Why Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers adopted business policy of ‘no models without a bindi’ in their ads

Some hoardings in Chembur and other places had models without bindis. Recently, WHP made sure all hoardings conform to the policy by painting bindis on the models’ foreheads

Waman Hari Pethe (WHP) Jewellers, which has a chain of showrooms in Mumbai and other places, recently decided to put a bindi on the foreheads of all their models. Going into the back story, it comes from Deepavali 2021, when prominent activist Shefali Vaidya of Pune had started the #NoBindi, No Business campaign, following which several jewellers made sure that their models sported bindis.

However, WHP continued to have a few hoardings in Chembur and other places showing their models without bindis. Recently, WHP revised it and made sure all models have bindis on their foreheads. “When we realized our mistake, we decided to have bindis painted on the models. This was a collective decision to avoid any controversy and also show our respect to Hindu culture,” Megha Jadhav, head of the advertising department of WHP, said.

Earlier, WHP, Tanishq, Fab India and other brands were trolled for being “ignorant of Hindu culture”. Vaidya, who has 44,900 followers on Instagram, said the social media campaign was very effective as it compelled companies to take corrective measures.

Courtesy: The Free Press Journal