Advertisement digitally altered to add ‘Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao’ slogan ahead of Karnataka elections

By: Umme Kulsum
May 2 2023

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Context

In the run-up to the Karnataka elections, scheduled to be held on May 10, a video of an advertisement has been shared with the title, “One Nation, One Solution. Watch this ‘Modi hatao’ video which is viral in Karnataka. (sic)” The video was shared by Shantanu, who claims to be a Congress supporter. The video shows a man cashing out groceries at a supermarket and refusing the cashier’s offer of a carry bag. The man is seen bundling all his purchases in his hands and even his mouth, while the cashier says the bag will cost only four rupees. He reaches the parking area of the market and drops one of the items, and a transition on the screen introduces the following text: “Paise Bachane Hai? (Want to save money?) Modi Hatao, paise bachao, naukri bachao, beti bachao, democracy bachao, desh bachao (Remove Modi, save money, save jobs, save daughters, save democracy, save the country).

The video has been shared widely and has gone viral on social media. It has over 1,000 retweets and over 5,000 likes. The video was shared with the claim that it is an original creation as a campaign against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, it is to be noted that an advertisement has been digitally edited to add text against Modi in the run-up to the assembly elections in Karnataka, where the BJP is currently in power.

In Fact

As this video began to go viral, many Twitter users indicated that the advertisement may have been edited. Many pointed out that the first 24 seconds of the 35-second video was part of a different ad that was first broadcast in 2017. On June 8, 2017, the original advertisement was posted by CEAT Tyres on their official YouTube channel with the caption "Savings at Supermarket - CEAT Fuelsmarrt Tyres." One can see the original advertisement, in fact, ends with the text describing the CEAT Tyres, and a voiceover that says in Hindi: "Want to save money? Get CEAT Fuelsmart tyres (translated).” The text font too, is completely different from the text seen in the now viral video.

The description under the video stated, “How often has a trip to the supermarket involved spending big on a few kilos? Every single time, right? When such is the case, any savings bring a smile! Why choose to save just a few coins when you can save much more to cover your grocery bills? With CEAT Fuelsmarrt tyres, you'll always be covered!"

In 2017, CEAT Tyres introduced the Fuelsmarrt line of tyres, giving their digital advertising series a humorous spin to draw in customers. The campaign was launched with the tagline “Paise Bachana Hai!?” which translated to want to save money?

The ad campaign was conceptualized by the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather. This advertisement has now been edited with a political spin to draw attention before the Karnataka assembly elections.

The Verdict

A 2017 advertisement by CEAT about its Fuelsmart tyres has been edited and shared with a slogan against the Modi government ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections. Hence, we mark this claim as false.