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Uber apologises for promotion that offered to ‘let your wife take a day off from the kitchen’

The taxi firm’s PR stunt led to online backlash.
The taxi firm’s PR stunt led to online backlash. The taxi firm’s PR stunt led to online backlash.

Uber has apologised after a promotional message that asked men to let their wives “take a day off from the kitchen” and order food through their service sparked online backlash.

Uber Bangalore sent its customers a message on Sunday that offered users of UberEats a 100-Rupee (£1.16) discount on orders of more than 400 Rupees (£4.62) to mark “Wife Appreciation Day”.

People took to social media to slam the promotional stunt, with many accusing the taxi firm of reinforcing gender stereotypes in India.

The backlash caught the eye of Uber’s chief brand officer Bozoma Saint John, who vowed to “take care of this”, saying it was “completely unacceptable”.

A few hours later, Uber tweeted an apology for the “totally inappropriate” promotion and said that it had been removed.

The incident is the latest in a long line of Uber PR fails.

Earlier this year, the company was accused of allowing a driver who sexually assaulted a passenger to strike again, which led to the resignation of its former CEO Travis Kalanick.