Picture this: you alight at an abandoned station at an odd hour at night, and while you are walking to the exit, you feel that the man walking behind you is being a creep. Because, walking behind you and wearing a hoodie = creep. Given the prevailing context of crimes against women, you end up presuming that the guy, who may or may not have any bad intentions, is following you or stalking you. What do you do? Do you confront him? Do you look him in the eye, and if you feel he means harm, do you run? Do you scream? Do you call the cops? Do you karate chop the shit out of him? Do you do something more lethal? In all probability, yes.
Telecom giant Vodafone, however, does not think so. Your paranoia may, or may not, be justified in this situation. But, according to Vodafone, the best way to deal with a situation like this is, wait for it, to gingerly make a video call to a friend (hopefully, the one you left behind in the metro you got off from), and talk #AboutLastNight.
Here’s the advertisement, to give you a clear picture:
This revelation released on YouTube on April 8 and, as suspected, earned itself a lot of flak.
Case in point:
Somehow, one can’t help but agree with all those talking about the absurdity of this ad. Because:
A. Where will the guy go, if there is just one exit, and you two happen to be the only people at the station?
B. Just because he is wearing a hoodie, and walking behind you, does not mean he is coming after you.
C. In case you think he is a creep who is, in fact, going to harm you, WHY THE HELL would you get on a damned video call and talk about what you ate last night with a close friend? Why not do something to seek help?
*Shakes head in disbelief*
Vodafone – bring the ZooZoos back, please?