Indian ads that are breaking gender stereotypes
The role of women, be it films, tv serials, or commercials, has been boxed into the age-old traditions and chores that have been existing in the society since time immemorial. Thus, it comes as quite a refreshing change when you get to see women’s role being shared by the men on screen, or for that matter, viewers being forced to look at the women’s role in a completely new way. The TV commercials have always been meant to inform the audience about the products, but off late, they are also educating the audience about our approach and thought process. And, how that needs to change. So, you see advertisers taking pertinent issues and showing them in a new light such as discrimination at workplace, dowry, independent and self sufficient and of course, the age old tradition of seeing women as mere cooks.
The ad campaign by BIBA is the latest icing on the cake. It brings forth the idea that “Change is Beautiful”. The ad shows how a grandmother has to accept his grandson’s choice and feels glad that at least he bothered to get the family meet each other. But, she also seems concerned about dowry that they would be receiving. There comes the twist in the plot and you see the father (her own son) take up the lead and pointing out how it is okay to give sometimes because the other family is trusting them with their precious gem- their daughter. The bottomline, change is beautiful, weaves itself pretty well in the advertisement.
Here are some more advertisements that chose to be different from the crowd:
The Path Breaker - We can say that one of the first in the league was Hero Pleasure ad whose tagline mentioned: “Why should boys have all the fun?” The advertisement shows modern independent girl who can take care of her needs and is not subjugated by bullying boys. Instead, the gang of girls corner him and he realizes his mistake. The beautiful girls in colorful scooters signify modern teenagers who are unafraid to explore.
Havel’s Ad – The idea put forth through this ad campaign is to “Respect Women”. Through a series of advertisement, it is ascertained that if a work is needed to be done one should use an appliance rather than looking for a woman to do the job as she too has a life other than household chores.
Titan Raga – This advertisement featuring Katrina Kaif raises a question for girls. Here the question asked is “What is the right time to get married?” Is it when your friends are getting married or is it when when you feel lonely on Valentine’s Day? The ad ends with the statement that you should get married when you find the man that deserves your time. This ad is another benchmark in the series of ads pertaining to woman empowerment.
Another ad that has been making waves from the Titan group is the following. The ad raises a very important and much needed topic - breaking the gender bias in the corporate culture, underlying theme being, change the way you look at a women’s success.
Shadi.com – Shadi.com has come up with an ad campaign with the motto “My Conditions Apply”; where the girl says that she is ready to share her life with someone but won’t share his name. The ad propagates the desire of a woman to maintain her individuality even after marriage.
There have been several ad campaigns in the same league. “Bold is Beautiful” by Myntra, “All Women Are Bad Ass” by Levi’s, “Aadhe Tere Aadhe Mere” by OLX, “Din Ko Shine Shine Raat Ko Shine” by Sunsilk are some of the few in the league that propagate women integrity and individuality thereby breaking the stereotypical approach of the ad filmmakers. Time is changing and so is the mindset of Indian society which has become more tolerant towards the women and has started considering them as individuals rather than mere showpieces.
