Body spray brand apologises for its controversial ads
New Delhi(PTI): Body spray brand Layer'r Shot has apologised for its two controversial ad campaigns which last week triggered an outrage for "promoting gang rape culture".
However, Layer'r Shot, owned by Gujarat-based Adjavis Venture, said the two advertisements were aired "only after due and mandatory approvals".
"... we never intended to hurt anyone's sentiments or feelings or outrage any women's modesty or promote any sort of culture, as wrongly perceived by some," Layer'r Shot said in an instagram post on Monday.
It further added: "However, we sincerely apologise for the advertisements that consequentially caused rage amongst individuals & several communities and beg their pardon."
Layer'r Shot claimed that it had "voluntarily" informed all its media partners to stop the telecast/broadcasting of both the advertisements from June 4 with immediate effect.
The statement comes two days after the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry had on Saturday asked Twitter and YouTube to remove from their social media platforms the videos of advertisements of Layer'r Shot, as it triggered outrage for "promoting sexual violence against women".
In letters to Twitter and YouTube, the (I&B) ministry had said that the videos were "detrimental to the portrayal of women in the interest of decency and morality" and in violation of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code).
The videos of the perfume brand sparked outrage among a large section of social media users who complained the advertisement sought to promote sexual violence against women.
Advertising sector regulator ASCI had also directed to suspend the controversial ads of the body spray brand, saying that it "was potentially in serious violation" of its code against offensive advertising.
After seeing the ad campaign, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) immediately invoked a special process called "Suspended Pending Investigation" (SPI) and asked the advertiser to file a response over it.
"The said ad is in potential violation of ASCI's chapter II, which states that advertisements should contain nothing indecent, vulgar, especially in the depiction of women, or nothing repulsive which is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave and widespread offence," said a statement from ASCI issued on Saturday.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
