Food delivery app Zomato has been on the receiving end of flak over its newest ads featuring Bollywood celebrities Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan. While the one with Kaif raised eyebrows, the one featuring Roshan has managed to irk the internet. In what is being dubbed as marketing or PR tactics gone wrong, the advert has the Krrish actor ordering samosas with a Zomato delivery guy who he later addresses as Jadoo for the least convincing reasons. Not just that; the actor then asks him to wait for a selfie (instead of tipping him) but here comes the twist; the delivery guy couldn’t wait any longer and hurried back to his bike because he had another delivery to make. It is easier to spot the flags when you see them.

If you need a little reminder, the ads come after the row over delivery executives and their alleged mistreatment. It was earlier reported how Zomato has failed to provide its riders a liveable wage. And now it seems like the company is trying to change the narrative. Unfortunately, it has backfired and has ended up glorifying inhumane working conditions where riders can’t even catch a break.

While many people have rightly pointed out that it’d have been better if Zomato would have compensated by paying its staff rather than spending big bucks on a celebrity endorsement, the rest can’t believe that it romanticizes their plight to make deliveries no matter the weather. See for yourself.

The furor protesting exploitation by delivery executives took momentum post the Zomato delivery guy incident where a Bangalore-based blogger was brought to books after wrongful accusations. Now it remains to be seen if the company will take cognizant of the tone-deaf ad and redo the campaign by paying their employees. What do you think of the entire episode?