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Papa John's pulls Papadia 'Yoga' ad after US Hindu leader's complaint

Papa John's said it is removing its so-called "Yoga" ad for Papadia sandwiches after complaints from a U.S. Hindu leader that it is offensive to the religion and its adherents.

Papa John's pulls its so-called "Yoga" ad after Hindu leader's complaint (photo: iStock).

March 26, 2020

Papa John's said today it is removing its so-called "Papadia Yoga" commercial over the next week throughout its airing channels after a U.S.-based Hindu leader called on the Louisville, Kentucky-based pizza company "to immediately withdraw its Papadias TV Commercial, 'Yoga,' and apologize." The complaint and brand response both came to this website via email this morning, with the brand responding almost immediately to the complaint, which was made by Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism.  

The commercial, which shows a close-up of a beef-laden pizza being folded in half to create the brand's Papadia sandwich, includes a voice-over stating, "I bet you've never seen a sandwich do yoga before!" Then the voice-over artist simply hums the syllable, "Om," before closing the ad with the words, "Introducing the new Papadia for just six bucks." 

According to Zed, the ad "unnecessarily and unreasonably trivialized the greatly revered Hindu concepts/symbols Om and Yoga," which the religious leader said Hindus see as highly "inappropriate." The statement also called attention to the fact that the commercial links those Hindu concepts with what it called "beef-laced pizza," considered highly offensive since Hindus consider the cow to be holy. 

In Hinduism —  the world's oldest religion — Om is a mystical sacred syllable that contains the universe and it is used to begin and end religious practice. It is considered the most powerful mantra. Yoga represents union with God.

"Pizza delivery companies should not be in the business of mocking serious religious concepts," Zed stated in the release, while urging Papa John's CEO Robert Lynch to offer a formal apology.

In a response this morning, a Papa John's spokeswoman said:

"In everything we do, we’re guided by our values and our purpose that we love pizza and it brings us all together. We strive to demonstrate these values each day to create a people-first culture where truly everyone belongs. We are in the process of removing this commercial from rotation, which will take full effect over the next week."

Hinduism has more than 1 billion adherents globally.