Ola's '8 missed calls from mom' marketing gimmick infuriates Twitter; 'terrible clickbait'

Companies use various means to promote ir products and services. And in of social media and baits, promotions have w gone to a whole new level. On Wednesday, Ola, one of successful startups in India, happened to promote one of its services, which enrd its customers.

In a decision that has been extensively criticised on social media, cab aggregator company, Ola, shared a tification reing "8 missed calls from mom" with several of ir customers to offer a 40 per cent discount on certain services. However, marketing gimmick used by company to promote its service did t go down well. Whereas a single missed call from one's mor can cause worry, Ola's mess caused anxiety until customers realised it was just a marketing tactic to get a 40% discount on specific services.

Ola's marketing stunt draws Twitter's ire

People shared screenshots on ir social media accounts and called this gimmick distasteful. One of Twitter users shared screenshot and captioned it, "Olacabs why are you trying to give me a heart attack???!! 8 missed calls from mom??!!!"

Ar user called this marketing style, "a terrible bait."

Ola's marketing experiment, according to many ors on  microblogging platform, did thing but generate worry. 

Some users from or social media platforms also reacted to Ola's objectionable marketing. One of LinkedIn users, Kartik Bhatia  Chief Operating Officer of Sharaf Retail, slammed marketing stunt of company and said, "A banner tification with 5-20 missed calls from MOM would flash on mobile - setting a panic - followed by a silly 40% off on ir services. Imagine impact of such an vert on people like me who recently lost ir mors/ or people who live away from ir ailing mors …. vert is a bait tactic - but strikes a poor chord and leaves a very bitter aftertaste."

Ola's anxiety-inducing tification was also shared on Reddit, where it received over 24,000 'upvotes.' Many people urged Ola to be more sensitive in future campaigns in comments section. One of users on Reddit said, "Imagine sending this tification to someone whose mom recently died or went missing. Terrible company." While ar one said, "This is highly upsetting."

Ola's marketing gaffe comes only one day after e-commerce giant Flipkart was chastised for its Women's Day campaign. Flipkart put out a mess on International Women's Day promoting kitchen appliances, which many on social media condemned as sexist.