Zomato kills ad campaign on porn sites after criticism

After a public backlash, co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal announced the campaign's withdrawal in a blog post while apologising to users

Restaurant discovery and food ordering platform Zomato has ended its advertising campaign on pornographic websites, after public outcry.

The decision was announced by co-founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal in a blog post, apologising to users. The decision to advertise on porn websites, at a time when the company faced floundering sales, was largely seen as a stunt to grab eyeballs. In a letter to employees in October, Goyal outlined how for the first time in five years the company was going to miss its revenue targets.

While the company was also commended for being the first Indian brand to openly admit advertising on such websites, a lot of users also said the move meant Zomato was supporting abuse.

“...we’ve probably reached a stage where it’s fair to expect that even if we’re doing what we need to do, we do it in ways that are more ‘grown up’,” read the blog written by Goyal. Zomato, which has raised funding from InfoEdge and Sequoia Capital, is valued at over $1 billion.

Zomato used the campaign to lure late-night porn watchers in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru to order food on its platform.

Brand consultant Harish Bijoor says it was an innovative campaign. “For car makers and high-end appliance makers, it might not make a difference but food is the lowest common denominator and so is pornography,” he said, soon after Zomato announced it was advertising on such sites.