Namaste-ing in?

In a recent campaign spotted by our team, Just Eat Takeaway served up a twist on its usual tagline: “Did somebody say… groceries in as little as 30 mins, namaste-ing in.” On the surface, it’s a playful nod to staying in and ordering online whilst relaxing with face masks and candles. But for us, the wordplay didn’t sit quite right. Was it something we ate?

Let’s talk about cultural appropriation.

As our CEO Asad shared after showing the ad to his friend:

“He encouraged me to understand that namaste means ‘the divine in me bows to the divine in you.’ Would they use mashallah or mazel tov in the same context?”

A reasonable question, especially since, as Asad points out, while namaste has been popularized in Western yoga culture, its true roots are historical, spiritual and religious. Namaste is a Sanskrit word that translates to "I bow to you" or "I greet the spirit within you." It’s a respectful Hindu greeting acknowledging the divine light within oneself and others. Reducing it to a pun for convenience culture not only diminishes its significance but veers into a realm far less spiritual; into appropriation.

How do we define cultural appropriation? 

Cultural appropriation is when elements of a culture that aren’t your own are adopted, often for commercial gain, without acknowledgement, understanding or respect for their historical, social, or cultural significance. For visual advertising campaigns like this, it not only applies to the people in front of the camera but also to those behind it.

This isn’t about shutting down all collaborations when a group is being represented but someone is missing. But today’s audiences are more attuned to the bigger picture: who is being represented, how have they been represented, who benefits from the portrayal, and who has decision-making power.

As an audience member herself, our Director Shilpa took the ad at face value describing it as “basic, appropriative and reductive.”

The takeaway (pun very much intended), is that cultural borrowing without cultural understanding is a risk. Whether it’s a slogan or a sacred phrase, the real creative impetus for brands should always be:

Who had input, and who had the final say?

Noting that this is a common and recurring issue for brands (remember Heinz?!), we developed a proprietary tool to help strategists and creatives better understand the differences between cultural exploitation through to cultural appreciation and everything in between, to equip them in appealing to changing societal demographics and mitigate missteps. 

Get in touch with us to learn more.