Snack ad on soldiers leaves bad taste

The film opens in a battlefield with soldiers engaged in a deadly combat. It then moves to the hero, who, oblivious to his surroundings, is busy munching away at goodies from a pack labelled Stop Not. Suddenly, a bullet rips through his pack and its belongings are scattered on the ground. The pack — with a picture of woman on it — floats up in the air. The soldier gets up screaming, dares the enemy to kill him, too. The request is granted and soon, he, too, is floating in the air after the woman on the pack with a big smile across his face.

This is a new ad for a snack called Stop Not launched by Italian confectionery maker Perfetti Van Melle's India division.

The ad has distressed a section of viewers. "It is crude... it is obnoxious. It demeans our soldiers," says artist Anjolie Ela Menon. "As the wife of an ex-serviceman, I am appalled by the trivialisation of the efforts and sacrifices made by our brave jawans on the battlefield," said Menon, whose husband Raja Menon is a retired Admiral.

Menon has written to the Chief of Army staff asking him to intervene in the matter and get the company in question to withdraw the ad. "For the sake of the families who have lost their loved ones in battles and in the name of the soldiers who lay their lives for their nation, this ad should be withdrawn with immediate effect and the product be boycotted," she said.

Perfetti directed requests for information on the ad to its advertising agency Meridien whose Executive Creative Director (ECD) denied the allegations citing the right to expression and creativity. "The snack brand in question is targeted at youngsters who like humorous ideas. Through the ad, we are trying to tell in a creative way that the snack is so irresistible that people will do anything for it," said Rensil D'Silva, the ECD and also writer of the ad. "We tested the ad on some youngsters before releasing it on air earlier this week and all we got in response was rapturous laughs," he said, adding that the agency never meant to hurt anybody's sentiments.

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