Domex’s print ad had The Times of India smell like a freshly cleaned toilet

Thanks to the new Domex FreshGaurd, a new toilet cleaner from HUL’s Domex... It created quite the buzz on Twitter today morning.

The first smell most of us wish to take in when we wake up is of a hot cup of tea or coffee. Today on 19 November 2020, many of us woke up with the same expectation but it wasn’t meant to be.

A lot of people including yours truly whiffed something wrong in the air. Several noses smelt flowers, some didn’t understand what it was, and many could smell the odour of a recently cleaned toilet. Who was cleaning their bathroom at 7 am?

Well, the culprit for these many smells wasn’t your neighbour. It was, in fact, the front page ad from Domex, a Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) brand that offers a range of household cleaners in The Times of India.

Domex decided to run a full-page ad on ‘World Toilet Day’ (19 November) and choose to feature a western toilet as the protagonist. The copy read, “The next time you step into a toilet, stop. Sniff the air. If it smells bad, even slightly, you know that the toilet isn’t safe. Because an unpleasant odour is the surest sign of germs."

"Now smell this paper. It’s the Domex FreshGaurd fragrance. If your toilet smells like this, it’s proof it is safe from germs.”

The print ad’s copy also stated Domex FreshGaurd kills 99.9 per cent germs and keeps the toilet fresh for 3 days non-stop. The brand had sprayed its new FreshGaurd on the front page and hence the alien smell/fragrance/odour.

To nobody’s surprise, Twitter was abuzz today morning with tales of sniffs and odours and fumes.... They weren't too pleased.

Smell the paper? In COVID times ? To know how clean toilet is? #Domex is Broadly linking fresh smell to link typhoid, jaundice causing germ-free toilets. I must say it’s overkill. @ambi @afaqs @pawankulkarni @HUL_News pic.twitter.com/xKZhvIy1aJ

— Gauri Chaudhari (@ChaudhariGauri) November 19, 2020

What a innovative way to make you wear mask at home too.. 😷#Toilet4All #domex decide to make news paper smell like toilet cleaner!
I feel sad for the person who distributed these papers in the morning, he might still be taking shower 🚿 pic.twitter.com/C05JYgdlI3

— $ourabh ¢henni (@sourabh_chenni) November 19, 2020

Behold the latest in Times of India’s “innovations”. A newspaper that makes your entire room and morning smell like a toilet. Quite literally, 🗞 —> 🧻. pic.twitter.com/XWM3YB5Y2k

— Rohin Dharmakumar (@r0h1n) November 19, 2020

Hey Domex,⁠
⁠
Saw your ad in The Times of India today.  We'd like to say it doesn't end there.⁠
⁠
Just because it's germ-free doesn't mean it's good for us. The lingering fragrance just masks the acidic fumes left behind by the cleaner. ⁠ pic.twitter.com/6Jc3u46BVP

— the_betterhome (@the_betterhome) November 19, 2020

Dear @DomexIndia, today’s @timesofindia smelled so strongly of toilet. The whole house smelt of #Domex. Appreciate the intent of your ad but, it was repulsive.#WorldToiletDay2020 pic.twitter.com/tlOKdCms1Q

— sanjai velayudhan (@v_sanjai) November 19, 2020