Desperate times call for desperate measures. In other words, in times of crisis, you have got to adapt if you want the best ‘deal’.
That’s what many thought after reading a matrimonial advertisement which is breaking the internet.
In the viral ad, a 24-year-old self-employed woman having received both doses of Covishield is looking for a man who, along with other traits, has to be completely vaccinated.
The newspaper cutout ad left most internet users in splits.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also shared the ad, and wrote: “No doubt the preferred marriage gift will be a booster shot!? Is this going to be our New Normal?”
Vaccinated bride seeks vaccinated groom! No doubt the preferred marriage gift will be a booster shot!? Is this going to be our New Normal? pic.twitter.com/AJXFaSAbYs
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 8, 2021
Several people, however, doubts whether the ad was genuine.
As it turns out, it was a “harmless” campaign by a man from Goa, meant to persuade people to get vaccinated.
Pharmacist Savio Figueiredo, who created the ad, managed to fool a number of people and he has been receiving numerous calls.
His original post, shared on Facebook last week, had a matrimonial ad titled “The future of Matrimonials”. Along with the ad, he shared a phone number of a vaccination centre, explaining the revised dates to get the second dose of the injection.
“I created the ad with the intention of encouraging people to take the vaccine and posted it on my Facebook page. Someone got the bull by the tail, thought it was real, and now it has gone viral,” the 58-year-old Figueiredo told IndianExpress.com.
He revealed he started getting calls from places like Kolkata, Mangaluru and Odisha, enquiring about the marriage prospect.
Figueiredo is happy that it reached a wider audience and stressed that he had good intentions only. “If even 10 people who are on the fence get vaccinated, I will be satisfied… No harm done”, he remarked.
