‘#BoycottTanishq’ was the latest trend on Monday, with several individuals calling for a ban on the 45-second ad featuring a Hindu-Muslim inter-religion marriage.
The renowned Jewellery brand has pulled down the advertisement from its Youtube page, which featured a Hindu-Muslim marriage, after receiving a harsh backlash on social media platforms.
In a statement, Tanishq, a division of the Tata Group’s Titan Company, said it had withdrawn the ad because of the “hurt sentiments” and ensured the “well-being” of its employees and partners.
Jewelry brand Tanishq pulled down its latest ad featuring a Hindu woman and her Muslim mother-in-law off on all online platforms on Monday after a backlash on social media. The ad for Tanishq’s brand new collection, ‘Ekatvam’ – which means ‘unity’ – showed a Muslim family organizing a traditional Hindu baby shower ceremony for their Hindu daughter-in-law.
The ad, released on October 9, was acknowledged on social media by actor Richa Chadha, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and others for its message of “Hindu-Muslim unity.” Many users, including former Khemchand Sharma, a member of the BJP’s IT and social media committee, BJP MP Kothapalli Geetha, tweeted against it.
‘#BoycottTanishq’ was the latest trend on Monday. Many people tweeted against the advertisement claiming that it promoted “love jihad,” a term coined by the radical Hindu groups to accuse Muslim men of participating in a “conspiracy to convert Hindu women by marrying them.”
As the social media campaign accused Tanishq of promoting “love jihad” by celebrating an interfaith marriage, the brand disabled the comment section and likes/dislikes on its YouTube channel and, late on Monday evening, withdrew the video.
Chandni Shah, The COO of the digital marketing agency Kinnect said that India is a secular country, and brands can also represent that. Sharing love between two communities should be allowed, and people should appreciate brands that promote humanity.
Over the years, Tanishq has released some memorable ads featuring strong, independent women, including the iconic 2013 campaign, with a single mother about to get married again. Tanishq is one of the few popular brands that has published ads supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
