The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2017
A Jawed Habib franchisee's ad showed Hindu gods getting a spa day — 'Gods too visit JH'
A Kolkata Jawed Habib franchise ran a Durga Puja ad showing Hindu gods enjoying a spa day, tagged 'Gods too visit JH salon.' The backlash forced an apology.
Jawed Habib · 2017-09
What happened
Ahead of Durga Puja 2017, a Jawed Habib salon franchise in Kolkata ran a print ad depicting Hindu deities — Durga, Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati — enjoying spa treatments, with the line 'Gods too visit JH salon.'
The ad drew a social media storm accusing the brand of trivializing religious figures for a seasonal marketing hook. Founder Jawed Habib said the ad had been produced and published by a master franchisee in Kolkata without company authorization or approval.
The company retracted the ad and apologized for inadvertently hurting religious sentiments; Habib posted a video distancing himself from the specific creative decision while the brand issued the public apology.
Why it happened
- A festive-season creative hook that borrows deities as customers works only if the audience reads it as playful — the same image read by others as commercial exploitation of sacred figures.
- A franchise structure that lets a local operator publish national-brand-carrying creative without central approval means the parent brand absorbs backlash for decisions it didn't make.
- Distancing the founder from the ad ('produced without authorization') doesn't undo the brand-name association — the apology still had to come from the company whose name was on the salon door.
The lesson
A Jawed Habib franchisee's Durga Puja ad showed Hindu gods getting a spa day. The backlash landed on the parent brand even though a local franchisee had made the call.
Aftermath
The ad was pulled and the company apologized; the incident highlighted the franchise-approval gap that let unauthorized creative reach print under the brand's name.
Sources
- Hairstylist Jawed Habib trolled for an ad showing 'Hindu Gods' ahead of Durga Puja, apologizes on Twitter — India TV
- Jawed Habib's Durga Puja Ad Joins the List of Most Controversial Print Advertisements in India — India.com
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