Mumbai based beverage company Storia Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd has come in the line of fire for its recently launched ad campaign for its new range of milkshakes.
The company recently launched its first-ever 360-degree marketing campaign “Wish it never gets over” for their range of Storia Shakes. The company recently released 3 ads films. Each of the three 45-second ad films focus on promoting one specific Storia Shake flavour.
The first ad released as a part of the campaign is set in a cricket league press conference setting. The second ad promotes Storia mango shake wherein the actor is disappointed because there’s no more shake left for him after his workout session. The most recent of the ads promote Storia chocolate shake, which is set against a political backdrop.
While all three ads are designed as humorous parodies, the last one which had characters resembling Sonia and Rahul Gandhi has particularly come in the firing line.
In the ad, the ‘son’ consoles his mother who is upset that her milk shake got over and says he will make a machine in which you give grass as input and you get milk as output. ‘Aage se ghaas, peechhe se doodh’, he said. To this, the frustrated mother says that this ‘machine’ is a ‘gaay’ (cow) to which the son asks if the ‘gaay’ is empowered.
Irked by the parody, Congress workers went on a rampage, vandalising the Mumbai-based beverages’ Andheri East office in Mumbai on Tuesday.
#WATCH Congress workers held a protest today at the #Mumbai office of Storia Foods over the company’s recent advertisement allegedly mocking Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2021
(Video source: Mobile footage) pic.twitter.com/LOi48quAD1
According to reports, several Congress supporters, despite strict COVID-19 restrictions being in place in Maharashtra, barged into the office of the Mumbai based beverage brand and vandalised the entire office premises. The glass windows of the office were shattered, while the office chairs and table were tossed around.
The Congress supporters raised Congress flags and chanted slogans in support of Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi inside the office premises. This was not all, the Congress workers were also seen clicking themselves inside the office, gloating over the vandalism.
Even outside the office, the Congress workers continued to raise slogans with the Mumbai police stationed there to prevent any further damage. The workers were seen sloganeering ‘Mumbai Congress Zindabad’, ‘Sonia Gandhi Zindabad’ and ‘Rahul Gandhi Zindabad’.
As per reports, the Mumbai police have detained these Congress workers.
Storia and its new ad campaign
Vishal Shah, Founder & Managing Director, Storia® Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd had recently said, “We, at Storia, feel a great responsibility towards our consumers because what we serve affects their health and lives directly. Hence, we find it imperative to deliver our value systems of wellness, convenience and sustainability with everything we do. We are excited to reach out to our consumers this summer through our first-ever 360-degree campaign, in a fun yet very impactful way”.
“With the ongoing pandemic, we look to lighten the mood, in a category that is already very serious and usually only promotes health. This campaign is a great way to increase significant brand consideration with our millennials and Gen Z, in a format they relate to best, parodical yet impactful”, added Shah.
However, despite its innovative approach, the Mumbai based beverage company was compelled to pull down its third ad, which had characters resembling Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, following the uproar.