The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
HYGR's LRT ad wrapped a Hindu-marked commuter in body-odour mist — Prasarana removed it
A deodorant ad on Kuala Lumpur's LRT showed the one commuter with a Hindu forehead mark surrounded by smell mist. Prasarana pulled it; HYGR said sorry.
HYGR · 2025-04
What happened
In April 2025 Malaysian personal-care brand HYGR ran a transit ad on Prasarana's Ampang–Sri Petaling LRT line in Kuala Lumpur. The visual showed commuters of different backgrounds — including a man wearing holy ash on his forehead, a mark worn by Hindu worshippers — with one figure surrounded by a green mist. The brand said the mist depicted body odour and the ad promoted deodorant, lip balm and sunscreen.
Social activist Arun Dorasamy called the ad 'racially and religiously insensitive', saying it used the religious mark to stereotype and stigmatise a Hindu based on religious identity — 'subtle yet dangerous messaging' unacceptable in a multicultural, multi-faith society. Public complaints followed, and on 16 April 2025 Prasarana removed the ad from the line, saying the visual had passed internal and external sensitivity checks before printing but that it valued commuter feedback.
HYGR responded that the ad was intended to be inclusive, featuring 'characters of various age, gender and races to reflect our country's multicultural diversity', that the green mist 'was never intended to represent any specific community' and that the character's placement was 'purely coincidental'. Acknowledging 'our oversight', the brand said: 'We hear you and we are deeply sorry.'
Why it happened
- The one character carrying a religious marker was also the one wrapped in the smell — in an ad every element is a choice, and audiences judge the picture, not the intent.
- Sensitivity checks cleared the visual before it ran — a checklist that reviews each element alone can miss what two elements say when placed together.
- The apology answered intent ('never intended') while the criticism was about effect — a defence of coincidences sounds like denying what people already saw.
The lesson
HYGR's LRT ad wrapped the one commuter with a Hindu mark in body-odour mist — 'purely coincidental', the brand said. The ad was pulled anyway. Judge an image by how it reads, not how it was meant.
Aftermath
Prasarana removed the ad on 16 April 2025 and said it had run internal and external sensitivity checks before display. HYGR apologised, said the placement was coincidental, and pledged to 'reflect and improve' on how it represents Malaysia's communities.
Sources
- Prasarana removes personal care ad from train after outcry — Free Malaysia Today
- Prasarana Removes Deodorant Ad from LRT Lines Over Racial Sensitivity Concerns; HYGR Speaks Out — World of Buzz
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