New Delhi: Zomato decided to wish itself a “happy birthday” by running a full-page advertisement in one of India’s national dailies 10 July. The online food-delivery platform ran the ad anonymously, with no logo or brand name. It did, however, use the brand’s red and white colour scheme — betting on its recall value.
The full-page ad had a tagline: ‘Thank you for keeping us in your hearts (and your bank statements). A note at the bottom said: ‘No logo required, you know who we are.’
The advertisement did not yield the desired result and ended up confusing the readers on whose ad it actually was — Zomato, Airtel, Kotak or Red Bus, all brands that use the red and white colour scheme.
This forced Zomato to come up with the official statement on X, just a few hours after the newspapers hit Indian households.
“We’ve come a long way over the past 18 years, from getting cancelled on twitter to getting cancelled on X. Happy birthday to us,” reads Zomato’s X post.
we've come a long way over the past 18 years, from getting cancelled on twitter to getting cancelled on X
happy birthday to us ✨
— zomato (@zomato) July 10, 2026
Zomato was founded on July 10, 2008 in New Delhi by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah.
Bold or over-confident?
While the ad left many readers guessing, a few experts could instantly place the brand.
Vineet Chugh, a market expert, wrote on Linkedin that he guessed the brand at first glance and called Zomato’s action bold.
“I found it bold and confident, she found it overconfident and wastage of money,” wrote Chugh, adding that a brand like Zomato with deep pockets can only afford an ad without a logo.
Dozens of comments hit Zomato’s post. While some asked in awe, “Ohh its you?” while others kept associating the ad to cola or toothpaste brands. The ad left even MBA graduates puzzled.
“This is a brilliant ad. It goes on to show that a brand’s identity is beyond just the logo. It’s about how you show up every single day. Great work Kotak Mahindra Bank. Seriously impressive,” wrote Shridhar V on X.
This is a brilliant ad. It goes on to show that a brand’s identity is beyond just the logo. It’s about how you show up every single day.
Great work Kotak Mahindra Bank. Seriously impressive 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/T8grWYUABM
— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) July 10, 2026
Many users took a dig at Zomato.
“You survived every cancellation…except the cancellation of affordable delivery fees,” wrote a user.
Congratulations! You survived every cancellation… except the cancellation of affordable delivery fees. 😅
— Dheenadhayalan Pandurangan (@amigodheena) July 10, 2026
One of the users used AI and changed the ad. Using AI, he made a delivery boy on a bike with a food bag on the back seat.
Fixed it pic.twitter.com/nkY9Cmt8XZ
— dalalwolf 🐺📈 (@dalalwolf07) July 10, 2026
Another comment reads: “You have now officially claimed the colour red”.
You have now officially claimed the colour red. Rage tweets have pushed it everywhere.
— Harsh Vardhan Roy (@TheFiatBubble) July 10, 2026
(Edited by Stela Dey)