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Zomato has finally responded to all the negative feedback and backlash that the company's latest advertisements, featuring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, have received on social media. The food delivery aggregator released a statement addressing some of the issues that viewers had with the ads.
The ad featuring Hrithik shows a delivery executive braving the rain to drop a parcel at the actor’s place. Calling him ‘Jadoo’, Hrithik praises the partners for consistently delivering packages in all weather conditions. The star offers to take a selfie with the delivery executive and goes inside the house to get his phone. Just then the notification for another order arrives, and the delivery boy has to leave to ensure that his next delivery happens on time. Katrina's ad was on similar lines. Both the ads faced severe backlash amidst reports on unfair practices and low income against delivery boys in companies like Zomato and Swiggy.
The ads were slammed on social media for being tone-deaf in a day and age where the unfair treatment of gig workers has come under increased scrutiny. On Twitter, several people pointed out that the adverts did nothing more than suggest that Zomato delivery partners do not have a minute to rest in between delivering orders, while others said the company would rather spend money on celebrity ads than pay their delivery partners fair wages.
On Monday, Zomato issued a statement offering clarification. "We believe that our ads are well-intentioned, but were unfortunately misinterpreted by some people," wrote Zomato. "We understand that you expect more and better from us," said Zomato. "Our delivery partner Net Promoter Score has increased from -10% to 28% (and continues to rise). We will also, very soon, publish a blog post explaining why we think our delivery partners are fairly compensated for the work/time that they put in," Zomato concluded.
The other side of the story... pic.twitter.com/hNRj6TpK1X
— zomato (@zomato) August 30, 2021
(Source: Twitter)
