter chicken’. However, the profanities are widely understood to be misogynistic.
While most Zomato creatives have received a positive response, Twitter is divided over how it feels about this ad.
Author Suhel Seth condemned the ad, calling it “absolutely shameful”.
There were, however, equal number of takers for Zomato’s tongue-and-cheek humour.
Responding to Seth’s tweet, Zomato co-founder Pankaj Chaddah apologised for the creative and said it would be taken down “with immediate effect”.
However, a lighter exchanged followed that leaves us slightly confused. Akshar Pathak, the individual who seems to be behind these creatives, responded to the thread saying he had begun working on a replacement.
To which Chaddah replied saying:
Now, we’re not sure if Chaddah really meant it when he said the advertisements would be taken down, but the viral creative sure seems to have done its job of ‘advertising’.
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)