Saatchi Ad Offends Hindus; Client Office Ransacked by Protesters

(MoneyWatch)  Saatchi & Saatchi created an ad for a Goa tour operator that so offended Hindus in India they ransacked the client's offices. A local newspaper was also forced to run a front page apology for carrying the ad, and the client laid the blame at Saatchi's door.

Frustratingly, reports coming out of India do not describe the content of the ad or explain why it offended Hindus so much. The ad, promoting Cox & Kings tours, was intended to encourage people to visit sites of Hindu interest, according to the India-Asia News Service:

'The ad was only meant to increase devotion of the people and encourage them to visit places of religious interest. We felt that it would promote peace and calm in the current state of strife and unrest... The said advertisement was released without the consent and approval of the management of Cox & Kings (I) Ltd by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi,' the apology issued by Cox & Kings reads.

Religious activists didn't get it, though:

Activists of right-wing organisations like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and the Shiv Sena stormed and ransacked the offices of Cox and Kings in the capital city Panaji Wednesday.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Govind Parvatkar said that the advertising campaign was condemnable and was in bad taste.

Goa Shiv Sena president Upendra Gaonkar, who Thursday filed a complaint with the Panaji police station against the Gomantak newspaper management and Cox & Kings Ltd, said that the ads hurt religious sentiments. 'There has to be accountability. Those who were responsible for releasing such an ad need to be taken to task.'