Suvendu Adhikari invites ridicule after unveiling new logo of West Bengal Tourism

Tathagata Roy, a veteran BJP leader from West Bengal, former Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya and a member of the committee drafting a uniform civil code for West Bengal, is livid. Upset after seeing the logo and the promotional video of West Bengal Tourism unveiled on Friday by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, Roy, who was in New Delhi to attend a meeting of the committee, fumed on social media, “This is a very stupid and amateurish video! Why should scenes from Moscow, Egypt and Rio de Janiero feature in a video on West Bengal? And ‘how India feels different’! Is it trying to showcase West Bengal or the whole of India? This video does disservice to the achievements of the BJP government of West Bengal. I suggest this be dropped IMMEDIATELY, and the person who visualised and created this transferred to fisheries or some such department.”

He is not alone. Several Bengalis voiced their shock and outrage over the new branding. “Extremely shoddy work, has zero vibes & has zero connect with West Bengal; and the tag line is just as stupid… Mamata Banerjee’s govt tourism campaign ads with the tagline, “the sweetest part of India” was way better, conceded many. Trust BJP to make a mess of everything, said others in exasperation.

An X handle @Joydas posted, “West Bengal Government has unveiled a new logo and tagline for tourism and I can’t even begin to say how trashy this communication is. Let’s start with the bare minimum - the background music. With a plethora of instruments available, they have come up with this trash that can put anyone to sleep…the visuals and the shoddy video show the Howrah Bridge and then move on to deserts, pyramids and places and landmarks that are not in West Bengal.”

The outrage was caused because the state takes pride in its long tradition of classy advertising, music and films. There is no dearth of cultural icons unique to West Bengal and there are many talented artists, filmmakers and graphic artists whose services were not apparently utilised. While a Republic TV anchor, usually, sympathetic to the BJP and Suvendu Adhikari, agreed that the logo and the video were trashy, he seemed to be blaming an Oscar nominee, without naming him, for the disastrous branding.     

The tagline- ‘where India feels different’- also came in for scathing criticism. People saw it as too generic, which can be placed anywhere. “It can even be the tagline of an amusement park; or a residential project. It doesn’t evoke any emotion. Compare it with Kerala tourism’s - God’s own Country. Or Rajasthan’s - Padharo Mhare Desh...,” fumed people on X.

“This is how West Bengal Tourism showcased Bengal during Mamata Banerjee’s era. There was culture, character, sweetness & subtlety. Today, BJP govt's branding is an AI-generated aberration with barely anything representing Bengal. What a decline,” posted the handle ‘The Bengal Cartel.’

Supreme Court advocate Sanjoy Ghose was also upset. Tagging a promotional video released by the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government, he posted this on X: “Suvendu, you have replaced this with that tacky AI shit show on the pyramids, London Bridge, St Peter’s Square and Rio’s Christ the Redeemer! Bengal will not forgive you!” Many wondered if the contract was given to a Gujarat-based agency.

The unkindest cut was when an anonymous artist from the state posted this on X: “…the logo is horrendous. Looks like children’s book cover. I generated this using AI by taking inspiration from ancient Pala era royal seal that was found in Malda. Took me a few minutes; (and yet) they spent months making that horrendous branding…