Flipkart tweets in defence of Snapdeal
Snapdeal found a surprise ally in Flipkart's co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal, who criticised the backlash being faced by Snapdeal. He tweeted saying, "This is a flawed logic. Brands don't buy into brand ambassadors personal opinions. @snapdeal shouldn't face this,". This was his response to consumers downvoting Snapdeal's app on the Google Play Store over Aamir Khan's comments on 'rising intolerance' in India.
The giant management consultancy firm Accenture dropped its sponsorship of Tiger Woods contending that the golfer was "no longer the right representative". The announcement came after Woods found himself engulfed in a media storm due to his infidelity scandal; he had later admitted being unfaithful to his wife. Before Accenture, Gillette had withdrawn its association with the golfer.
Airtel's announcement of the Zero marketing platform found its very first supporter in Flipkart's CEO Sachin Bansal who tweeted saying that Airtel Zero didn't violate net neutrality. This didn't sit well with many net neutrality advocates who chose to downvote the Flipkart app on Android to 'one-star' rating. Many down-voters used the header in the reviews as "Net Neutrality matters."
Jared Fogle also known as the 'Subway Guy' because of his legendary weight-loss was the Subway spokesperson for as many as 15 years. He was dropped from endorsing the sandwich chain after his alleged involvement in a sex scandal. As news of Fogle's link to a "child sex and pornography scandal" broke out, Subway dropped his name from its website fearing consumer backlash.
Facing flak over its endorser's views, Snapdeal spoke out distancing itself from Khan saying that it was "neither connected nor plays a role in comments made by Aamir Khan in his personal capacity." Snapdeal's spokesperson said the company was positively reshaping many "small businesses and millions of consumers" in India and would continue in the mission of creating successful online entrepreneurs.
85,000 subscribers uninstalled the Snapdeal app. Immediately fear spread that this would lead to the brand losing its number 27 position on the Google PlayStore.
