GIVA pulls Kriti Sanon ad over staff safety

Jewellery brand GIVA clarified on Saturday why it withdrew its Rakshabandhan advertisement featuring actor Kriti Sanon. Founder Ishendra Agarwal said the decision was driven by concerns over the physical safety of on-ground employees and stores, not a change in the brand's position on the campaign's message.

Addressing the controversy on Instagram, Agarwal stated there had been a perception that the company backed away following the backlash. He asserted the brand's belief in the campaign's intent "remains unchanged." The advertisement was created in collaboration with Sanon and intended to celebrate Raksha Bandhan as a festival that brings families together.

The business rationale

The decision to remove the advertisement was taken quickly after the situation around some GIVA stores escalated. Agarwal cited "incidents creating an unsafe environment for our on-ground teams" as the prompt. The safety of employees and stores was the brand's first responsibility, he said. This clarification provides a business rationale for the withdrawal, coming after GIVA had earlier said on August 26 it was removing the ad "out of respect."

In that earlier statement, the company said it respected Indian culture, traditions and festivals. GIVA added that if the advertisement had inadvertently hurt sentiments, that was not its intention. The campaign was intended to celebrate Rakshabandhan with families and pets.

The advertisement and backlash

The advertisement featured Sanon wearing a bralette-style blouse with a cape and draped skirt while celebrating Rakshabandhan. She was also shown tying a rakhi to a dog. The campaign drew criticism on social media. Some users objected to Sanon's attire in an advertisement centred on a traditional festival. Others questioned the inclusion of a pet.

The backlash triggered political reactions. BJP MP Kangana Ranaut criticised the advertisement and questioned the styling, while Rahul Gandhi came out in support of Sanon. Sanon herself responded, arguing that the meaning of a festival should not be judged by what a woman wears. She said Rakshabandhan represented a bond of protection and that the sentiment extended to pets as family members.

GIVA's business context

The episode puts a spotlight on the business Agarwal has built since entering the jewellery market in 2019. He identified a shift in how Indians could buy and wear jewellery. His thesis, as reported by Moneycontrol, was that jewellery would increasingly be treated as an everyday accessory rather than purely an investment.

That idea led to GIVA, a Bengaluru-based fine jewellery brand co-founded by Agarwal, Nikita Prasad and Sachin Shetty. The company started with an investment of ₹10 lakh. Its latest valuation, according to Tracxn data cited in the information shared, stands at about ₹4,924.55 crore as of July 28, 2026.

Daily orders jumped from around one to nearly 250 in a single day early on, forcing the founders to pack orders through the day and night. The company soon ran out of inventory. GIVA entered a market where established online jewellery brands were already present. Agarwal believed there was room for a more affordable proposition.

Gold was expensive, making higher-value jewellery purchases more difficult to sell online. The company therefore focused on silver jewellery, positioning it as a premium yet relatively accessible offering. The company remains a loss-making entity.

The numbers point to a business that has scaled significantly but continues to spend as it expands its retail footprint and operations. Agarwal's clarification suggests the decision to withdraw the advertisement was more a risk and safety decision than a rejection of the creative direction.