Lenskart, an online Indian eyewear portal is drawing widespread criticism for a marketing stunt it tried to pull with an SMS it sent out this afternoon, following the news of the devastating earthquake in Nepal today.
“Shake it off like this Earthquake: Get any Vincent Chase Sunglasses upto Rs. 3000 for FLAT Rs. 500, by sending invites to 50 friends @ http://www.lenskart.com/refer-sun”.
The SMS was screen-shotted and shared on Twitter, and the backlash has been swift. In a few hours, became a trending topic in India on Twitter.
StupidOfToday: @Lenskart_com. They can send you a discount voucher to you on your funeral to celebrate it pic.twitter.com/nxATHs4XFG
— Stupid Of Today (@StupidOfToday) April 25, 2015
Boycott idiots like @ScoopWhoop & @Lenskart_com for insulting the dead in #NepalEarthQuakepic.twitter.com/5BCqt0BbzT
— Sexist ChopdaSaab (@Keisar_) April 25, 2015
Seriously, @Lenskart_com? #Earthquake#RedditIndiaDiscussion: http://t.co/gCGQK5zrW6pic.twitter.com/EFWyIZSeli
— Reddit India (@redditindia) April 25, 2015
This is how humanity will meet it's end. #Earthquakepic.twitter.com/veiAN8fLgg
— Bruce (@GhantaGuy) April 25, 2015
To their credit, Lenskart apologised for its choice of words, but they aren’t winning any brownie points for using a template message.
We apologize for the accidental choice of words.Our intention was not to hurt anyone's feelings.We are extremely sorry - Lenskart
— Lenskart (@Lenskart_com) April 25, 2015
Looks like @Lenskart_com has chosen a bot to apologise in typical school teacher punishment fashion! #earthquakepic.twitter.com/sN5RqbdC1x
— Twilight Fairy (@twilightfairy) April 25, 2015
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