Zomato Clears Air About Using Porn Sites As A Marketing Platform

Food listings service Zomato had recently gained a lot of attention when people noticed its advertisement on a porn website. Speculators went berserk – some though it was a super bold move on Zomato’s part to touch upon a topic that is taboo in the country while others thought this was the worst marketing strategy ever.

Amidst all the hating and praising, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal came out to make a few clarifications and to announce that it’ll be taking down all ads from the adult websites. Here’s what the company had to say.

Zero Malign Intents

Zomato stated that it took the step after having weighed all the pros and cons and that overall it seemed like a pretty decent deal.

“We were pretty pleased with it, because it checked all the boxes of a successful growth hack – the ads got us lots of eyeballs, millions of clicks, a bump up in online orders, and all at a ridiculously low cost, Deepinder Goyal declared.

“The response to the campaign was largely positive. People said we were ballsy for trying this at all, and that we broke new ground for doing this in a country where porn has long been a touchy topic.

“But there were a few things said that we simply couldn’t ignore. The campaign offended some folks, felt the campaign was in poor taste, and it wasn’t something they expected from a brand of our standard. Some also said that all porn is not legal, and by advertising on porn websites, we are financially supporting abuse – certainly something we don’t want to do. Ever”, Goyal clarifies in a statement.

Not On Self Destruct Mode

Goyal humbly went on to explain that Zomato stands for all that’s good and right and would never do something to tarnish the company, it’s people or the society.

He also voices his realization of the fact that at Zomato’s stature, company needs to put its plans and strategies forward in a more ‘grown up’ way.

Revising Their Ways

Deepinder announced that this incident will not alter their path to growth, just that their ways will be more well thought of. He added that to correct the “mistake” Zomato will start off by “killing the porn site campaign, because we sense we crossed the fine line between marketing irreverence and cultural insensitivity.

He further apologizes and adds, “If we did (cross the line), and ended up offending or disrespecting anyone in any way at all, we are sorry. That obviously wasn’t the intention, and we’ll work on doing things better in the future.”

Full points to you and your team Mr. Goyal for being courteous and sensitive enough to handle the matter. A good start at being ‘grown up’!