When a kitchen and home appliances firm released its dishwasher ad on social media, it was marketed as India’s first ad shot in lockdown. The video, which was created by Wunderman Thompson, portrays a group of friends who are on a video call, discussing their professional workload and housework.

It was shot on the mobile phones of the actors, with the director calling the shots over a video call. However, the advertisement which went with the tagline “tested by real moms,” soon received the wrath of Twitterati for being “sexist and not featuring men”.

“Errr, Voltas, do you think women who are not Moms and men, in general, don’t wash dishes or should not wash dishes?” asked journalist and feminist Anna MM Vetticad.

“So are men not using dishes or not washing them or just not existing in the minds of the media world outside of car ads? It’s amazing that huge brands are still making such tone-deaf advertising. Please get a new agency guys,” wrote another user.

The company soon took note of the debate on social media. Clarifying its intentions they wrote, “As a brand, we have always celebrated the spirit of womanhood in all our campaigns.”

It further said, “Our products have been developed to create convenience and comfort for all our customers, and are gender agnostic.”