Almost six months after it rolled out its premium One BLCK membership, Swiggy has taken the invite-only service to Delhi. The brand’s high-profile promotional campaign in the national capital, however, has landed in controversy, eclipsing the premium rollout.

Controversy broke out when Swiggy took out a front-page advertisement in a top national daily to promote the launch of One BLCK. The advertisement front and center had the words “Dilli Se Hu BLCK” which critics allege very closely resembles a widely popular Hindi slang with obscene overtones.

Journalist criticizes ad as “notorious”

Reporter Sanket Upadhyay was among the first to fault the campaign. He posted a photo of the ad on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “Notorious advertising, permitted on the front page of an elite newspaper. This is a play on an abusive slang. Amazing how all this is cool and normalised.”

His blog post soon received widespread support from many netizens, who resonated with his sentiments. One of them wrote, “There needs to be a code to impose reasonable checks on such kinds of abusive advertisements.” Another user commented, “Newspapers alone cannot be faulted for this; those with the responsibility of communication have the first duty.”

Mixed reactions from the public

Whereas some blasted the tone of the brand, labeling it as “normalising bad,” others came to the defense of the ad, claiming that the outrage was uncalled for. “I get most outrage from you, but this frustration is super misplaced. This is like the most non-issue issue,” one commenter replied to Upadhyay’s post.

Another said, “People are getting too sensitive. It’s just marketing language, not an insult.”

What is One BLCK?

Swiggy‘s One BLCK is a invite-only high-end service meant for high-value customers. It has a range of upgraded features, such as priority delivery, elite dining benefits like free drinks and desserts, and special customer care from best-in-class support agents, as per the company.

Significantly, One BLCK customers will retain the benefits of the current Swiggy One membership in addition to the premium features.

Brand’s intent meets consumer sensitivity

Even with the controversy, Swiggy has not made a public statement to address the backlash. The controversy brings up the bigger issue of on what fine line edgy marketing veers towards cultural insensitivity, particularly when brands tap into colloquial language in multicultural markets such as India.