mo4ch:>Surf Excel ad promoting Hindu-Muslim harmony provokes backlash | Mo4ch News

An attempt to create an uplifting ad showing a heartwarming friendship between a young Hindu girl and a Muslim boy has backfired on the Surf Excel detergent brand with angry viewers calling for a boycott.The ad centers around the Hindu spring festival Holi, also known as the festival of colors, which includes the tradition of people drenching each other with brightly colored paint. It depicts a young girl on a bicycle goading children to soak her in Holi colors until all of their ammunition runs out.When they finally run dry she gives the all-clear to her Muslim friend, who is dressed in an immaculate white kurta, and takes him to the mosque for prayers. One of the paint attackers attempts to fire one-last balloon but is stopped by one of his colleagues.“Later it’s your turn to get sprayed with colors,” the girl tells the boy. The song Rang Laaye Sang (colors that bring us together) plays during the ad and it finishes with the tagline: “Daag acche hain” (stains are good, especially fo…