jadeOmato launched an advertising campaign on World Environment Day, reportedly aimed at promoting cleanliness and recycling of plastic waste. A Dalit character named ‘Trash’ from the Oscar nominated film Fine Various objects are created in the advertisement – a paperweight, table, flower pot, hand towel, jacket and lamp. The aim of the advertisement is to raise awareness about the amount of waste (Trash) is attached to each item and ends with the hashtag #let’srecyclegarbage.
The controversial ad, which uses a Dalit character as a mere prop, has drawn criticism for its insensitivity towards Dalits. It reminded me of a meeting I had with an advertising agency in Mumbai. During the conversation, the interviewer inquired about the topics I write about. Among other things, I mentioned that I write about Dalit issues, especially in an urban context. His response was one of wonder: “Like for real? Do Dalits really exist here in Mumbai? Like they’re all around us at the moment or something?
I wondered if they confused Dalits with aliens or perhaps some kind of psychic energy that may or may not be around us.
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a collective failure
While I understand that it is insufficient to make a sweeping statement about everyone in the industry, it is baffling how a racist ad can make it through the many stages of the campaign creation process. The process usually involves several stages of brainstorming, research, storyboarding, mood boarding, several meetings, editing, and post-production. One would expect at least one person involved in the whole process to recognize the overtly racist portrayal and raise concerns about it.
This is not a new phenomenon in the advertising industry. Several years ago, Kent released a racist advertisement for its flour maker, which was widely criticized. The ad carried the message, “Are you letting your maid knead the dough by hand? Choose the KENT Dough and Bread Maker for kneading dough by hand. Let automation take care of the cleanliness this time! Do not compromise on health and cleanliness. The ad implied that the involvement of domestic workers in the process was unhealthy, promoting the product as a better alternative. Similarly, the biscuit company Mario uses the tagline “Baked to perfection, untouched by hands”. In the Indian context, it is important to note that these advertisements go beyond mere hygiene concerns. In my opinion, they have primarily casteist undertones, perpetuating the belief that the touch of certain individuals is considered “impure” based on notions of purity associated with caste. It is hard to miss such campaign topics against the backdrop of centuries of caste discrimination this country has witnessed.
In the Indian context, the touch of Dalits is considered impure, which perpetuates social discrimination. The issue is so important that Indian politicians have often accompanied photoshoots with “dining with Dalits” to show their acceptance of food prepared by Dalits. Several years ago a BJP minister courted controversy when it was alleged that during the much publicized ‘Eat with Dalit Food Yatra’, he did not eat food cooked by Dalits and instead ordered food from Dalits. Outside, I sincerely hope it was not ordered using Zomato.
If such an ad with overtly racist overtones was made in the US, it would likely cause an uproar and companies would be expected to admit their mistake. Although, in this case, Zomato’s half-hearted apology itself suggested that they had good intentions to promote environmental protection, but unfortunately, the execution of the ad changed its meaning.
It is ironical that in this civilization, an advertisement on environmental protection has been made to make fun of Dalits by considering Dalits as the original environmentalists. Even those with a basic understanding of the environment know that there are structures that force Dalits into occupations where they have to actively clean and nourish the country, contributing to its sustainability and livability. Despite his service, he is labeled “contaminated” by an ungrateful nation. This is in stark contrast to the privileged upper caste approach to environmentalism, where small actions like picking up a few wrappers of Kurkure at the beach or wearing sustainable fashion from H&M are enough to claim to be “eco-conscious and sustainable” on social media bios. is considered sufficient. This demonstrative activism often leads to admiration within the city’s elite where everyone floats happily in their own ‘casteless bubble’.
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Pop-Activism and Hypocrisy
in his article Why Dalits hate environmentalistsGail Ombwett discusses the inadequate representation and understanding of Aboriginal issues within the environmental movement. She highlights a common sentiment expressed by the tribals, questioning “Why don’t environmentalists who claim to love the forests come and live there, offering their city flats in return?”
It is also a fact that the desire of the domestic marketing team to connect with all the burning issues of the foreign world but oblivious to the local problems like ‘caste’. This is one reason why Indian corporations are ready to say “black lives matter” but not “caste matters”. Not that his say in the matter of caste is going to end caste because in the end, pop corporate activism fades away like a can of Coca-Cola. However, from an observational point of view, the sheer hypocrisy in the choice of pop-activism also reveals the bias of individuals working for corporate companies and a general lack of awareness among privileged members of society who think that Recycling the underdog character is enough to save the environment.
Can a diverse team on the Zomato advertising campaign avert this future embarrassment? To an extent only. It is important that more individuals from marginalized backgrounds sit in positions of power where they are actively involved in decision making. Otherwise, the “symbolism” of mere diversity without sharing power may be as useless as the metro tokens used by the Delhi Metro.
Anurag is a multimedia artist and the host of Anurag Minus Verma Podcast. He tweets @confusedvichar. Thoughts are personal.
(Editing by Anurag Choubey)