Boycott calls force advertisers, celebrities to increase safeguards

From rigourous edits at the drawing board to stronger indemnity clauses in contracts and tracking trending topics on social media, agencies are doing all they can to tackle the issue head-on

American writer HP Lovecraft famously said that the oldest and strongest of fears is the fear of the unknown. For present-day advertisers and celebrities, this fear is showing up in the response they receive from social media to their brand communication.

This is something AU Small Finance Bank and online food delivery platform Zomato recently experienced with their advertisements. Both brands had to quickly retract their ads and issue apologies when social media reacted sharply to their communication.

In the case of AU Small Finance Bank, the ad in question, featuring brand ambassadors Aamir Khan and Kiara Advani, attempts to