Controversial Or Funny? People Engage In Heated Discussion Over Instant Rasam Ad

An advertisement about an instant rasam paste is causing much controversy online. On Thursday, an X user shared the ad’s photo that was put up on a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus. The ad features a man with a curious expression and the text, “Wife North Indianaaa?” suggesting a quick solution to make “Rasam in seconds” by promoting Indira’s Udupi instant rasam paste. While sharing this photo, the X user wrote, “Today in ads that manage to be sexist while also insulting both North and South India (from r/bangalore).” So far, this post has received over 1 lakh views.

Critics of the advertisement contended that it exhibited sexist and regionalist undertones. The first point of contention was the implication that a wife’s primary role is to prepare her husband’s favourite dishes. Additionally, the ad was criticised for perpetuating the assumption that North Indians lack the ability to cook South Indian dishes such as rasam. Rasam, often served with rice, offers a variety of flavors, including sweet, spicy, or sour, depending on ingredients like tomato, tamarind, or kokum.

Criticising the creative, an X user wrote, “Wow! Just put the rasam in seconds quote and we get the point.. why bring – wife, north India etc into the scene…” Another person wrote, “Who is hiring these people ??? Nonsense.”

However, many people found the advertisement humorous. Making this point, an X user defended the ad and wrote, “Aw, come on. We really need some broader minds here. Take life a little more easy please instead of taking offence at anything and everything. Poor stereotyping, probably yes, but what’s sexist or north/ south insult in this?”

Another person claimed, “This is neither sexist, nor does it offend me (North Indian). This is symbolism trying to capture the reality of many Bangaloreans. Stop fishing for offence.”

An X user further defended the ad and remarked, “Making Rasam is a little complex process. Hence, if the wife is a stranger to the southern cuisine, you can use the mix…. The ad promotes national integration. It encourages marriage ties between North & South…”

Someone argued that perhaps the ad was deliberately made to be controversial and wrote, “All marketing teams yearn to go viral through a tweet so they won this round actually.”

A netizen joked that the real thing that is ‘offensive’ about the ad is how it promotes instant ready-made rasam and wrote, “Totally unacceptable behaviour and this should not be encouraged and there should be severe backlash, yes i am talking about rasam being served in paste.”