New Delhi: The tyre company CEAT Ltd's new advertisement had recently triggered a strong response from former union minister and BJP MP from Karnataka Anant Kumar Hegde who raised an objection stating that the ad hurt ‘Hindu sentiments’.


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The advertisement featuring Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan discourages people from bursting crackers on the roads. While Hegde applauded the ad for raising awareness against bursting crackers on streets, it also sought the company's attention to the "problem of roads being blocked in the name of Namaz and noise emitted from mosques during Azan." 


He mentioned these concerns in a letter to CEAT's MD and CEO Anant Vardhan Goenka on October 14. 


Since the controversy broke out in relation to the ad, netizens took to Twitter to express their opinions on the issue. While some sided with the BJP MP's message and interpretation of the ad, others stated that there was no communal message as such in it.


Take a look at their reactions:










 


This comes just days after the backlash faced by Fabindia for its ad campaign in which it used the Urdu phrase “Jashn-e-Riwaaz” to describe the festival of Diwali. Fabindia subsequently had to withdraw its advertisement and clarify that the phrase was meant to celebrate Indian traditions and not exclusively the festival of Diwali.


Further, the yet to be launched Diwali collection has now been renamed "Jhilmil si Diwali".


Earlier, the matrimonial wear brand Manyavar also came under scrutiny when they created an ad dismissing the Hindu practice of 'kanyadaan' and introducing the concept of 'kanyamaan' instead.