Actor Richa Chadha has lashed out at the makers of a body spray ad, accused of promoting rape in India. The ad of the body spray brand Shot evoked angry reactions from netizens, who demanded the Indian government to take intervene.
Reacting to the controversy, Richa wrote, “This ad is not an accident. To make an ad, a brand goes through several layers of decision making. Creatives, script, agency, client, casting… DOES EVERYONE THINK RAPE IS A JOKE? Revelatory! This brand, the agency that made this ad need to be sued for the filth they’re serving.”
The Indian government on Saturday asked social media platforms
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such as YouTube and Twitter to take down the controversial ads. However, even as the government’s order came in, another ad of the same brand, once again promoting rape, was released. In the second ad, a group of boys was seen cornering a girl in a deserted supermarket. The girl reacted in fear but was later relieved as it emerged that those boys didn;t mean to sexually assault her, but instead were talking about the body spray brand, shot.
This ad is not an accident. To make an ad, a brand goes through several layers of decision making. Creatives, script, agency, client, casting… DOES EVERYONE THINK RAPE IS A JOKE? Revelatory! This brand, the agency that made this ad need to be sued for the filth they’re serving. https://t.co/M3YjbljAYN
— RichaChadha (@RichaChadha) June 4, 2022
Actor Swara Bhasker too registered her protest as she wteeted, “A teenage girl was gang raped in Hyderabad-such incidents happen daily in India.. companies like @layerr_shot choose to make TV adverts joking abt & ‘cool-ifying’ rape & gangrape. Beyond disgusting! Not just tone deaf, also criminal! Absolutely shameful! What agency created it?”
The ad has become controversial since many believe that it is promoting rape in a country, which is already struggling in controlling sexual violence against women.
