Twitter is 'disgusted' by perfume ads promoting rape culture: ‘Most terrible ad in history of television’

A new couple of ads for perfume brand Layerr Shot have earned the fury of the internet. The ads show women fearing they are about to get sexually assaulted by a bunch of men.

Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms are raging at a couple of new ads launched by perfume brand Layerr Shot. In the new ads, women are shown getting scared that they will be sexually assaulted or harassed by a bunch of men making suggestive comments.

One of the ads released by Shot.

Instagram account Smish Designs shared the two ads on their profile on Saturday. The ads have been streaming on television amid the England vs New Zealand cricket series. In the first ad, a man and a woman are shown sharing an intimate moment in a room when three of his friends barge in. One of them asks the ‘boyfriend’, “Shot maara (did you take the shot)?" He replies that he did, leaving the woman in shock. One of the other boys then rolls up his sleeves as he approaches the bed saying, “Ab humari baari (Now it's our turn).” The woman recoils in fear, perhaps of being attacked. However, the man picks up the perfume bottle from the dresser and she is relieved.

In the second ad, the men are at a shopping mart, standing next to a lone woman shopper. “It's four of us, and this is just one. Who will take the shot," they ask. The shocked woman turns around and finds them to be talking about the perfume.

The post by Smish Designs read, “Notice the fear in women in these ads, I shudder in fear looking at them, this fear is relatable, we shouldn’t have to be made to feel like this for the sake of a men’s deodorant ad." Many agreed that the ad should have never made it past the ideation stage at the ad agency. Actor Sandhya Mridul commented. “No. WTF. This is so wrong!” Another mentioned how rape is not something to make jokes about as many women still live in constant fear of sexual assault. “My heart skipped a beat when the guy walks towards the girl in the first video. I hadn't watched cable TV since ages, I had NO idea these ads were playing during IPL! S**t. @ascionline can you please look into these horrific ads,” commented a person. “Making adds based on our living breathing fears," said another person.

Tweet for Shot ad.

Tweet on shot ad.

Tweet on Shot ad.

People on Twitter were not impressed either. “Another Shot ad. Disgusting to say the least,” read a tweet. “Most terrible ad in history of television,” another called it. “Recent ads from #layershot doesn’t need an agency change, it needs to question the approvers of the idea," read another tweet.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that 77 rapes were reported every day on an average in 2020. A total of 371,503 cases of crime against women were reported across the country in 2020, compared to 405,326 in 2019, and 378,236 in 2018.