Founder Raises Concerns Over Bombay Shaving Company's WhatsApp Marketing Frequency
Debajyoti Jena, founder of The StartUp Circle, publicly criticized Bombay Shaving Company for sending him frequent promotional messages via three official WhatsApp business accounts, totaling about nine messages daily. Feeling overwhelmed, he blocked these accounts and questioned the company's marketing approach in a LinkedIn post, tagging CEO Shantanu Deshpande and other leaders. Deshpande acknowledged the issue, apologized, and committed to improving communication to balance outreach with customer comfort. The incident sparked broader discussion on marketing practices.
First-hand measurement across 6 sources
We measured how 6 outlets covered this story. Coverage leans balanced overall (Left 0%, Centre 100%, Right 0%). Overall sentiment is neutral (40/100). Lens Score 30/100 — low public interest.
Outlets analysed (first-hand measurement by TBN's Bias Engine):
- ndtv— balanced framing, neutral sentiment
- indianexpress— balanced framing, neutral sentiment
- news18— balanced framing, neutral sentiment
- hindustantimes— balanced framing, neutral sentiment
- mint— balanced framing, negative sentiment
- indiatoday— balanced framing, neutral sentiment
AI Analysis
The articles primarily present a consumer complaint against a corporate marketing practice, featuring the founder's critical perspective and the company's response. Coverage focuses on business communication ethics without political framing, representing both the customer's grievances and the CEO's acknowledgment. The narrative centers on corporate accountability and customer experience, reflecting a neutral business discourse rather than political viewpoints.
The overall tone across the articles is mixed, combining frustration and criticism from the customer about excessive messaging with a conciliatory and apologetic response from the company. While the complaint highlights annoyance and intrusion, the CEO's apology and promise to improve introduce a constructive and solution-oriented sentiment, balancing negative and positive elements in the coverage.