‘What nonsense is this’: Zomato sparks Twitter debate over alleged casteist ‘garbage’

Like every other brand on the planet trying to live up to important dates, food delivery giant Zomato released a new ad on World Environment Day 2023. The ethical objective of the advertisement was to spread awareness about the practice of recycling. Zomato also revealed that they recycled over 20 million pieces of plastic waste as a part of their pledge towards the earth.

While the message behind the ad was appreciated, Twitter certainly did not appreciate the content of the ad. The platform is known for its witty and punitive marketing strategies. But this time, it seems to have not only missed the mark but also angered some people because of it.

The ad begins with the introduction of a man depicting Zomato’s new campaign ‘Kachra’ (waste). In pop culture, Garbage is a famous character from Aamir Khan’s critically acclaimed film Lagaan. In the ad, the man shown as ‘trash’ is ‘recycled’ into several household items such as a pot, and a table among other things.

What nonsense is this @zomato ,
stop this racist advertisement

– Ravi Ratan (@scribe_it) June 7, 2023

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However, Twitter was not amused by the brand’s ignorance when thinking deeply about the importance of Lagaan’s character. Kachra was a boy in the film who belonged to the oppressed ‘untouchable’ community. Netizens slammed Zomato for not being aware of the implication of the character’s name and using it in their advertisement and termed them as ‘racist’.

#Trash From #Fine One of the most dehumanizing silent portrayals of Dalits ever in cinema. @zomato used the same character and made a repulsive #racist commercial. a human feces? are you serious Very insensitive!

– Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) June 8, 2023

This is so objectionable. One has to wonder who are these people who created the ad, approved it and put it online without even thinking about it.

— Madhurita Anand (@MadhureetaA) June 8, 2023

Even if you put the racism aside, I don’t find this ad creative at all

— Avishek Goyal (@AG_knocks) June 7, 2023

National Award-winning director Neeraj Ghaywan, who directed Masaan, tweeted, “#Lagaan’s Garbage was one of the most voiceless dehumanizing portrayals of Dalits ever in cinema. @zomato has used the same character and made a disgusting #casteist ad. a human feces? are you serious Extremely insensitive!”. Several tweets echoed the sentiments. Zomato is yet to respond to the response.

This is the worst idea I’ve seen in a long time.

— Isha Khan Khan (@iGrouchoMarxist) June 7, 2023

@zomato Change your advertising and marketing team their brains are full of garbage they need to recycle before

— Firesticks (@_InFirestix) June 8, 2023

shocking @zomato @zomatocare This is also not accepted! They are probably denying and dismissing that caste is not an issue

— P (@prdpk9) June 7, 2023

This extremely casteist campaign by Zomato is due to the lack of diversity. I remember in 2017 when I told an HR of an ad agency that I write for Dalit issues. He replied: “Like Dalits? Are they present in cities and all. Wow. never knew it”

— Anurag Minus Verma (@confusedvichar) June 7, 2023

Zomato responded to the backlash by deleting the video and tweeting, “On World Environment Day, we intended to spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and the benefits of recycling in a humorous way. Unknowingly, we may have hurt the sentiments of some communities and individuals. We have removed the video.

On World Environment Day, our intention was to spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and the benefits of recycling in a humorous way.

Unknowingly, we may have hurt the sentiments of some communities and individuals. We have taken down the video.

— Zomato (@zomato) June 8, 2023

See also: Zomato gets Rs 2000 notes on 72% of CoD orders after RBI order; Internet serves up rib tickling memes

Cover Image: Source