Sisca and GoFood pulled a fast one on netizens
As the host of Aroma, one of Indonesia’s first cooking shows that launched in 1996, Sisca Soewitomo holds a special place in the hearts of Indonesian millennials. Her iconic hairdo and memorable catchphrase are as loved as her food recipes and motherly cooking videos.
So when the beloved figure published a cryptic Instagram post hinting at retirement, netizens across the country were understandably left broken-hearted. Well, it turns out that pranks aren’t just for clout-seeking YouTubers as Sisca’s post was all part of a marketing stunt with online food delivery GoFood.
The truth behind Sisca’s retirement rumors
Sisca’s original post hinting at retirement
Image credit: @sisca.soewitomo
This saga began on 4th August when Sisca published an Instagram post about hanging up her pans, subtly hinting at her own retirement. The post immediately went viral, garnering over 50,000 likes as of writing.
Image credit: @misss_minah
Users were quick to share their fond memories of Bu Sisca, with @misss_minah mentioning how she fell in love with Sisca’s cooking show in elementary school well before the era of MasterChef.
Image credit: GoFood Indonesia
Two days after the initial post, GoFood finally played their hand by uploading a video of Sisca clarifying her previous statement on Twitter. Alluding to the media brouhaha over her ‘retirement’, she revealed that she’s hanging up her pans temporarily to take advantage of discounts on GoFood.
The video immediately went viral, with more than 10,000 retweets and almost as many likes as of writing. Netizens too were quick to acknowledge both parties for their out-of-the-box marketing stunt.
Netizens praised Sisca and GoFood for their ingenuity
Sisca Soewitomo at a cooking show in 2019
Image credit: @sisca.soewitomo
Despite online pranks generally having a negative reception here, Sisca’s ‘retirement’ received a mostly warm reception among Indonesians. Many users were quick to praise both Sisca and GoFood for their surprising marketing stunt.
Image credit: @dimas_ade02
Praising both parties, @dimas_ade02 commented that even someone with a PhD in marketing from Harvard would be brought to tears by this stunt.
Image credit: @hendralm
Meanwhile, @hendralm compared this to another viral video from last year of 2 women bickering over rendang at a wedding, which turned out to be part of a marketing campaign from MSG brand Sasa.
For the most part, netizens were simply amused at how a 71-year-old culinary icon known for her maternal image was able to pull out the rug from under them.
A heartbreaking saga with a hilarious ending
It’s heartwarming that what was originally going to be a sad farewell to a culinary icon turned out to be a harmless marketing stunt. GoFood is already well-known enough to not need this kind of virality, but their clever posts do deserve some credit.
For our part, we’re just relieved that Bu Sisca isn’t hanging up her pans and exiting the culinary world just yet.
Also read:
- Asian Food Network website now available in Bahasa Indonesia
- 10 Indonesian YouTube cooking channels
- 8 dessert home business in Jakarta
Cover image adapted from @sisca.soewitomo and @sisca.soewitomo
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