The news of Poonam Pandey’s death shocked the internet on February 1, 2024. The Indian model’s untimely demise caused a stir on social media and the reason for her death was declared to be cervical cancer. As the news came from her manager, news outlets did not put much effort into cross-checking the information.
The same day, many social media users raised suspicions as the news broke out. Online users asserted that the actress appeared perfectly healthy in her recent public outings. Speculations ranged from discussions about her possible demise to the idea that the entire situation might be a publicity stunt, spreading across various platforms.
However, the following morning, on February 2, Pandey revealed that she was alive, in a video she posted on her Instagram. She revealed that this was part of a campaign aimed at creating awareness around cervical cancer.
The agency behind the campaign was revealed to be Schbang. It caused widespread criticism for its insensitivity as Pandey revealed in a video that she was alive, leading to backlash and an apology from Schbang the following day, that seemingly failed to appease the outraged public.
Pandey’s death stunt caused tremendous backlash on social media as people started posting and expressing their thoughts on the insensitive and deceitful nature of the campaign. A lot of netizens voiced that going to such lengths for an awareness campaign was disrespectful to people suffering from the disease and their families.
Seeing the enormous outrage, Schbang posted an apology on its social media explaining the reason and intention behind the campaign and issuing an apology to those whose sentiments have been hurt. The agency’s apology, however, was not well received by social media users and industry leaders.
As discussions heated up, experts shared their opinions on the issue raising concerns over marketing gimmicks and the ethical boundaries in the marketing.
Independent Marketing Consultant, Karthik Srinivasan wrote on his blog, “There is always an option to do things ethically. Most people choose that option – many out of fear of repercussions, and many out of the simple fact that it is the right thing to do. From an agency standpoint, these would come up if such ideas were discussed and debated. If the agency chose to put the foregone result of the Google search trends shooting up over every other fully intended result, that is a conscious choice they have to live with alongside the many denouncements that would, no doubt, come their way.”
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