‘Shameful & insensitive advts’
Hrithik, Priyanka and others call out perfume advertisement series that subtly promotes gang rape culture’
Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas criticised the perfume brand that is facing condemnation for promoting “gang rape culture” with its latest advertisement series. The actor duo praised regulatory authorities for swift action and taking the advertisements off air.
The two ads of perfume brand Layer Shot sparked outrage among a large section of social media users, who claimed the advertisements sought to promote sexual violence against women.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Hrithik said he was “shocked & appalled” at the insensitivity of the commercial. “How could the entire team associated with this project think this was OK to make and showcase?” he asked, adding, “Kudos to the viewers for calling it out and the regulatory bodies for taking appropriate action,” the actor further said in his post.
On Saturday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry asked Twitter and YouTube to remove the videos of the advertisements from their social media platforms. In letters to Twitter and YouTube, the ministry had said the videos were “detrimental to the portrayal of women in the interest of decency and morality” and in violation of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code). Priyanka Chopra said she was glad that the brand was named and shamed on social media. “Shameful and disgusting. How many levels of clearances did it take for this commercial to be green lit. How many people thought this was ok? I’m so glad that it was called out and now the ministry has taken it down. Appalling!”, she wrote.
The I&B ministry had also said that the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has also found the videos in violation of its guidelines and asked the advertiser to suspend the advertisement on an immediate basis.
“HOW COULD THE ENTIRE TEAM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT THINK THIS WAS OK TO MAKE AND SHOWCASE?” HE ASKED, ADDING, “KUDOS TO THE VIEWERS FOR CALLING IT OUT AND THE *REGULATORY BODIES FOR TAKING APPROPRIATE ACTION,” HRITHIK SAID IN HIS POST.