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After sad songs, Twitterati now makes Maggi a butt of jokes
When sad songs about how life would be without Maggi were sung on social media over the past few days, the netizens have now started moving on, with jokes and light hearted humour, poking the bad PR management
Maggi lovers have been penning odes on social media and bidding goodbye to their beloved noodles that filled their empty stomachs during 'tough, penniless times', boosted their culinary skills, brought families together and even affirmed their individuality.
After disbelief, anger, sadness and nonchalance expressed by Maggi lovers or Nestle haters, some on Twitter have now made the two-minute snack the butt of their jokes.
A controversy over the popular noodles brand in the country broke after food safety inspectors in Uttar Pradesh ordered recall of a 2,00,000-pack batch of Maggi following spot checks which showed elevated levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead 17 times above the permissible limit.
After Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and many other Indian states, Nepal also stopped the import and sale of Maggi in public interest. When the manufacturer Nestle India failed to cope with the accusations, and with its shares tumbling at the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company finally decided to take the two-minute noodle off the shelves across India in the wee hours of Friday.
On the parallel timeline, #Maggi and #maggiban have become the top trending hashtags, with people ruthlessly criticising Nestle's crisis management efforts and repetitive assurances about the safety of its products. Many have even dived into their past and shredded its PR strategy by recounting the sheer number of controversies it has been embroiled in.
Some made light-hearted comments on MSG: The Messenger of God, the self-directed movie of controversial godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, with obvious reference to the alleged presence of the flavour enhancer in the noodles.
Other jokes revolved around the noodles' curly shape with allusion to curly hair and the not-so-accurate '2-minute' cooking time.
Innocent humour even turned satirical with some using the ban to comment on the Narendra Modi government which has attracted ire over the issue of religious freedom.
A few also pointed at the irony of banning Maggi when other unhealthy snacks and aerated drinks are easily available in the market.
