The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024
Zomato's Ujjain ad had Hrithik Roshan order a thali 'from Mahakal' — priests objected
Zomato's Ujjain ad had Hrithik Roshan say he ordered a thali 'from Mahakal' — a name shared by a restaurant and a revered temple. Priests demanded it down.
Zomato · 2024
What happened
Zomato ran a geo-targeted ad in specific Ujjain pin-codes featuring actor Hrithik Roshan saying he felt like having a thali and ordered it 'from Mahakal' — referring to Mahakal Restaurant, one of Zomato's high-volume local partners.
Priests of the nearby Mahakaleshwar temple — one of Hinduism's twelve Jyotirlingas and a major pilgrimage site — objected that the line evoked ordering food from the temple itself, where devotees receive 'prasad' on a thali, and said the association hurt religious sentiment. They demanded Zomato withdraw the ad.
Zomato withdrew the ad and apologized, clarifying that the reference was to the restaurant's name, not the temple: 'We deeply respect the sentiments of the people of Ujjain and the ad in question is no longer running... the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments.'
Why it happened
- A restaurant partner's name only becomes a liability when it happens to double as a sacred site's name — the ad copy was accurate about the business and still landed as a claim about the temple.
- Geo-targeting the ad to Ujjain pin-codes meant the exact audience most likely to make the temple association was the one guaranteed to see it.
- Explaining the literal reference after the fact didn't undo the read — by the time the clarification ran, the ad had already been heard as ordering from the temple.
The lesson
Zomato's Ujjain ad had Hrithik Roshan say he ordered a thali 'from Mahakal' — the name of both a restaurant and a revered temple. Priests objected, and Zomato pulled the ad and apologized.
Aftermath
Zomato withdrew the ad from circulation in Ujjain; a state minister asked police to look into the matter before the withdrawal defused it.
Sources
- Amid backlash, Zomato withdraws Mahakal advt featuring Hrithik Roshan, expresses apology — The Tribune
- Mahakal temple priests want Zomato to withdraw offensive ad featuring Hrithik Roshan — The Tribune
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