Food delivery application Zomato has faced immense flak for its recent ad campaign. The two ads feature Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif respectively. In the video, we see the Zomato delivery person ringing the bell to deliver the order, surprised to see his favourite Bollywood star open the door for them. On being offered a selfie or some birthday cake, the delivery executive does not wait and leaves as he has received a request for the next order. The tagline Zomato used for the ads was 'Har Customer Hai Star'. Take a look at the advertisements shared on YouTube:
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The Zomato ads were shared last week and have raked in 15 million-plus views. The ads by Zomato were shared on Twitter as well, where they received criticism from their followers. Several called the ads 'tone-deaf', as the brand was not aware of how their delivery executives were extremely overworked. The fact that they were not allowed to relax even for a minute was pointed out by Twitter users, and that too in spite of the rainy weather. Others suggested that Zomato should pay better wages to their workers than spending on advertisements featuring Bollywood celebrities.
Take a look at some of the reactions:
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The negative feedback prompted Zomato to issue a clarification. They took to Twitter to share their side of the story in a statement. Take a look:
Zomato wrote in their statement that the ads were conceptualised six months ago and shot two months ago, which according to them was long before any chatter around working conditions had begun. They said that they wanted to make the delivery partners the 'hero' of these ads, by 'raising the level of dignity' and 'demonstrating the pride' involved in the job.
They also wanted to highlight that for the Zomato delivery fleet, every customer was equally a 'star'. "We believe that our ads are well-intentioned, but unfortunately misinterpreted by some people," they wrote. They further explained that they have been intently listening to the chatter around gig workers and are actively working on this issue.
What did you think of the advertisements? Tell us in the comments below.