I&B ministry takes down Layer'r 'Shot' deodorant advertisements

The Information and Broadcasting ministry on Saturday suspended the controversial advertisements of the Layer’r 'Shot' deodorant, pending investigation. The action follows complaints by many people who claimed that the advertisements 'promote rape culture'.

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The government has also ordered YouTube and Twitter to take down the advertisements on their platforms. 

In his note to the platforms, Kshitij Aggarwal, Assistant Director (Digital Media) at the I&B ministry, said that the videos were detrimental to the portrayal of women in the interest of decency or morality, and in violation of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

The controversial advertisements

One of the advertisements released by the deodorant company shows four men in a supermarket spotting a single remaining bottle on the shelf. A girl is seen shopping in the same aisle. The men are then heard saying, 'Who will take the last shot'. At this moment, the camera is focused on the girl and not the product. 

A second advertisement, reportedly created by advertising agency Triton Communications, showed a group of young men barge into a room where another man and woman are already present. The conversation between the two sides thereafter is laced with sexual innuendos.

The two advertisements triggered outrage on social media with users terming them as outright disgusting and sick. Users also urged the regulatory body Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to immediately take action against the firm considering that the advertisements were in serious breach of the ASCI Code. 

'Misogynistic advertisement'

Earlier in the day, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur received a letter from the Delhi Commission For Women in which the latter demanded that the 'misogynistic' advertisement be taken off the air.

The panel said the advertisement 'promoted gang-rape culture' and also issued a notice to the Delhi Police on the matter.

DCW chief Swati Maliwal said that to ensure that such "filthy" advertisements that promote rape culture are never played again, the Centre needs to institute robust systems that ensure certain checks and balances.

The DCW also sought heavy penalties on the perfume brand so that other companies refrain from playing such "dirty tactics for cheap publicity".

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