After facing flak, Zomato says ads were well intentioned but misinterpreted

After receiving outrage on social media, Zomato has issued a public statement on its Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif ads. Zomato  argues that the advertising were "well-intentioned," but that "some people unfortunately misinterpreted it."

According to Zomato, the advertisements were created with the goal of highlighting delivery partners as heroes and emphasising the need of speaking properly to them . The advertisements were also designed to raise the degree of respect connected with a delivery partner's profession and to emphasise that every client is a star for them, just like prominent stars.

The other side of the story... pic.twitter.com/hNRj6TpK1X

— zomato (@zomato) August 30, 2021

Zomato said that the NPS (Net Promoter Score) of its delivery partners has risen from -10% to 28% and is continuing growing, and that the business has always recognised when it has fallen short on this front.

Thank you for explaining your goals.

Both ads have failed on all counts. They are tone-deaf, and portray your delivery partners as victims, not heroes.

But then, if you have to back up an ad with long-form text like this, you already know it has failed.

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT) (@ovshake42) August 30, 2021

Classic non-apology. Also it took 6 months of social media chatter for you to understand the despicable conditions your workers deal with everyday? Your ad was insensitive and in poor taste and you need to pull them back asap if you really care about feedback.

— Shoeb Khan (@passivepundit) August 30, 2021

"It's not me, it's you" 🥺
All you had to say was we will treat our workers better and pay them better and we are sorry our ads were inconsiderate, but you went with "Sorry not sorry". C L A S S I C. pic.twitter.com/ywjFXdkd9q

— Michele Mary Bernadine (@Michele__MB) August 30, 2021