Flipkart Faces Backlash Over Obituary-Style Freedom Sale Ad: "Disgusting And Insensitive"

Flipkart is facing backlash on social media over an unusual print advertisement that used the visual language of obituary notices for its Freedom Sale. The advertisement featured photographs and personal details of living individuals placed inside memorial-style boxes. Above them was the prominent line that the company was not sad at all, followed by copy suggesting that while the people featured would continue to live, Flipkart's deals were about to disappear as the sale approached its final day.

The campaign quickly drew criticism on social media, with several users calling the concept insensitive and inappropriate. Author and columnist Shobhaa De also criticised the campaign and urged consumers to boycott Flipkart.

"The most self-serving,  disgusting and insensitive ad ! How dare you @Flipkart. Shame on you !! Hope your "sale " flops and consumers boycott you," she wrote.

Check out the tweet here:

The most self-serving, disgusting and insensitive ad ! How dare you @Flipkart . Shame on you !! Hope your "sale " flops and consumers boycott you!#flipcart #sale #freedom pic.twitter.com/8eJ9Ft1Xkj

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) August 16, 2026

It is unclear whether the people featured in the advertisement are real. Some social media users also questioned whether the campaign was generated or assisted by artificial intelligence, but the focus of the criticism remained the choice of using death and memorial imagery as a marketing device.

One user wrote, "Unbelievably atrocious! The whole creative team/agency deserves to be sacked. Those who green-lit this tripe need to go, too." Another commented, "We should leave normal people with dignity in death. This ad is insensitive and inhuman."

Some saw no problem with the ad, with a third user saying, "It grabs attention, the images are AI, it's not very funny I agree, but what's the harm? Who is it insensitive to?" A fourth countered the remark by responding, "Even if images are AI generated the spirit with which Ad is being presented is horribly wrong...you can't use death as premise to pitch your freedom sale...even the thought remains regressive & flawed outrightly."

Flipkart has not publicly addressed the backlash or clarified which newspaper editions carried the advertisement.

The Flipkart Freedom Sale began on August 8, with early access for eligible customers on August 7. The sale offered discounts across categories including smartphones, laptops, televisions, appliances, fashion and household products and is scheduled to end on August 16.