3 min readMumbaiJun 18, 2026 06:31 PM IST
The internet was enraged by an advertisement shared by the official Instagram handle of Durex Pakistan earlier this week. The condom brand shared a still from Curry Barker’s Hollywood horror sleeper hit Obsession with a rather problematic product placement, accompanied by an even more inappropriate tagline.
Why was the ad removed?
“Make her obsessed with you,” stated the still, in which Michael Johnston’s Bear is sitting in his car in front of the silhouette of his love interest, Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette in the film. Sitting on the dashboard are the One Wish Willow and a condom with Durex’s branding. The caption only made matters worse: “Send this to your Freaky Nikki.”
The internet couldn’t wrap its head around the tone-deaf ad, particularly given the film is a chilling cautionary tale on consent. “The One Wish Willow beside the condom is just disgusting. Why are we promoting non-consensual sex? You’re awful,” commented an Instagram user. “This makes me want to throw up so bad,” wrote another. “Literally disgusting,” summed up a third one. Following the massive backlash, Durex Pakistan has now removed the ad from its Instagram feed.
For those who haven’t seen Obsession
Obsession revolves around Bear, a college kid who has a crush on his batchmate Nikki, but he’s unable to express his feelings for her. So, he takes a desperate way out and catches hold of a One Wish Willow, a supernatural prop that makes your wish come true, irrevocably though. After Bear wishes for Nikki to get obsessed with her, she turns into a dangerously obsessive girlfriend immediately.
The obsession becomes too overwhelming for Bear, who tries to turn back his wish, only to realize the hard way that him using the One Wish Willow is equivalent to him forcing himself on her by manipulating her agency. *Spoiler* The film ends with a helpless and guilt-ridden Bear dying by suicide since his death is the only way Nikki can return to her senses.
Obsession brutally censored in India
Obsession, however, was brutally censored in India by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) despite its ‘A’ rating. Multiple changes made to the film included a critical scene where Bear gets intimate with Nikki, moments after the actual Nikki confesses she’s never been in love with Bear and pleads him to kill her in order to rescue her from the possession. In the intimate scene, even as Nikki’s eyes are dead and she isn’t feeling anything, Bear continues to get more and more intimate with her. Had that scene been retained, it would’ve made the film’s critique of non-consensual sex even sharper.
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Made on a budget of less than $1 million, Obsession went on to amass over $250 million at the worldwide box office. It marks the feature directorial debut of Barker, a 26-year-old YouTuber. In the process, it became Focus Films’ biggest opener ever. In India, Obsession has earned over Rs 70 crore so far, in less than three weeks.
Durex Pakistan removes Obsession-themed ad after online backlash.