A spokesman of  Vodafone on Friday denied charges of cruelty to its mascot pug. The charges had been levelled by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

Officials in Nirvana Films, which had made the ad, said: “The AWBI is unaware of modern techniques of filmmaking. No single shot of a television commercial lasts more than 15 seconds at the most. Therefore, to suggest that the dog suffered due to exhaustion by chasing a bus is taking things a bit too far.”