All That Glitters May Not Be Gold: Tanishq AD Controversy

Advertisements creating controversies and resulting in brands being subjected to intense criticism is not uncommon in the age of social media. India’s largest jewelry retail brand, Tanishq, too became a victim of one such controversy in 2020. On October 9, 2020, Tanishq, a division of the Titan Company and a part of Tata group, released an advertisement to promote its new line of jewelry collection called ‘Ekatvam’. The advertisement highlighted inter-faith marriage and showed how a loving Muslim mother-in-law respected the sentiments of her pregnant daughter-in-law’s Hindu faith by arranging for her baby shower according to Hindu rituals. Post the release of the advertisement, a vast number of protests broke out in the country and caused a stir. Prior to the ad release, around September 2020, news about love jihaad was doing the rounds in many parts of India. The stir led Tanishq to withdraw the advertisement with issuance of a statement by the company. In light of these developments, a number of questions were being raised. Was it correct on the part of the brand to remove the ad? Did the advertisement seem like a deliberate attempt to gain the attention of consumers? Could Tanishq have expected this controversy to occur given the history of a tense relationship between the two religions in the country? What could the brand do to avoid such controversies in the future?