Promoting rape culture through ads, Indian perfume company faces backlash

Trigger warning: Sexual assault/rape

Two advertisements of a perfume company in India glorifying rape culture were taken down by the Indian ad regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

“The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation,” the body said while replying to a complaint regarding the ads.

Thank you for tagging us. The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation.

— ASCI (@ascionline) June 3, 2022

Two different ads from the same company caused an outrage in India for insensitively portraying rape.

In one of the ads, four men can be seen entering a store. They are shown having a dispute over who will take a ‘shot’. There are four of them, but only one ‘shot’ is available. During this debate, instead of the bottle of body spray, a woman is shown and it looks like they are having an argument over who will first rape the woman. The woman even turns around in anger, believing the four men are talking about her. However, she is then shown relieved, when one of the men picks up the body spray called ‘Shot’.

People on social media expressed their anger over the adverstiments:

There have to be some regulations for ads man. That Shot deo ad is nothing short of disgusting actually. Even though I knew it was an ad and it wouldn't happen. The fear for a second I felt was real. Imagine making an ad on the fears of millions of women! WTF!

— Monika 👩🏼‍🍳🍽 (@monikamanchanda) June 3, 2022

Another ad from the same agency using gang rape to sell a pathetic product. Disgusting and shameful. https://t.co/fWWM8TSERL

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) June 4, 2022

That Layerr Shot deo ad playing during #ENGvNZ is perverse man, with its gang sexual assault innuendo – I wonder how it even got approved to air, surely a heavy sanction by ASCI is needed

This I feel is one case where even the six actors should be embarrassed

— Karthik Iyer (@ByKarthikIyer) June 3, 2022

What a Bad Shot. Seriously disturbing & tone deaf ad. #shotperfume https://t.co/LcDEEJGsoG

— Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) June 4, 2022

Gangrape “humour”.This is completely despicable. Is the Advertising Standards Council of India asleep? We have learnt nothing from Nirbhaya, look at the Hyderabad gangrape. We’ve reached a nadir as a society https://t.co/T58Dw43sJw

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) June 4, 2022