Saatchi Ad Offends Hindus; Client Office Ransacked by Protesters

Recommended Sources

About Advertising Industry

BNET Advertising provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives about the major agencies in advertising, marketing, and public relations. In addition to detailed company and agency profiles, we bring you detailed industry analysis on new partnerships and acquisitions, ad buying and cost, new investments, inventory issues, and other issues critical to the marketing sector.

Saatchi & Saatchi created an ad for a Goa tour operator that so offended Hindus in India they ransacked the client’s offices. A local newspaper was also forced to run a front page apology for carrying the ad, and the client laid the blame at Saatchi’s door.

Frustratingly, reports coming out of India do not describe the content of the ad or explain why it offended Hindus so much. The ad, promoting Cox & Kings tours, was intended to encourage people to visit sites of Hindu interest, according to the India-Asia News Service:

‘The ad was only meant to increase devotion of the people and encourage them to visit places of religious interest. We felt that it would promote peace and calm in the current state of strife and unrest… The said advertisement was released without the consent and approval of the management of Cox & Kings (I) Ltd by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi,’ the apology issued by Cox & Kings reads.

Religious activists didn’t get it, though:

Activists of right-wing organisations like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and the Shiv Sena stormed and ransacked the offices of Cox and Kings in the capital city Panaji Wednesday.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Govind Parvatkar said that the advertising campaign was condemnable and was in bad taste.

Goa Shiv Sena president Upendra Gaonkar, who Thursday filed a complaint with the Panaji police station against the Gomantak newspaper management and Cox & Kings Ltd, said that the ads hurt religious sentiments. ‘There has to be accountability. Those who were responsible for releasing such an ad need to be taken to task.’

Tags: Advertisement, Microsoft Office, Saatchi Ad, Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.

BNET User Analysis

Voice your 2cents

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

1

divyasangam

05/31/09 | Report as spam

RE: Saatchi Ad Offends Hindus; Client Office Ransacked by Protesters

Hi Jim,

The offending images in question depicted Hindu Gods dressed as tourists. In one image, the Hindu Elephant God Ganesha was depicted as a plump little boy wearing a baseball cap eating what looks like potato crisps.

In the other image, the Hindu Monkey God Hanuman was depicted as a tourist squatting on the ground taking a photograph of fellow gods.

While the idea is clever, it showed a distinct lack of cultural sensitivity. Hanuman and Ganesha are very 'popular' among Hindus, and this ad campaign defaces holy images.

Hence the anger, and protests.

Although to be fair, trashing the client's office was taking things too far. However, the Shiv Sena (organisation behind the attack on the Client's office) is well known for their violence and hardline views.

You can view the images at http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/6055.html

Unfortunately for Cox & Kings, their advertorial was published alongside an image of the Statue of David, which just made things worse.

~Divya
2

BNET's Jim Edwards

06/01/09 | Report as spam

RE: Saatchi Ad Offends Hindus; Client Office Ransacked by Protesters

Thanks for the note!