Eularie's blog: Netizens need to stop being utterly butterly delirious

There’s this brand which managed to crack people up with its wit and brilliant moment marketing for aeons now. One fine day, they put out an ad, which might not be their best work, and what happens?

 

They’re not only besmirched but also threatened for being the next one to face the wrath of the infamous boycott culture.

 

The subject of discussion here is Amul, which recently put out a creative congratulating actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor on the birth of their first child, a daughter.

 

 

And for what?

 

Twitterati is super annoyed that the brand - which claims to be proudly Indian, has not bothered congratulating King Kohli and the rest of the men in blue for making it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. Instead, there are claims it gave into nepotism by dedicating a post to the celebrity couple instead.

 

Netizens have passed comments asking if a woke brand manager has taken over the account, while some said that they will stop using Amul’s products too. One even demanded an ‘unconditional apology’ for the ad.

 

This is the first time that Amul's topical ad is based on a non subject and actually stinks.

Seems like some woke brand manager has taken over the account.

— Vee S (@HinduLogicGuru) November 8, 2022

You exposed yourself with this ad. Now you have one loyal customer less.

— Nikita ���� (@nivesingh) November 7, 2022

Never expected such ads from u.Going forward will try to avoid amul products n encourage others also to do so coz u r just promoting bullyweed.

— Common Man (@Rarecommonman) November 7, 2022

Amul must give an unconditional apology for this…. Where proud Indian is into unity, to clean the filth & mafia in Indian cinema. Non stop efforts are taken for more than 3 years….. u serve this? Is Amul proud Indian?

— Archana Shiv Shakti ���� (@ArchanaShakti) November 8, 2022

Another person went a step ahead by asking the brand if it wanted to promote the message ‘impregnate your fiance’.

This is the most derogatory ad from a Company that has the founder like legendary #Kurian. What you wanna promote. Impregnate your fiance ?@rssamul

— Sunil Lal ���� सुनील लाल சுனில் லால் (@sunil2819) November 7, 2022

Discussions around the boycott culture revealed various facets, one of which is the possibility that it does more good to the brand than damage.

 

What then is up with these obnoxious expectations from brands that have been clouding the internet for quite some time? Is this because we stand for something, or because we’re secretly hoping to hitch a ride on the equity of a successful brand?

 

Amul has been the king of moment marketing and has amused people and the industry for years, not only for its excellent work - which took on casual and sensitive subjects alike (without hurting the sentiments of people in question) but also for its long-standing relationship with its creative agency, DaCunha Communications.

 

Why then, can’t we cut them some slack for all the mind-blowing work they’ve done?

 

 

 

 

 

Now coming to the practicality of the subject, it’s not possible for a brand to always be at the top of its game. They’re allowed to slip up too, as long as they’re not offensive or exploiting basic standards of operation. We forget that in the end, they are employees, just like you and I, who sometimes find it challenging to keep up with the expectations they’ve set for themselves.

 

By all means, stand up to brands that are being genuine opprobrium. But berating them for not being the yardstick of the kind of creativity you fancy, is nothing short of petty.

 

Although the recent creative may not have been their best work, or like a few grumpy netizens would say - the worse. One’s idea of creativity is not necessarily the same as another’s.

 

I’m sure someone is laughing at the ad, and if not at that, then certainly at the crotchety Twitterati which finds an excuse to blow everything out of proportion.

 

 

(The author is senior correspondent, Campaign India)