The advertising industry is going through a churn, making an effort to get rid of gender stereotypes. There was a time, not long ago, when detergent commercials almost always showed women struggling with dirty collars. A new detergent/soap would make her task easier so that the man could beam at work in front of his superiors with a sparkling white shirt. Washing machines helped her further, but it was still she frowning over collars and socks.
A regular woman might still fret and fume over dirty clothes at home but the new breed of commercials understands that she would appreciate if household tasks are shared.
Ariel’s new commercial featuring two elderly women in conversation sends a clear message with ‘is laundry only a woman’s job?’ and the hash tagged phrase #sharetheload. A bunch of ads have been focusing on similar issues in the recent past.
Havell’s #RespectWomen campaign stated that ‘women are not kitchen appliances’. In each of the ads, be it for a coffeemaker, juicer or steam iron, the company urged both men and women to shake away the mindset that a woman’s place is primarily in the kitchen. As an extension of this campaign, Havell’s also had a music video featuring singer Vasudha Sharma and percussionist Sarthak Mudgal recreating the ‘Humma humma’ song with the beats coming from kitchen appliances. These hash tag campaigns help brands earn brownie points on social networking sites.
Director Nandini Reddy welcomes this shift in focus in advertising and says, “These ads are fabulous; they represent the new woman and a changing mindset. I’m glad we are getting past Hema, Rekha, Jaya and Sushma of washing powder Nirma phase. To an extent, these ads are also about different positioning to get noticed.”
Advertising professional Vijay Marur attributes this to the change in division of labour within the advertising industry itself. “For a long time there was a divide between male and female creative directors in ad agencies. A woman copywriter wasn’t encouraged enough. But today, we wouldn’t be surprised if a woman copywriter or creative director was the brain behind a car commercial and men had written a baby food campaign. It is less likely that a male copywriter can shrug away the task of writing for baby food today.
If he is good at English and can empathise with the issue, he might as well do the task,” explains Marur.
He says the advertising industry is reflecting the change of perception about women in society. “There may be aberrations, but I believe actual activism is no longer necessary.
Women are beginning to get the respect that they deserve; their voices are pragmatic than defiant.”
Moving away from kitchen appliances, commercials also address career and work-life balance. Nimrat Kaur is quietly assertive and glad to have moved away from the man who wanted her to give up work in the Titan Raga commercial #HerLifeHerChoices. The Airtel commercial featuring the woman as a tough boss who took her husband to task, and showed her heading home and whipping up a delicious meal for him came in for flak. But there were equally fervent voices, from both men and women, which supported the woman’s choice of wearing a wife’s hat at home. “Since she reaches home first, she cooks dinner. What’s wrong with that? I like the new bunch of commercials that move away from stereotypes, but I’m also concerned if this sudden wave is also fuelling pseudo feminism. I’ve also come across videos that indulge in needless male bashing,” says singer Harini Rao.
There is a tendency to go overboard, agrees Vijay Marur, but hints, “Things go overboard before they stabilise.”
Santha John, chairman Emeritus, JWT Mindset Advertising, looks at the bigger picture and says it’s still a man’s world. “These silly ads are just that — silly or just a dream to say how wonderful it would be if it was an equal world. Advertising is always a reflection of society and cannot drive society. If it tries, it is not reflective of the same society.”
Nandini Reddy says, “There is a change but let’s not get carried away. Films and ads have an aspirational value so even if 1 in 10,000 people get motivated, it’s good.”
