The ad tries to portray how cultural constraints limit women's progress in professional realms. There was Twitter backlash over the content of the ad.
Within no time there was a #boycottariel trend where users encouraged others to boycott the detergent as it is 'detrimental to cultural values.'
https://twitter.com/Rana_Official92/status/1142313272408006656
Others criticized PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) for allowing this advertisement to air.
https://twitter.com/Kamrankkj1/status/1142295542443184129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142295542443184129&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.divaonline.com.pk%2Fariels-pro-woman-ad-gathers-tons-of-misogynistic-backlash%2F
https://twitter.com/jibranNjibran/status/1142336473645158401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142336473645158401&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.divaonline.com.pk%2Fariels-pro-woman-ad-gathers-tons-of-misogynistic-backlash%2F
While there was a campaign against Ariel, others defended the detergent's marketing strategy and blamed the inherent patriarchal values for public outrage over the advertisement.
https://twitter.com/getoverthings/status/1142338458989551616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142338458989551616&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.divaonline.com.pk%2Fariels-pro-woman-ad-gathers-tons-of-misogynistic-backlash%2F
Taha Siddiqui, a journalist, said in one of his tweets,
https://twitter.com/TahaSSiddiqui/status/1142346337717039104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142346337717039104&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.divaonline.com.pk%2Fariels-pro-woman-ad-gathers-tons-of-misogynistic-backlash%2F
When will we get rid of such toxic [religious] masculinity?
Another ad featuring women's cricket faced the same kind of backlash a few years ago when Q Mobile's ad showed a girl living her dream of representing Pakistan in the World Cup and Orya Maqbool Jan thought that a girl running to bowl was against Pakistan's cultural norms.