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Layer’r Shot, the deodorant brand from Adjavis Venture Limited, has been pulled up after a user on micro-blogging platform Twitter called out its latest campaign for being sexist, questionable and disrespectful towards women.

"There have to be some regulations for ads man. That Shot deo ad is nothing short of disgusting actually. Even though I knew it was an ad and it wouldn't happen. The fear for a second I felt was real. Imagine making an ad on the fears of millions of women! WTF!," the user wrote.

Can't find the ad online but here it is, apparently being played during the match. I didn't see it till @hitchwriter showed it to me

Who are the people making these ads really?

— Permanently Exhausted Pigeon (@monikamanchanda) June 3, 2022
"Can't find the ad online but here it is, apparently being played during the match. I didn't see it till @hitchwriter showed it to me Who are the people making these ads really?," the user added.

The 30-second feature features a bunch of teenagers walking into a room where a young couple was there. They make suggestive remarks which imply scoring sexual favours from the woman in question.

The ad has opened a can of worms as users on Twitter started posting about the other ads done by the brand previously as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">One more <a href="https://t.co/6oYQkv49QN">https://t.co/6oYQkv49QN</a></p>
— Ris...? (@RishitaPrusty_) <a href="https://twitter.com/RishitaPrusty_/status/1532633304737796097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One of the users also called the company's founder Devendra N Patel for approving such objectionable ads.

"Found it horribly wrong and uneasy to watch. It’s sickening, actually. There are more in the series. @ascionline please intervene," tweeted another user.

The advertising regulator promptly took to Twitter to respond to the request and stated, "Thank you for tagging us. The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation."

Speaking to Storyboard18, Manisha Kapoor, CEO &amp; secretary general, ASCI said that this ad has been processed under suspended pending investigation. (SPI).

"This is used in exceptional circumstances, when it appears prima facie that an advertisement is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and its continued transmission on/through/by any medium causes or has the effect of causing public harm and/or injury or its continuation is against public interest. ASCI has, pending investigation, forthwith directed the advertiser/the advertising agency/the media buying agency and the media concerned to suspend the advertisement. The advertiser has already been written to asking for immediate suspension of the said ad," she noted.

Often synonymous with sexist advertising, male grooming category, dominated by deodorants, has been accused of creating highly sexist, objectionable and stereotypical advertising.

Brands such as Wild Stone, Addiction Deo, Set Wet Zatak (Paras Pharma), Denver Deo and Axe (Unilever) commercials have been called out for being sexist.

The I&amp;B Ministry has also taken cognizance of such advertising and asked the regulator to intervene.

Over the years, the deo brands have started taking baby steps away from their sexist ad legacies, to talk about equality and respect. Axe, which has once relied heavily on ads which showed how Axe made men wildly popular among women, is changing the way it pushes the brand to consumers, adding a larger purpose.

However, there have been occasional bad apples who continue to stick to sexist titillating advertising. Stuck perhaps in old industry beliefs like "sex sells".

An earlier version of this story attributed the ad to Triton Communications. Triton Communications did not make this ad, and the copy has been edited to reflect this. We regret the error.

Repeat offender? ASCI pulls up offensive Layer’r Shot deo ad

Gaurav Taneja, a popular content creator and social media personality with over seven million followers on YouTube, recently tweeted that performing a ‘havan’ can be an antidote to pollution. He went on to give the Bhopal gas leak as an example, which ruffled a lot of feathers online. Multiple users accused him of spreading misinformation and being irresponsible in putting out content that is unscientific.

Unfazed by the criticism, Taneja put out a tweet saying he stood by what he had written. This is not a standalone incident. Taneja, who continues to enjoy a massive fan-following, has also received flak for posting alleged misogynistic content..

Taneja is among hundreds of content creators and social media influencers who have been unabashedly doling out unproven and unscientific content in the name of fitness tips, beauty advice and mental health to their followers. Often these creators end up making money through well-paid brand collaborations that can range from Rs 50,000 to several lakhs per post/video.

Not only are the stakes higher for brands because of money being invested in influencer marketing activities but also the fact that social media backlash can be severely damaging for a brand’s reputation once things go wrong.

<strong>Due diligence is critical</strong>

Digital experts that Storyboard18 spoke to said that brands need to take a lot of cognisance in dealing with content of any kind and nature, curated by the influencers they associate with.

Shrenik Gandhi, co-founder &amp; CEO, White Rivers Media says, “That is because if the brand is sourcing an influencer to be the voice of the brand, technically, any opinion of the influencer outside of the brand communication may also be aligned to what the brand feels. And if the influencer isn't talking the right brand language, it may cause dissonance.”

Once an unregulated space, influencer marketing space has been consistently evolving.

In May 2021, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) officially launched the influencer marketing guidelines for 'consumers to distinguish between something that is promoted with an intention to influence consumers' opinion or behaviour for an immediate or commercial gain'. However, there is no scrutiny or regulation on the kind of content being posted by creators or influencers. The onus therefore comes on brands to do their work.

Experts believe that brands must do a lot of due diligence before associating with social media influencers where influencer and brand content should marry seamlessly.

Prashant Puri, co- founder and chief executive of digital marketing agency AdLift, notes that brands need to do due diligence and figure out a historical analysis of what kind of content a particular influencer promotes. What’s the ethos of that influencer, whether they associate with their target audience or what he/she says online.

“If there is a history of problematic or toxic content or they do content which riles up their followers to get more engagement, obviously the brand needs to take a call on whether it is the right influencer for them. Brands tend to do all these checks and balances but the freedom of speech cannot be curtailed,” he warns.

<strong>Accountability matters</strong>

An increasing number of brands are becoming cautious and responsible about picking the influencers they work with wisely. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) men’s grooming brand The Man Company, for instance, said that it carefully handpicks the influencers to make sure they resonate with the brand ethos, ensuring that clear messaging is being communicated to the end consumers apart from collaborating with subject matter experts.

Rumi Ambastha, director - brand marketing, The Man Company, believes that accountability is critical for both the brands and influencers on the kind of content being put out online.

“Why even question the brands if none of the disturbing content is sponsored by them, you ask? Because content creators continue to make a major chunk of their regular income from brand collaborations,” he explains.

<strong>Dissociation works</strong>

More often than not, brands end up getting embroiled in controversy where they are not directly involved. It could be that an influencer puts up a problematic post much after they have tied up with a brand. In those cases, brands need to simply dissociate with such influencers who are misleading the followers.

“Brands can safeguard themselves from untoward incidents by not associating with influencers who may tend to curate content that the brand will not stand by,” says Gandhi.

On occasions when brands goofed up, owning up is the best strategy as well.

“Do not procrastinate apologising. Humans run social media, humans run brands, and humans can make mistakes. It's completely fine to apologise but it's an absolute deal-breaker to procrastinate,” he adds.

Influencer marketing, if done right, is highly rewarding in terms of consumer connect and brand building but it can cause severe damage to brands if it is not well planned and thought through in terms of influencer selection and promotions.

ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA