Creative advertising and marketing ideas often go viral on social media – gaining attention because of the uniqueness of their concept or implementation. However, a recent viral ad example has received mixed reactions online for its unconventional approach. One person shared a photo on Instagram of “human ads” being used by a food delivery app. Upon closer inspection of it, one can find out that the company in question is named Swish and it is promising food delivery “in just 10 minutes.” The photo, reportedly taken in Bengaluru, shows people carrying burning billboards on their backs while walking on the road. Three such advertisements are visible in the viral post. Check it out below:
VC: How much funding do you need?
Startup: $5 million
VC: What is your customer acquisition plan?
Then: human advertising
VC: Take my money pic.twitter.com/67BkVHLG1j
– Roshan (@roshaonline) 6 December 2024
Also read: How a Frenchman built a Rs 50-crore sandwich business in Bengaluru
The post has been viewed more than 135K times so far. In the comments, some people have expressed curiosity about how successful such advertisements can be. Some have pointed out that this is not the first time that “human billboards” have been deployed by a brand. On the other hand, many X users claimed that the concept made them feel nervous/uncomfortable. Some people called it “inhumane”. Check out some of the reactions below.
“The worst kind of advertising.”
worst kind of advertising
—Vivek Gupta Fat Loss Coach (@vivekgupta) 6 December 2024
“If I see ads like this, I’ll get the option to block that app in the Play Store.”
If I see ads like this, I will get the option to block that app in Playstore
– Nikhil Kumar Aggarwal (@_Nikhilkumar25) 6 December 2024
“I don’t know how anyone watches this and doesn’t get a stomach ache.”
Don’t know how anyone looks at this and doesn’t get a stomach ache
— Anikavat Thakur?? (@anikavat) 6 December 2024
“I can’t say a word about it but it feels strangely inhumane.”
I can’t say a word about it but it feels strangely inhuman
– Recap (@ripcapitalmgmt) 7 December 2024
“Nothing new… Come to Delhi, you will see it everywhere… Sarojini, Lajpat, KB, KNGs, the list is long…”
Nothing new.. Come to Delhi, you will see this everywhere.. Sarojini, Lajpat, KB, KNGs, the list is very long..
– Soumen Mukherjee (@soumenm) 9 December 2024
“Imagine you’re in a park, wanting to relax, and these people start walking by with bright advertisements. The situation is the same on a busy street. This can lead to negative publicity.”
Imagine you are in a park, want to relax and these people start walking around with bright advertisements. Same is the situation on busy roads.
This may lead to negative publicity.
Chandrashekhar?? (@shekhar_kotekar) 7 December 2024
“Maybe it’s just me, but human commercials make me so sad, they’ve been walking around with that heavy thing on their back for God knows how long.”
Maybe it’s just me, but human commercials make me so sad, they’re walking around with that heavy thing on their back for God knows how long
– Pri (@achuupri) 7 December 2024
NDTV Food has contacted Swish for comment but they have not yet responded.
