NB Twitter Scan | NCSC issues notice to Zomato over controversial ‘Kachra’ advertisement; Here's how the negative PR backfired-

New Delhi, June 14: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Tuesday issued a notice to food delivery service provider Zomato over a controversial ad that showed actor Aditya Lakhia, who played the Dalit character Kachra in the film “Lagaan”, as items made of recycled waste.

 

 

"In the advertisement, actor Aditya Lakhia, who played the Dalit character in the 2001 hit film, is depicted as a lamp, paper, paperweight, watering can, and different types of jackets—the accompanying text detailing how much recycled ‘kachra’ was used to make each item. The company in its now-deleted ad on YouTube also claimed it has recycled 20 million kg of plastic kachra so far," the commission said.

 

 

The ad, aired on June 5 on the day of World Environment Day, drew a link between the character Kachra and 'kachra' (garbage), the Hindi word for it. The ad featured the actor who played the Dalit character Kachra in the movie "Lagaan" as objects made from recycled waste.

 

The two-minute ad featured actor Aditya Lakhia, who played the character in the 2001 film, and depicted various objects made from recycled waste, accompanied by text highlighting the amount of recycled waste used for each item.

As people expressed their anger and disappointment on social media, accusing the ad of being casteist, Zomato issued an apology from its official Twitter account.

 

The company clarified that the intention behind the ad was to use humor to raise awareness about the importance of recycling plastic waste and its benefits. "Unintentionally, we may have hurt the sentiments of certain communities and individuals. We have taken down the video," it said.

 

 

The ad, aiming to show the food delivery company's recycling efforts, was termed "disgusting", "blatantly casteist", and "extremely insensitive" by netizens on Twitter.

 

Zomato, in the now-deleted ad on YouTube, also claimed to have recycled 20 million kg of plastic waste, emphasizing their commitment to recycling and the environmental benefits of their initiatives. Filmmakers Neeraj Ghaywan and Madhurita Anand, along with Dalit historian Karunyakara Lella, were among those who spoke out against the ad.

 

Communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan commented on the controversy, stating that Zomato had not adequately considered the portrayal of the character performing dehumanizing tasks. He noted the sensitivity surrounding caste portrayals in Indian entertainment and how Dalits are often stereotyped.

 

 

By using #kachrabhikhelega wordplay tag, Zomato attempted to highlight how the character of Kachra can recycle plastic. However, from their visuals, it seems like that they’re trying to portray a master-slave hierarchy instead! Even if we don’t take casteism point of view, this ad is still offensive as it degrades the “Kachra” character of Lagaan movie.

 

One of the best marketing strategy in India that works very well is the emotional connectivity and this ad definitely lacks in that aspect. They could have added more emotional message & establish the relevance of Kachra character.

 

Notably, Zomato, the food delivery company, has faced marketing controversies in the past as well. In 2017, they launched an outdoor advertising campaign in major cities but the campaign used Hindi expletives "MC" and "BC" as abbreviations for mac n' cheese and butter chicken, which caused backlash on social media. As a result, Zomato had to remove the ads.

 

 

In 2022, Zomato faced another issue when they released an advertisement featuring actor Hrithik Roshan. The ad portrayed him craving a food platter called 'thali' from Ujjain and ordering it from a place called 'Mahakal'. The priests of the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh objected to this portrayal, claiming that it offended Hindu sentiments. The Madhya Pradesh Home Minister, Narottam Mishra, instructed the police to investigate the controversy. It later apologized and clarified that the reference to 'Mahakal' was for a restaurant and not the temple, seeking to resolve the misunderstanding.

 

It seems like they are trying to create negative PR, however, with Kachra they made the worse ad ever!