Diversity seems to be increasingly frowned upon in America.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A new ad released by Axe is drawing a lot of attention on social media for featuring a Sikh man, similar to what Gap did last year when it showcased Sikh model and actor Waris Ahluwalia as part of its holiday advertising campaign.
The deodorant and male products brand, which goes by the name Lynx in several European markets and Australia, has initiated a campaign focused on peace and love, also echoing what Gap did with their “Make Love Not War” campaign last year.
Axe has launched a website (axepeace.com) and was one of the many companies that paid $4.5 million for air time during last Sunday’s Super Bowl. Their ads have become so prevalent that they even have their own “hashtag” on Twitter – #KissForPeace.
But on social media, a vocal minority – as seems to be the status quo these days – derided the ad for showing a white woman kissing a “terrorist” and a “towelhead.” The ad, which comes with the tagline “PDA [Public Displays of Affection] is good,” was criticized for showing a multi-ethnic couple kissing.
The unkind reaction is just the latest in a long line of ads celebrating diversity being slammed for choosing non-white actors, models, and languages.
Just like Gap’s Waris Ahluwalia ad was sprayed with graffiti in New York City, with some street hooligans saying that the model should go back and “make bombs,” the reaction to the Axe ad has also been remarkably similar to that of Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad in which “America the Beautiful is sung in various international languages, including Hindi.
Not all reactions have been negative, though. Many have praised the Axe ad, with one comment in particularly drawing nearly 1,200 Likes on Axe’s Facebook page. In it, a commenter named Brandon Dewade writes “Wow, there is a lot of hate here. Being an Iraq and Afghanistan [veteran] all I see is a guy [with] an epic beard kissing a beautiful girl.”
Sikhs have been featured more and more prominently in pop culture over the past few years. Internet domain hosting company Go Daddy featured a Sikh couple in their ad that ran during the 2013 Super Bowl – the company has been a Super Bowl ad staple for the better part of the last decade – and Sikh performers are starting to become more common in Hollywood films and television shows.
A trend is forming in which large corporations are featuring Sikhs in order to draw support from an increasingly multi-cultural and globally diverse world. But it remains to be seen if the business they stand to lose from those who don’t support this line of thinking will be enough to deter established brands like Gap and Axe from continuing their progressive stance.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com
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