OYO Hurts Religious Sentiments With New Advertisement; #BoycottOYO Trends On Social Media

An advertisement published by the Ritesh Agarwal-led OYO has landed the hospitality giant in controversy.

According to the Financial Express, OYO had published a half-page advertisement in a Hindi newspaper. It has allegedly hurt people's religious sentiments.

What Did The Advertisement Say?

In its promotional campaign, OYO featured a tagline: “Bhagwan Har Jagah Hai. Aur OYO Bhi.” (Meaning: God is everywhere and so is OYO).

Comparing the hospitality giant’s presence across the country to God’s omnipresence was perceived as an insult by some Hindu groups in the country.

The #BoycottOYO Trend

OYO faced a social media outrage for its promotional campaign. Numerous netizens and Hindu organizations called for the giant’s boycott and even demanded an apology.

The hashtag #BoycottOYO started trending across social media platforms.

One user wrote, “OYO has attacked Hindu faith! How dare they compare themselves to God? Apologize immediately and remove this ridiculous ad, or OYO will face protests in every city!”

Other people also resonated with the same sentiments and asked for the advertisement’s removal as well as an official statement by the company.

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Dispute Over OYO’s Logo

The promotional campaign wasn’t the only point of contention on social media. The controversy found its way to the hospitality giant’s logo.

In a past interview, founder Ritesh Agarwal had said that the giant’s logo design was inspired by the deity Lord Jagannath—the two ‘O’s represent the deity’s eyes and the ‘Y’ represents the deity’s nose.

Religious groups in the country were angered by the same and have demanded that OYO issue a clarification and even reevaluate its branding. Critics on social media believe that sacred pictures should not be utilised for commercial branding. They called it inappropriate and disrespectful.

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OYO’s Attempt At Repositioning The Brand

The Ritesh Agarwal-led hospitality giant has been making efforts to reposition itself as a “family-friendly” hospitality chain. 

Recently, the company introduced a new policy wherein check-ins for unmarried couples were banned in certain regions. 

According to CNBC, the Region Head of OYO North India, Pawas Sharma stated, “OYO is committed to upholding safe and responsible hospitality practices. While we respect individual freedoms and personal liberty, we also recognise our responsibility to listen to and work with law enforcement and civil society groups in the micro markets we operate in. We will continue to review this policy and its impact periodically.”

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