Everyone who watches television in India must have come across the "Hari Sadu" advertisement aired by Naukri.com. This ad became very popular for its creativity and also won the award from the Advertising Club Kolkata. Here is the full story board followed by the video of the ad.
There has been a lot of controversy around the advertisement by two set of people:
- Whose first name is "Hari"
- By a group of people who caused objection since "Hari" also refers to a deity in Hindu mythology
Naukri.com decided not to withdraw this advertisement citing that this is a work of fiction and they got a clean-chit from Advertising Standards Council of India.
This advertisement is really humorous and can be a great way to advertise a job site. In fact they managed to create a character – Hari Sadu, who can be recognized with the Naukri.com brand.
On the other hand, I find the ad to be in a very poor taste, showing bosses in very poor light who should be insulted and abused when opportunity strikes. This is teaching people to consider boss (or a business owner) as a blood-sucking beast, an idiot and an inhuman being. This is definitely not true in most of the cases. Above all, it shows that – when you don’t need someone, have a go at him – and walk out of the door!
In a growing economy like India, where attrition is sky high, job ethics are hard to spot and consideration for one’s job responsibility is at an all time low, this ad has only added fuel to the fire.
I know, Naukri.com has got superb mileage from this ad and it is close to heart of thousands of people. However, the question remains – Is this ad instilling the right culture? As a corporate, does Naukri.com understand it’s responsibility to communicate the right culture to the people who are destined to shape the future of this economy – the young executives.
I must mention that I never thought about the ad until I read your article. Your observation is absolutely correct. I find that a lot of professionals in India are not thankful about their jobs. They have high expectations and are often unreasonable. Having said that, the same thing applies to the managers as well. Their only objective seems to be saving their butts and moving on to better pastures. So if something has to change, it has to come from the top.
I must mention that I never thought about the ad until I read your article. Your observation is absolutely correct. I find that a lot of professionals in India are not thankful about their jobs. They have high expectations and are often unreasonable. Having said that, the same thing applies to the managers as well. Their only objective seems to be saving their butts and moving on to better pastures. So if something has to change, it has to come from the top.