Ad controversies of 2023: How brands battled the cancel brigade

It is said that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Well, tell that to brands who found themselves on the wrong side of the public opinion this year. 2023 saw scores of PR nightmares. Social media teams of big brands were left firefighting in the comment section, warding off angry trolls. Some controversies went beyond the customary trolling on the internet and even impacted the top lines of companies.

From MakeMyTrip’s potshot at the Pakistani cricket team to Starbucks’ woke accusations, these are some of the ad campaigns that received brickbats this year. Here are some of the most controversial ads of 2023.

Bharat Matrimony

The match-making platform Bharat Matrimony's Holi ad invited the ire of internet hoards for “hurting religious sentiments.” The ad showed a woman washing the Holi colours off her face to reveal bruises underneath, alluding to domestic abuse and harassment. “Some colours don’t wash away,” said the ad. Needless to say, the ad wasn’t well received by the conservative factions who accused the brand of Hinduphobia.

Bud Light

When Bud Light aligned with transgender activist and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney in the summer of 2023, the brand didn’t expect to receive a backlash of such epic proportions. The controversy led to parent company Anheuser-Busch losing more than $5 billion in market value since the company's conservative consumers saw the association as an affront to traditional Christian values.

Flipkart

Flipkart's October ad with Amitabh Bachchan invited the ire of the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) after it accused the brand of misleading buyers into believing that it offers better deals on phones than retailers do. The ad had Bachchan implying that Flipkart's deals of mobile phones cannot be offered by offline retailers. The company responded to the backlash by privating the said video on social media platforms.  

? @AIMDAINDIA condemns the misleading advertisements by @SrBachchan for #Flipkart, and millions of shopkeepers seek immediate correction! ?️ We expect Amitabh ji to stand by the country's traders and avoid damaging their business with deceptive ads. ? #StopMisleadingAds pic.twitter.com/kOKwXlUksG

— All India Mobile Dealer Association (@AIMDAINDIA) September 30, 2023

HDFC Bank

The cancel brigade came for HDFC Bank’s October print campaign "Vigil Aunty", which got branded as "anti-Hindu.” A section of netizens took offence at the main character in the ad who sports a stop sign-like red bindi on her forehead. X (formerly Twitter) was soon calling for the boycott of the brand.

HDFC making fun of bindi

Thank God I don't have account in HDFC bank #AntiHinduHDFC pic.twitter.com/Nt1C6BA3Le

— Samira (@Logical_Girll) October 17, 2023

MakeMyTrip

Emotions run high during cricket season in India. Things are particularly gnarly when it’s an India vs Pakistan match. MakeMyTrip got schooled when it released an ad mocking Pakistani cricket team and its poor track record against India during the World Cup in October this year. While some came out in support of MakeMyTrip’s copy-led print ad, others blamed it for making a blatant show of jingoism.

McDonald's

When McDonald's released a commercial showcasing a budding romance between an employee and a customer, the audience was just wasn't loving it. It didn't help that the campaign was titled #MoreForLess, where the company promised a bang for your buck at Rs 179. The film was centred on a man who was enamoured by a pretty McDonald's employee, prompting him to stand in the queue for the second time to initiate a conversation with her. The ad was accused of being borderline creepy and subtly encouraging patrons to flirt with McDonald's employees. 

Nalli Silks

The fact that bindis, either by omission or commission, can spell trouble for brands became clear when angry mobs came for Nalli Silks. While HDFC Bank was flayed for turning the bindi into a stop sign, Nalli was in trouble for forgetting to put one on the model's forehead in the first place. The bindi, tikli or pottu is not just an adornment in the Hindu culture but also a mark of the third eye. Much to Nalli's dismay, "No bindi no business" started trending on X.

Did not expect this from @NalliSilk.

Where is the Bindi? #NoBindiNoBusiness pic.twitter.com/NmydqXydF9

— Kamal Vedā / कमल वेदा (@iKamalVeda) October 18, 2023

Starbucks

Starbucks broached an important conversation around gender identities with #ItStartsWithYourName campaign. The film explores the story of an Indian father coming to terms with his transgender daughter’s identity by addressing her by her preferred name. The ad faced intense backlash from conservative quarters who accused the brand of pandering to the woke mob.

Swiggy

Holi season saw another brand getting trolled for Hinduphobia and this time it was food delivery app Swiggy. The brand’s billboard ad for its Instamart service read: “Omelette; Sunny side-up; Kisi ke sarr par. #BuraMatKhelo. Get Holi essentials on Instamart,” hinting at the practice of throwing eggs at each other during Holi. Backlash followed and the company had to pull down the billboards that were placed in the Delhi-NCR region.

Vimal

Akshay Kumar was forced to come out all guns blazing against news portals who accused him of continuing his associating with pan masala brand Vimal after apologising to fans for promoting gutka last April. The actor was seen alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn in a Vimal ad during World Cup season. Kumar was accused of lying to his fans despite vowing against promoting addictive substances last year after another Vimal-related controversy. It turns out that the ads were shot before the controversy erupted in April last year.

VIP

This one turned out to be a bit of a nothing burger for luggage company VIP who got needlessly dragged into a controversy over a fake ad. It found itself in the crosshairs of the internet after it was linked to a  contentious video circulating online centred on an interfaith couple – a Muslim man and a Hindu woman. In the video, the woman who was originally wearing a half-saree or daawani changes into a salwar kameez. Accusations of "love jihad" and forced conversions were levelled on the brand. The viral video was originally snipped from a Malayalam movie, deliberately made to look like a VIP ad. 

Zara

International clothing brand Zara got dragged into the conflict in the Middle East after its editorial photoshoot was accused of bearing resemblance to the destruction of Gaza City. Despite the brand's attempts at explaining that the concept of the campaign was generated back in July, the internet was in no mood to listen. Ultimately, the Spanish brand issued unconditional apology and pulled down the controversial ad.

Zomato

Food delivery platform Zomato's promotional video from June caused a furore over its "casteist" undertones. The ad referenced "Kachra" a character from the 2001 Academy Award nominated period film Lagaan who was a Dalit and was treated as an outcast in the movie, in keeping with the mores of 20th century Indian society when the film was set. The film, which was originally intended to promote recycling, was taken down after Zomato was accused of being tone deaf to the casteist realities of India.