Tanishq ad Ad bodies support Tanishq, demand govt action against 'intimidating behaviour'
New Delhi/IBNS: A day after popular jewellery brand Tanishq was forced to pull its Ekavatam ad campaign off air, country's top advertising bodies on Wednesday said the advertisement featuring an interfaith baby shower breaks no ethical standards and isn't derogatory to any individual, organisation or religion
"Such baseless and irrelevant attack on creative expression is extremely concerning," The Advertising Club said in a statement.
It’s A Sad Day For Tanishq, For Titan Watches And For Tata - Melt https://t.co/nJfpUnsQye
— The Advertising Club (@TheAdClub_India) October 13, 2020
"The Advertising Club on behalf of the Indian Media and Advertising industry strongly condemns the threatening and targeting of Tanishq and its employees in regards to their latest advertisement on the new jewellery line," it added.
#TanishqAd @AAAIOfficial @IAA_India pic.twitter.com/8dI9cBEKYH
— The Advertising Club (@TheAdClub_India) October 14, 2020
The Indian chapter of the International Advertising Association stated that the circumstances that led to the withdrawal of the advertisement are "very unfortunate".
It demanded action from the government against what it called "intimidating behaviour".
"While we respect the opinion of every individual on subjective matters, these should not descend to illegal threats and anti-social behavior ...We appeal to the concerned governments to take a serious view of such intimidating behaviour and take exemplary action where required to ensure that businesses are provided a safe environment to communicate their brand advertising messages," it said.
IAA steps up for freedom of lawful commercial expression.@rameshnarayan @skswamy @PradeepDwivedi @mtata0503 #tanishqadcontroversy @TanishqJewelry #advertisement pic.twitter.com/zBdhZYkIPz
— IAA India Chapter (@IAA_India) October 14, 2020
A section of internet users had called for a boycott of the ad film, released last week, which shows an interfaith baby shower where the mother was accompanied by a woman, presumably her mother-in-law, whose head was covered by a dupatta.
The advertisement controversy has also triggered a political debate where a few opposition politicians have slammed the "bigotry", indirectly targeting the ruling dispensation.
So Hindutva bigots have called for a boycott of @TanishqJewelry for highlighting Hindu-Muslim unity through this beautiful ad. If Hindu-Muslim “ekatvam” irks them so much, why don’t they boycott the longest surviving symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world -- India? pic.twitter.com/cV0LpWzjda
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 13, 2020
On Tuesday, Tanishq said it was pulling the ad "keeping in mind... the well-being of our employees, partners and store staff."
"The idea behind the Ekavatam campaign is to celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times and celebrate the beauty of oneness. This film has stimulated divergent and severe reactions, contrary to its very objective," the statement, available with media, said.
"We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and well being of our employees, partners and store staff," it added.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat police on Wednesday said that the manager of a Tanishq store in Kutch district had received threats over the withdrawn advertisement.
He was also forced to write an apology note.
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