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Tag: Tanishq

  • Eyes on the billboards again, as OOH business rebounds

    Eyes on the billboards again, as OOH business rebounds

    Mumbai: As the markets and public spaces open up and consumers’ mobility return back to normal, the OOH (Out-Of-Home) industry is rebounding from a long phase of shutdowns. The festive season in India this year witnessed a resurgence in OOH campaigns as the industry shifted gears and advertisers adjusted their game plan to take advantage of the evolving OOH landscape.

    “Though the internet gained momentum in the last few years, people are always going to be spending time outdoors, including a significant amount of time commuting. That means there will always be opportunities for companies to make an impact and grow their brand using attention-capturing, visually appealing billboard advertising,” said Posterscope OOH country head Imtiyaz Vilatra.

    OOH has always been a critical part of the media mix for most marketers, and it was also the one which was hardest hit by the lockdown. But, it is slowly reviving as vaccination drives gain pace, offices open up and economic activity revives. The festive period also saw a flurry of campaign launches from across categories such as OTT, Retail, Education, Automobile & BFSI.

    “We witnessed more than fifty campaigns in a span of forty days- campaigns where OOH has been an integral part- Parle, Airtel, Viacom18, Tata Sky, Bike Bazaar, to name a few,” said Vilatra, adding, “We have been able to drive measurability data and deliver better ROI through our Location specialist capabilities for our clients and the response has been great.”

    As India lifted lockdown restrictions, major brands such as Tanishq, Tissot,  Titan, Croma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Raymond unveiled festive campaigns, and so did new age brands like Rapido, Tendercuts and Bumble. The women-first social networking & dating app launched exclusive out of home campaigns across major cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai that grabbed eyeballs, leveraging the medium featuring taglines with humorous, localised takes at dating culture.

    Laqshya Media Group also executed a multi-city high decibel OOH campaign for Hero Lectro E-cycles. The campaign encompassed a mix of large format media units, cluster brandings and other unconventional mediums across all cities.

    “A host of brands are choosing OOH – not only as a medium, but as one of the lead mediums. Across the country, the biggest spenders straddle industry verticals from Real Estate to Automobiles, from insurance to OTT, and from Jewellery to electronics (D2C as well as Legacy,” said Laqshya Media Group chief strategy officer Sai Nagesh. “During the month of October, we executed several prominent campaigns for clients like Tanishq, Maruti Suzuki etc, amongst others.”

    He cites two recent innovations executed by the agency-  cluster advertising used by Titan to dominate a geography across its brands, Titan watches and Tanishq and 3-dimensional billboards used by Maruti Suzuki for its brand Celerio- to highlight his point.

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    Agencies also highlight how brands today are becoming highly data-centric and using advanced algorithms to measure the impact of various media available to them. “On our part, we have been sharing advanced OOH metrics off our proprietary platform SHARP that is able to generate the measure of quantum and quality of traffic across 32 cities in India along with metrics like Nett Reach & OTS. This has also aided the clients in re-allocating significant funds for OOH,” added Nagesh.

    The best measure of whether OOH campaigns are truly ready for a comeback after the pandemic-induced hit it took is the traffic on the roads. And the traffic back on streets is a positive sign for both businesses and media partners. Some of the agencies also tracked the mobility trends during the course of the pandemic and updated their clients. With people moving out after the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the traffic has also resumed across all roads.

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    Out of Home advertising as a fast-growing industry is only set to develop further with advanced AI-powered tools that aid in accessing appropriate locations in each city to reach out to the core TG of the campaign and new technology trends over the year. A medium that was once static images with simple captions now also features interactive and electronic billboards with DOOH (Digital OOH). Brands can be much more creative with how they reach customers in all demographics using these latest innovations.

    Across the world, the OOH and mobile media are fast moving towards convergence. There is even data to show that OOH + Mobile advertising produces better recall than any other medium, according to a PJ Solomon study conducted in the US. “Unlike digital advertising, people can’t skip, quickly scroll past, use ad-blocks or avoid billboards using premium subscriptions. I think in a smartphone world, the biggest screens still matter,” summed up Vilatra.

  • This wedding season, Tanishq initiates new conversation with #MarriageConversations

    This wedding season, Tanishq initiates new conversation with #MarriageConversations

    Mumbai: It is that time of the year when the wedding season plays out all over India. And amidst all the celebrations & planning around a ‘big, fat Indian wedding,’ an aspect that often plays second fiddle is the ‘marriage’ or the issues that truly matter in a marriage. Thus, to try and rescript India’s wedding narrative, Tanishq has launched its latest campaign – #MarriageConversations.

    Conceptualised and executed by Dentsu Webchutney, the digital creative agency from the house of dentsu India, the campaign aims to encourage couples to have conversations about the marriage and the life they want to build together, as much as the wedding itself.

    “This wedding season, we want to encourage young couples who are taking the next big step of their lives to pause and talk about the marriage they envision with each other; a conversation where they feel the comfort and honesty with their partners to discuss what truly matters to them,” said Tanishq general manager marketing Ranjani Krishnaswamy about the campaign. “Tanishq wants to celebrate these real conversations that lead up to the moment ‘when it rings true’ for our couples and etch these moments with our engagement rings.”

    The film, crafted by Superfly Films Pvt Ltd, shows three regular couples who are about to take the plunge indulging in meaningful conversation about their future life together, before taking the big step.

    “Our mission at Superfly has always been to use the power of storytelling to build a more progressive society. And we are happy to have had the opportunity to inspire a whole generation of soon-to-be couples across India to talk about their realities beyond the wedding,” stated Superfly Films Pvt Ltd director and founder Kopal Naithani.

    “We are proud of the brand for inspiring and encouraging soon-to-be-married couples to get raw and real and build a strong foundation together, as they inevitably set on a rollercoaster of a journey that is life,” said Dentsu Webchutney creative director Binaifer Dulani. “We hope couples across India will feel empowered to be vulnerable with each other and talk about their future before they take the big step.”

  • Laqshya Media Group executes OOH campaign for Tanishq’s latest collection

    Laqshya Media Group executes OOH campaign for Tanishq’s latest collection

    MUMBAI: As the country slowly gears up to fully ‘unlock’ post the second wave of the pandemic, outdoor advertising has also begun to see an uptick. Marketing communications group Laqshya Media Group is among the latest to execute a mega OOH campaign for Tanishq’s festive collection ‘Utsaah’ – The Festival of Life.

    The 30-day campaign encompasses a mix of large format media units with new-gen digital mediums, cluster brandings, and other unconventional mediums across all cities to create maximum impact and reach for Tanishq’s target audience.

    The multi-city high decibel campaign was planned through AI-powered OOH planning tool “SHARP”- the data and tech-led planning tool helped to get the most appropriate locations in each city to reach out to core TG of the campaign, said the group. The tool also gives the metrics to evaluate the performance of the campaign, be it campaign Nett reach, OTS, CPT, frequency and impact score of the campaign, shared the agency.

    Foreseeing the festive trends this year, ‘Utsaah’ by Tanishq offers a seamless blend of intricacy, heritage, and old contemporized designs with modern sensibilities, giving a new life to traditional craftsmanship, said the brand in a statement.

    “With the past, that’s been tough and a future that’s cautious, it is the ‘today’ that really holds the promise, that implores us to cherish, rejoice in the biggest festival called ‘Life’. The power of ‘Now’ is directing our lives and becoming the biggest source of our happiness. These everyday celebrations have been the inspiration for our collection,” said Tanishq, Titan Company Ltd – Marketing GM Ranjani Krishnaswamy.

    Elaborating on the partnership Krishnaswamy added, “It only seemed befitting to work with a partner who understands OOH as a medium and our objective to reach out to consumers across the country with this message of celebrating ‘Life’ as a festival this Diwali. And, Laqshya Media Group became our preferred choice, with a massive campaign spread across prominent sites, high footfall TG touchpoint, Airports, high traffic arterial roads, prominent retail commercial areas that ensure last-mile visibility to deliver maximum impact and reach the right audience this season.”

    “We at Laqshya Group are proud to execute this campaign for Tanishq’s festive collection that brings us the beautifully designed products crafted to perfection by their Karigars that add to our festivities. Through this impactful OOH branding exercise, we have tried to create a long-lasting impression in the minds of our consumers,” said Laqshya Solutions COO Amarjeet Hudda.

  • Tanishq breaks ground with its latest Raksha Bandhan ad film

    Tanishq breaks ground with its latest Raksha Bandhan ad film

    MUMBAI: Tanishq has been known for taking the path less travelled by when it comes to its creatives. This Raksha Bandhan, the brand has yet again attempted something a tad different.

    With an innovative product in store – a special Lumba rakhi that doubles up as a pendant, Tanishq celebrates the friendship between sisters-in-law.

    The jewellery brand has launched its new digital film which showcases a lesser-known ritual of ‘Lumba rakhi’ –  a tradition where the sister ties the Lumba Rakhi to her sister-in-law as well. The film portrays how the relationship between the sisters-in-law has evolved over time from just being sisters-in-law to being #SistersByChoice.

    “At Dentsu Webchutney, we saw this as an opportunity to write the story of progressive womanhood for Tanishq, with a healthy representation of female relationships,” said Dentsu Webchutney creative director Binaifer Dulani, and planning director Shambhavi Ramanathan.

    Elaborating on the idea behind the ad film, the duo said, “We spoke to bhabhi-nanad duos of today, all of whom acknowledged the baggage around this dynamic, but also spoke about how they built their own unique bonds as friends first. We spotted the hidden insight – some relationships aren’t bound by ‘relations’, they are bound by friendship. Like that of sisters and sisters-in-law. We wanted to reframe Raksha Bandhan from being cast as a relationship to a novel friendship that nobody ever thought about with Lumba Rakhi! Through the film, we tried to build a progressive arc of the intimacy between this duo – which reaches its ultimate moment when the nanad ties her bhabhi the Lumba rakhi.”

    Down the years the jewellery brand from Titan has carved a niche space in the hearts of people for its refreshing narratives. Once in a while it may have encountered roadblocks for courting ‘controversy’- given the blinkered times we live in- but most of the time it has won much love from all quarters for the progressive depictions of women in its commercials.   

    The heart-warming digital film directed by Ronak Chugh, evocatively portrays how the relationship between the sister and sister-in-law strengthens and becomes even more endearing over time. This narrative captures the playful and rather easy-going relationship between the duo, despite all the unsolicited advice received from relatives and society on how best to ‘tackle’ the relationship to avoid the associated ‘pitfalls’.

    The film captures the warm camaraderie between the two women and the changing dynamics of their relationship from when the sister-in-law becomes a part of their family and how it coheres into a sweet, nurturing and protective bond, even that of partners-in-crime, akin to that between two sisters. With a refreshingly different take on relationships and the festival, the film adds a new dimension to the Raksha Bandhan conversation by throwing spotlight on progressive womanhood and challenging the baggage around the dynamic shared by sisters-in-law. Thus, the #SistersByChoice creative, upholds the underlying theme of women uplifting other women, portraying an innovative and more nuanced narrative.

    Speaking about the campaign, Tanishq, Titan Company Ltd, GM – Marketing Ranjani Krishnaswamy, said, “Raksha Bandhan has always been a beautiful occasion to celebrate diverse relationships, their special bonds and reinforce the promise of taking care of someone – and that needn’t be just a brother-sister equation. #SistersByChoice is our humble attempt to showcase and celebrate the unique tradition of Lumba Rakhi capturing a loving banter between a sister and her sister-in-law that spreads happiness and positivity. With our latest campaign, we hope to celebrate the underlying promise & emotion around Raksha Bandhan which is all about love & care.”

  • After Ekatvam, Tanishq highlights India’s cultural diversity in new campaign

    After Ekatvam, Tanishq highlights India’s cultural diversity in new campaign

    NEW DELHI: After being brutally trolled for its controversial Ekatvam campaign last year, it would seem that jewellery brand Tanishq has learnt its lesson. Instead of fixating on a particular religious community, the brand is playing up the unity in diversity sentiment in the new brand proposition for its wedding exclusive sub-brand Rivaah. Through the campaign film – A Jewel for every Tradition – Rivaah by Tanishq is targeting millennial brides-to-be with the appeal that wedding jewellery is a symbol of rituals.

    Conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, the ad showcases a series of brides from six communities – Punjabi, Bihari, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil and even though the stories showcase cultural diversity inherent to Indian weddings, they sync up to deliver a coherent message – our rich heritage that forms the backbone of our weddings.

    The new proposition communicates the meaning and significance of every ritual and jewellery the bride wears. This proposition has been brought alive through a film that provides a canvas to the thought process of today’s bride who wants to wholeheartedly celebrate and participate in her wedding. The film highlights how the modern Indian bride wishes to immerse into the ritualistic and traditional realm of weddings while being closely participative and true to her progressive self.

    Tanishq general manager – marketing Ranjani Krishnaswamy said “Rivaah by Tanishq celebrates the richness and diversity of Indian weddings from the lens of a national local jeweller. It has a wide range of stunning handcrafted bridal jewellery trousseau for today’s millennial bride. The Rivaah bride is classic in her wish to immerse herself in her wedding rituals while also being closely participative in understanding their symbolism.”

    Lowe Lintas chief creative officer Sagar Kapoor added, “Most pieces of wedding jewellery have a role to play in the rituals. The campaign aims at bringing this relationship alive, between the pieces of jewellery and their link to tradition from a wedding perspective. It speaks about the bride of today who is keen to understand this relationship and hence enjoy the ritual much more.

  • Festive season spurs growth for Titan in Q3

    Festive season spurs growth for Titan in Q3

    NEW DELHI: The third quarter of FY21 pushed lifestyle giant Titan on an impressive growth journey after a stunted performance for almost six months in the wake of the Covid2019 crisis. The festive season, headlined by the Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali, prompted the jewellery division to cross the threshold of recovery into the growth phase. Two other divisions, namely watches & wearables and eyewear also moved closer to full recovery. 

    The jewellery business announced a 15 per cent growth in the 30-day festive period and a similar growth overall in Q3, excluding the sale of raw gold of around Rs 334 crore. The quarter also witnessed a well-rounded recovery with improvement in walk-ins and pick of sales in metros. CaratLane delivered growth of around 39 per cent. 

    Watches and wearables recorded a recovery rate of 88 per cent in Q3. The recovery was led by e-commerce channels, showcasing an absolute growth of over 30 per cent. The company scaled its omnichannel capability by up to 80 per cent. 

    Eyewear section had a recovery of around 92 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. Other businesses had a revenue recovery of around 80 per cent. 

    New ventures

    Titan also launched a slew of initiatives through the year that were positively received by consumers. In the high-value studded jewellery section, ‘Moods of the Earth’ collection was launched for fashion-forward women. Zoya customer experience zones were opened as shop-in-shop in four Tanishq stores. In the plain jewellery section, the division added 24 Tanishq stores on a net basis. 

    Titan launched the latest line of smartwatches TRAQ, and two premium collections for the festive season – Titan Grandmaster and Raga Moments of Joy. Fastrack also launched four major collections in the period. 

    For the eyewear section, eco-lite stores were introduced, which require lower investment and improve the profitability of the franchisee. A made-in-India IndiFit collection called Titan Crest was also launched. 

  • #Throwback2020: The year’s most controversial ads

    #Throwback2020: The year’s most controversial ads

    NEW DELHI: Advertising informs. It generates awareness, entertains; less often than not – if one goes by harsh cynics – leads to a buy decision, and with even lesser frequency flies into controversy. Sometimes the storm that follows proves beneficial for the brand, especially if it is a cult product. At other times, it proves highly detrimental. 2020 was no different. The year had its fair share of brands and labels which got into the crosshairs of some activist group or other, inviting consumers' ire and even unmentionable expletives. Even though what they communicated was well-meaning, and should be considered by most to be within the norms of decency. Most of these ads will end up finding a mention in marketing case history books, detailing what transpired.

    Here's our collection of some of the brands, TVCs and ads that ran into controversy.

    1.  Tanishq – Baby Shower

    The jewellery brand from Titan released a TVC on the theme of Ekatvam (Oneness) featuring a Hindu girl married in a Muslim family which is celebrating her baby shower. This ritual is customarily not a part of the Muslim culture but the ad film showcased a liberal family that was more concerned about their daughter-in-law’s happiness. The film ran into a major wrangle, as a lot OF people opposed the premise and claimed that their cultural sentiments had been hurt. They asked why advertising industry always goes for these tropes and why a Muslim girl was not featured in a Hindu environment. Allegations of promoting ‘love jihad’ were also thrown around. The backlash pushed the brand on the backfoot and it pulled the plug on the ad. However, the move was not acceptable to certain sections, who criticised Tanishq for not taking a stand. For the record, the film got a clean chit from every industry body and reviewers.

    2.      Tanishq – Ekatvam

    Not happy with getting a social media caning from certain pressure groups, Tanishq’s marketing mavens decided to take a shot at being liberal in its outlook and released a TVC promoting its Ekatvam range. The film featured four artistes – Neena Gupta, Nimrat Kaur, Sayani Gupta and Alaya F – talking about the festivities. During the film, one of the actors’ spoke about not bursting firecrackers and celebrating a peaceful Diwali. While the idea was to prevent  pollution, several people took it in a different light and rebuked the brand to not tell others how to celebrate the festival of lights. The brand was stalked by trolls for the second time in a month. Again, Tanishq was forced to withdraw the ad.

    On both occasions, trollers pointed that the ad had hurt Hindu sentiments.

    3.      Kent RO

    This year, several brands tried to cash In on  the pandemic by communicating how they could help in the fight against pathogens, especially the Coronavirus. While some brands came out with effective ads, some made exaggerated claims even as others tried to be extra cautious in their communication.  One such company which took such a tack was the maker of water purification system Kent RO. In an advertisement, Kent cautioned against letting the househelp knead flour in case “her hands might be infected,” which served as the plug for the company’s product. Featuring Hema Malini and her daughter Esha Deol as celebrity endorsers, the TVC got thrashed black and blue on social media. Some even complained to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). Their reasoning: the TVC was  insensitive towards the domestic helps who were already facing discrimination from housing societies across the country. The film was pulled off Kent’s social media handles and the brand issued an apology and promised to investigate its advertising procedures and deploy corrective measures.

    4.      Amul – Exit the Dragon

    During June this year, tensions between India and China were at its peak. Starting with the tiff in Galwan valley, where PLA soldiers were pushed back while trying to enter Indian territory, to boycotting Chinese brands and products with a call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the dairy brand Amul, famed for its on point topicals, came up with a creative titled ‘Exit the Dragon’. The creative showcased the iconic Amul Girl telling the dragon to exit – an oblique reference to Chinese products. The powerful creative clearly communicated the message in regards to boycott of goods manufactured in China. Shortly after the cartoon was posted, the Twitter account of Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation (which owns Amul) was blocked. Twitterati accused the social networking platform of having a bias against India and #Amul became a top trend. The account was restored soon after.

    5.      WhiteHat Jr

    The ed-tech brand certainly caught the pulse of the nation when it was acquired by Byju’s for a staggering $300 million. Post that, the brand went on a new audience acquisition spree on the back of a huge marketing campaign. However, as many as seven WhiteHat Jr ads fielded complaints for being misleading. Out of these, complaints regarding five ads were upheld by ASCI, which directed them to be pulled down. It used messages such as “TedX Speaker at the age of seven,” among other inflated, unverified claims.

    The brand also used the images of global leaders such as Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Steve Jobs and others to convey a message that joining WhiteHatJr will turn kids into tech geniuses like them.  

    6.      ISL Mohun Bagan

    The ad, meant to create hype for the ISL 2020-21 season among Bengali football enthusiasts, wreaked havoc instead. Mohun Bagan loyalists objected to a scene where a team jersey is dipped into a washing machine along with an ATK jersey. The narration of the ad also mentioned a "six-year-old emotion" that fans found offensive, since Mohun Bagan, which debuted in ISL this season with the brand name ATK Mohun Bagan FC, has a long and glorious history of 131 years.

    They were also perturbed with the idea of the team wearing three stars on the left sleeve of their jersey under the ISL logo, with the words 'Champions 2019-20' written under them. The Mohun Bagan fanbase perceived the mishandling of the branding and advertising of their team as an attempt to undermine their club's legacy and heritage. They expressed their disagreement with these branding efforts online. Soon enough, team management stepped in and took measures to cool down the situation.

    7.      Indore Law School ad

    A print advert by the Indore Institute of Law drew a comparison between two fictional characters – Harvey Specter from American TV series Suits, and Akshay Kumar from Jolly LLB 2. It bore the caption that an aspiring lawyer could be either – “Choice is yours.”

    The picture started doing the rounds on social media platforms and netizens were quick to slam the college’s perceived elitist stance behind the ad. Others accused the institute of denigrating the “dignity of Indian lawyers.” Several people questioned whether the college had obtained permission from the original creators before running the campaign. A fair few wondered why the institute chose fictional characters instead of its own alumni or famous practitioners of law in the real world.

    The ad-makers were brutally trolled for their creative sense and the ad was roundly panned as problematic and in poor taste.

    Facing flak, the law college later issued an apology saying, “We assure everyone that it was absolutely not our intention to offend anyone or defame any section of the legal profession.” 

    Please find our clarification regarding our advertisement published on 15/10/2020. We would like to make clear the…

    Posted by Indore Institute of Law on Thursday, 15 October 2020

    8.      MobiKwik takes a dig at Paytm

    The fintech firm took a dig at arch rival Paytm by calling it “Chinese.” It further said that while 220 Chinese apps have been banned, many consumers are still using them on the downlow. MobiKwik urged users to go Indian and questioned them if they were still using Paytm, a Chinese app, for paying their bills.

    Describing itself as a ‘truly Indian Payments’ app, the ad called on users to use Mobikwik for all their payment needs.

    9.      Honey War

    After the Centre for Science and Environment  (CSE) sparked a controversy in the FMCG space by reporting that several leading honey brands had not been able to clear purity tests, a brand war started. The ones that passed the litmus are now talking about their purity, while those that flunked are questioning the report. Post honeygate, several brands released ads sharing their perspective on the situation. The ad war was obvious as no brand would want to let its market share degrade based on one report. Industry experts believe that a massive PR and advertising war will be waged in this category as brands would go to any extent to retain their customers.

  • Titan’s jewellery business clocks 15% growth in festive season

    Titan’s jewellery business clocks 15% growth in festive season

    New Delhi: The recently concluded festive season fared well for Titan Co. The jewellery division of the company witnessed a mid-teens growth (around 15 per cent) for the 30 day festive stretch from Dussehra till Diwali over the corresponding period last year, with a decent recovery in studded jewellery sales.

    The company includes brands like Tanishq, Mia, Zoya and Caratlane in its jewellery division business.

    Tanishq has over 270 stores in the country and it clocked almost Rs 18,600 crore retails sales in the last year. On the other hand, Caratlane products are available both offline and online. It is available across 90 stores in multiple Indian cities.

    Interestingly, the Titan company advertised its jewellery division to invite consumers to make purchases during Diwali. It came up with multiple ads for brand Tanishq during the festive season. However, on both the occasions, the creatives were attacked by netizens and the brand had to pull back the films.

    The first ad focused on promoting communal harmony, where it showcased a Hindu girl married in a Muslim family getting ready for a baby shower ceremony. The idea was extremely simple as the film was a nod to the peaceful co-existence of the two communities.

    The second ad featured four actors – Neena Gupta, Nimrat Kaur, Sayani Gupta and Alaya Furniturewala – talking about their Diwali plans. One of the protagonists spoke about not bursting firecrackers, leading to certain sections of social media taking offence at her personal opinion.

    In both instances, trollers pointed out that the ads had hurt Hindu sentiments.

    The ads were part of a campaign to promote Tanishq’s Ekatvam range of jewellery.

    Over the years, Tanishq has emerged as the biggest advertiser in the jewellery division of Titan company followed by Caratlane. The brand works with multiple endorsers across geographies to reach out to its audiences and create an appeal for its products.

    Titan company in an official statement further stated that the watches and wearables business also did quite well during the festive season, with recovery close to last year levels. Eyewear business has also witnessed good traction.

  • #BoycottTanishq trends on Twitter for the second time

    #BoycottTanishq trends on Twitter for the second time

    MUMBAI: After a big controversy over its Ekatvam (oneness) ad about an interfaith marriage, netizens have once again raised calls to 'Boycott Tanishq' on Twitter following the release of a 'no-firecracker Diwali' film by the jewellery brand. The latest ad features actors Neena Gupta, Alaya Furniturewala, Nimrat Kaur and Sayani Gupta.

    In the video, the ladies are seen talking about the importance of being together with family, mithai, food and celebrating the festival of lights without any firecrackers. What did not go down well with netizens is the definition of Diwali by Sayani Gupta. She says in the ad, "I am hoping to be able to meet my mum after really long. Definitely no firecrackers, I don't think anyone should light any firecrackers. But a lot of diyas, lot of laughter hopefully and lot of positivity."

    On this, certain sections of social media criticized the brand for advising Hindus on how to celebrate the festival. BJP national general secretary from Karnataka CT Ravi lashed out at the jewellery brand and said, "Why should anyone advise Hindus how to celebrate our festivals? Companies must focus on selling their products, not lecture us to refrain from bursting crackers. We will light lamps, distribute sweets and burst green crackers. Please join us. You will understand Ekatvam," taking a dig at Tanishq's eponymous campaign.

    Sayani Gupta took to Twitter to react to the controversy and the #BoycottTanishq trend and said, "Just witnessing how a universal issue of Air Pollution (at a terrible level right now especially in Delhi and NCR), getting politicised and bigotted in the name of religion!! Unbelievable!! What have they done to our country! This is what systemic hate does to people. #astounded."

    Amid this widespread backlash, Tanishq withdrew the ad partially. The 50-second commercial has been withdrawn from Twitter and YouTube, but continues to be on the company's Instagram page.

    Last month, the outrage brigade had accused the jewellery brand of promoting what they called 'love jihad' through an ad campaign.

    Tanishq crafted a digital film that depicted the story of a Hindu woman, married into a Muslim family. In the advert, the young woman, expecting her first child, is escorted to the garden by her gracious mother-in-law for a baby shower ceremony. The young woman is surprised to see that the ceremony has been organised as per Hindu rituals. She asks her mother-in-law, "Par yeh rasam toh aapke ghar mein nahi hoti hai na? (But this ceremony is not celebrated at your place, isn't it?)," and is told, "Bitiya ko khush karne ki rasam toh har ghar mein hoti hai na? (The ceremony to make the daughter happy is held in every house, isn't it?)."