CHENNAI: Unilever's print advertisement for the Comfort fabric conditioner on April 29 has drawn much criticism, with people on X calling it insensitive and disrespectful to the fishing community.

The advertisement features a scene from a fish market with the line, "Think your clothes can survive this fish smell? Take the Comfort challenge." The advertisement has been termed offensive, with people questioning what was wrong with the smell in a fish market.

Some social media users pointed out that odour can be depicted in many ways other than the one in the advertisement. "Odour can be shown in a thousand ways. "This is not one of civil ways to do," said one user.

Others on the platform have also defended it, saying the advertisement only shows a scene, and everything people are saying is their own prejudice towards the space. "Complete respect to everyone involved in fisheries, etc. Also, complete respect to everyone who enjoys seafood. But it is what it is. They are rotting dead bodies of marine animals, and it is most commonly used metaphor for bad odour - not just in India, but globally. Even the fisherfolk will also agree with it. I think we all need to calm down a little," wrote one user.