A US-based Hindu advocacy group has asked American fast food chain Burger King to immediately remove an advertisement campaign featuring goddess Lakshmi, which it says is “offensive” to the people of the faith.
Washington-based Hindu American Foundation said Burger King is running a print advertisement in Spain that depicts an image of the goddess seated atop a meat sandwich and other foodstuffs with the catch phrase, A snack thats sacred, in Spanish.
In the letter written to the company, the HAF has also sought an apology from it for demonstrating lack of cultural and religious sensitivity in this case. “An advertisement knowingly and intentionally using sacred symbols, especially those of another religious tradition for purely commercial purposes can be offensive in and of itself,” said Suhag
Shukla, managing director and legal counsel for the foundation. Shukla said, the foundation had written a letter to corporate headquarters of Burger King last Tuesday. “There has been no response from them,” he said. The HAF was informed about the advertisement by one of its members in Spain.
“I was horrified to walk by a Burger King store in my neighbourhood to discover an image of the same deity that I worship at my home altar, displayed so disrespectfully promoting a meat sandwich,” said Monica Pahilwani, a Spanish. “A multinational corporation with a global presence should be much more aware of religious and cultural sensitivities, and how truly repelling such an advertisement could be to Hindus,” she said.
Spanish Hindus demanding physical removal of all of the ads in Fuengirola, Spain have already met some success locally, HAF said. In the past the Hindu community has been incensed by the way Hindu deities — the pictures of Lord Krishna on shoes and Hindu deities on toilet seats — and Hinduism generally, have been depicted for commercial gain.
In 2005, an American online store selling womens undergarments featured images of Hindu Gods and religious icons that angered the Hindu community in America. They demanded an immediate withdrawal of the derogatory ad from the website.
In the ad, the website cafe-press.com displayed hundred per cent cotton Hindu God Shiva classic thong priced at $12.99 with the religious deitys face. Another called I God Shiva classic thong for $15 made a statement “Namaste it loud. Youre Hindu and youre proud.” The protests had borne fruit with cafepress finally withdrawing the product line from its site.
