'Promoting rape culture': I&B Ministry orders suspension of controversial Layer'r Shot body spray advertisement

New Delhi: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Saturday asked Twitter and YouTube to remove from their platforms the tasteless videos of a perfume advertisement that triggered an outcry for "promoting gang rape culture".

In letters to Twitter and YouTube, the Ministry has said that the videos were "detrimental to the portrayal of women in the interest of decency and morality" and in violation of the Digital Media Ethics Code.

The action by the government came after the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) found the ads in "serious breach" of their code and against public interest. The advertisement watchdog “suspended” the two new Layer Shot advertisements “pending investigation,” after their content was flagged by several social media users, saying it "promotes rape". “Disrespectful towards women” was how many on the social media described the inappropriate ads.

In the advertisement for the perfume Layer Shot, a boy and a girl, apparently a couple, are sitting on a bed when four more boys enter the room without knocking.

They then ask a tasteless question laden with a sexual innuendo, which makes the girl uncomfortable, before proceeding to take a 'Shot' of the perfume kept on a table, hinting they were talking about the spray all the time. The girl looks visibly relieved thereafter, which leaves little to imagination.

The other ad features the same set of men in a convenience store, standing behind a woman. The men are heard saying "there are four of us, but there's only one, who will get a shot". It shows the woman visibly shocked; then, one of them grabs a bottle of the perfume kept on a rack and the woman heaves a sigh of relief.

The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted earlier in the day that the advertisements reflected “toxic masculinity in its worst form”. She also said that she has taken up the matter with the Delhi Police and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Published on: Saturday, June 04, 2022, 10:39 PM IST