VIP ‘love jihad’ video 'fake' says brand as trolls wreck havoc online
The video is a recreation of a scene from the Malayalam movie 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' spliced awkwardly with a VIP Skybags promo
Luggage brand VIP has found itself in the crosshairs of the internet after it was linked to a contentious video circulating online. The video is 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.
Eventually, the man removes her “bindi” and drapes the dupatta around her head to resemble Muslim women’s headscarf. The video implies that the woman is changing her faith to be accepted by her Muslim husband. The video ends with a promo for VIP Skybags, ostensibly to make it seem like an ad for the brand.
Shocking Ad. Highly objectionable and condemnable. What's the advertising council doing? ?? , No objections raised, what is he Promoting, in the add. he changed her dress and removed her bindhi . How shameless is VIP BAGS also. pic.twitter.com/belsFWnNpz
— VIJAY I UPADHYAY (@upadhyay_i) April 25, 2023
Not surprisingly, this has caused a massive backlash against the brand with trolls baying for the company's blood. VIP, which has been trying to disassociate with the dubious video, released a statement on April 24, saying that the video is a “fake and malicious advertisement.”
Here's the tweet by the brand.
Official statement pic.twitter.com/zDsbNy6n3I
— VIPBags (@VIPBagsIndia) April 24, 2023
The awkwardly spliced Skybags promo at the end of the video is a dead giveaway apart from the fact that the contents of the “advertisement” have no connection to the luggage brand at all.
The video in question is, in fact, a recreation of a scene from the Malayalam movie Sufiyum Sujatayum.
Unfortunately, the damage is already done with the brand having to firefight in its social media comment section. The company’s clarification has done little to pacify the online trolls.
