Titan, which owns the Tanishq jewellery brand, did not fare too well at the stock market on Tuesday. Its stock prices fell by 2.58% from Rs. 1,257.55 to Rs. 1,224.35. It was a day after Tanishq faced an outrage on social media due to its culturally insensitive ad glorifying Love Jihad.
While we cannot be certain whether there is any link between the fall in stock prices and the calls for boycott Tanishq had to endure, Titan saw its collective wealth eroded by around Rs. 2700 crores. One Tanishq showroom in Gujarat condemned the ad and apologised profusely to the Hindu community for the offensive ad.
The ad released on October 9 shows a pregnant Hindu woman walking with her mother-in-law, who distinctly belonged to the Muslim faith. The Muslim mother-in-law then leads the Hindu daughter-in-law to the garden area, where the god-bharai ceremony has been set up according to Hindu traditions.
Shocked, the daughter-in-law asks the mother-in-law why the ceremony was set up in that manner since “these things are not followed in the house”. To that, the smiling mother-in-law tells her that while this might not be their tradition (since they are a Muslim family), making daughters happy is a universal tradition.
Following outrage, the ad was subsequently removed from YouTube.