Lenskart ad sparks fresh online outrage; 'Who eats dates for Pongal?'

The online community is up in arms now over a Lenskart ad, which they felt failed to depict the Tamil harvest festival, Pongal, in the right spirit.

Social media users felt the ad inaccurately featured food items like dates, inappropriate costumes and lifeless models. This entire battle against the company is being fought online, with Lenskart CEO and founder Peyush Bansal rushing to douse the fire.

Barely had the row over internal grooming policies died down, the recent advert has triggered users to kick up a ruckus over Lenskart's intentions and cultural identity.

What triggered row?

The outrage against the brand took off after a social media post by Chennai-based Krithika Sivaswami, which flagged several inaccuracies in the campaign's depiction of the Tamil harvest festival. Her post, which quickly went viral, questioned the creative choices made by the brand, “Who the heck eats dates for Pongal? And what's with the costume & props?"

The online community quickly latched on to her sentiments as her post went viral. Users questioned the inclusion of dates, a food not associated with Pongal, which traditionally centers around sugarcane and the Pongal rice dish.

Online users lash out

Many felt the costumes and props lacked the vibrancy and traditional elements typical of a harvest celebration. Many felt it was not a slip-up and linked the ad’s inaccuracies to the company’s recent "grooming guide" controversy, and said that it showed the company's "lack of respect for traditional customs".

“It’s already clear from their internal policy document, it clearly shows their alignment. Don’t get shocked when their models are having non veg on Diwali ads. The logic is simple: their actions clearly reveal exactly what they are trying to do,” said one user.

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Many users felt the presence of dates and the specific styling felt more like a misplaced Ramzan campaign. One user noted, “They got confused with Ramzan... Ramdan celebration gone wrong.” Hindus don’t eat dates on any festival because our land is blessed with an abundance of food grains, dairy and spices,” explained another user.

No bindi, no business

The fact that models were not wearing bindis caused concern online. One commenter stated bluntly, “Where is the bindhi? No bindhi No business.”

One user felt it was an insult to Hindu society, saying: "Hindu society must give up this nonsense called tolerance... Every now and then there are some doing dilution, mockery, and abuse. Did this company not know that Pongal is a Hindu festival? Showing this distasteful, colourless, lifeless way."

Calls for boycott

These sentiments have rapidly escalated into a call for a total boycott of the brand. One user summed up the sentiment, stating: “Seriously, every self-respecting Hindu must ensure that we never buy anything from Lenskart. #BoycottLenskart.”

Earlier, responding to the backlash over the internal grooming policy, Peyush Bansal claimed the policy document being circulated online was "outdated" and did not represent who they are today and apologised for the confusion.

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Bansal sought to defend Lenskart’s core identity as a homegrown Indian brand rooted in Indian cultural values. However, with the Pongal advertisement now drawing fresh fire, the CEO’s promise to never "compromise" on tradition is under scrutiny.