India: Hindustan Unilever Ad on Hindu-Muslim unity gets far right in a twist

Ad on Hindu-Muslim unity gets far right in a twist

By Chandni Doulatramani, India

A television commercial in India for detergent brand Surf Excel, a Hindustan Unilever product, has garnered outrage from several right-wing supporters.

The advertisement shows a little Hindu girl encouraging other kids in the neighborhood to throw balloons filled with colored water at her during the Holi festival. She happily takes the hit in order to protect her Muslim friend so that he can go the mosque to offer namaz with clean clothes. While dropping him off at the mosque, she playfully tells him to be prepared for the Holi celebration later.

The advertisement, to say the least, is endearing and heartwarming, but right-wing fanatics and trolls have found a reason to be offended, as #BoycottSurfExcel trended on Twitter. [ . . . ]


https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/03/opinion/ad-on-hindu-muslim-unity-gets-far-right-in-a-twist/