Swiggy’s balloon ad pops online debate: Eco fail or creative win?

New Delhi: Swiggy's recent print ad featuring a real balloon to celebrate its 10th birthday has sparked mixed reactions online. While some criticized it for being environmentally unfriendly since balloons aren't biodegradable, others praised Swiggy's creative approach.

Turning 10, Swiggy launched a print campaign in Times Of India. The campaign featured a bunch of oranges (indicative of the colour of its logo) and a sticky envelope. 

The envelope was written in the language of a child, quoting, “On our 10th budday, we have a return gift in here for you that will take your breath away.” 

The gift turned out to be an orange balloon with the Swiggy logo, indicative of the brand inviting its consumers to celebrate with it. 

The print ad opened the floodgates of conflicting opinions. 

“A balloon looks cute but it’s utterly bad for the environment,” said Gurudev Prasad, Partner and Co-FounderPartner and Co-Founder, BusyBeeBrands. 

Standing firmly with this insight, several people pointed out that the backlash is not with their creativity but with the fact that several of those non-biodegradable balloons have been dispatched in one day. 

On the other hand, people stood by the ad for not being mediocre and ‘just another milestone ad.’

Kushal Singhvi, a marketing veteran, saw it as an innovative way of using print and said, “This way of using print and tech is a smart way to also interact with the creative and also in real-time too, adding value to customers.”

Moumita Pal, National Creative Director at Dentsu Creative, said, “For quite some time now, we have been celebrating print ads that are mediocre, offensive and simply-anything-in-the-name-of-innovation. This one is none of the above. It's simple. It's sweet. 

It doesn't offend anyone.”

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Echoing similar sentiments, people defended the ad by pointing out that newspapers themselves are made by cutting trees and that people may have mistaken it to be an out-of-context ‘condom’ or any other sexual innuendo.