In late February this year, up and coming phone brand Micromax launched a campaign for its new model called Superfone Ninja. The campaign showed a man telling a woman about him going out with another woman, proclaiming that he will sleep with her and not marry her. At the end of the ad, the man asks: “Are you jealous?” to which the girl replies: “I am not programmed for that”. This is where we find out that ‘Aisha’ is actually an Artificial Intelligence software in the said phone.
The commercial was slammed by women activist groups and ad makers because they felt the ad was objectifying women and showing them to be meek and ready to bend to men’s whimsical demands. The final line "Wish every girl was like Aisha.” was definitely a subtle hint at this thought.
The Micromax Aisha Ad
This has not been the first time that women have been portrayed in a negative light in advertisements. For many years, women have been shown as subdued housewives, office airhead or demanding girlfriend among others. In the 80’s Surf ventured into dangerous territory when they created the ‘Lataji’ campaign. The campaign showed women, especially housewives as an integrated part of the family’s decision making. The ad was a runaway success and it opened up an avenue for advertisers to cast women as empowered. But still, there was a severe lack of such ads in the years that followed. For example, there are still many ads which are still portraying women as second class citizens or objects that need the help of a special product to add an iota of value to their life.
Who can forget the ad for the popular fairness cream Fair and Lovely, where a father regrets the fact that he doesn’t have a son when the daughter cannot find a job thanks to her ‘dark’ complexion. The epilogue of the advert shows the girl getting a job (apparently due to her new glowing complexion and not her skills) and the father being proud of his daughter. And this was not the last time Fair and Lovely used this tactic. In almost every ad that followed, there have been direct remarks on the girl’s looks over personality factor. Even for their men’s range of products called Fair and Handsome, the modus operandi of everyone using the product in the ads seem to be luring a gaggle of girls to shower their love on these new and improved ‘Handsome’ men.
The Fair & Lovely 'Father-Daughter' ad
If they are not shown as objects, they are shown as the ones who constantly bend to the whims and fancies of their husbands by making sure their clothes are washed properly with the best detergent in the market, or their dishes are clean with the best dishwashing liquid. The premise behind most of these ads seems to be that you need our product to be a ‘good’ woman.
But it seems advertisers have a good defense to fall back on if and when they are questioned about these ads. According to their research, many advertisers believe that women like to receive such kind of adulation from their spouses. And hence, they believe that these products actually provide a solution for their problems. This has caused a vicious circle where advertising is affecting the society and vice versa.
Then again, there is still a ray of hope for women in the near future. Towards the end of 2012, a commercial by banking giant HDFC, which shows a woman buying a vacation plan for her parents, received a lot of positive reviews from both feminists as well as ad men.
There are lots of ads apart from these which have been targeting as well as highlighting young, independent women who can make their own financial decisions. Brands like Marie Gold, Mia jewellery and as one blogger pointed out, MIOT hospitals.
By and large, a woman’s presence has been integral to many ads, but in the recent, turbulent times we live in, if we keep aside all the said and done research, it is still morally correct to show a woman playing second fiddle to men in mainstream advertising?
Sources:
Women's Web
Firstpost
The commercial was slammed by women activist groups and ad makers because they felt the ad was objectifying women and showing them to be meek and ready to bend to men’s whimsical demands. The final line "Wish every girl was like Aisha.” was definitely a subtle hint at this thought.
This has not been the first time that women have been portrayed in a negative light in advertisements. For many years, women have been shown as subdued housewives, office airhead or demanding girlfriend among others. In the 80’s Surf ventured into dangerous territory when they created the ‘Lataji’ campaign. The campaign showed women, especially housewives as an integrated part of the family’s decision making. The ad was a runaway success and it opened up an avenue for advertisers to cast women as empowered. But still, there was a severe lack of such ads in the years that followed. For example, there are still many ads which are still portraying women as second class citizens or objects that need the help of a special product to add an iota of value to their life.
Who can forget the ad for the popular fairness cream Fair and Lovely, where a father regrets the fact that he doesn’t have a son when the daughter cannot find a job thanks to her ‘dark’ complexion. The epilogue of the advert shows the girl getting a job (apparently due to her new glowing complexion and not her skills) and the father being proud of his daughter. And this was not the last time Fair and Lovely used this tactic. In almost every ad that followed, there have been direct remarks on the girl’s looks over personality factor. Even for their men’s range of products called Fair and Handsome, the modus operandi of everyone using the product in the ads seem to be luring a gaggle of girls to shower their love on these new and improved ‘Handsome’ men.
If they are not shown as objects, they are shown as the ones who constantly bend to the whims and fancies of their husbands by making sure their clothes are washed properly with the best detergent in the market, or their dishes are clean with the best dishwashing liquid. The premise behind most of these ads seems to be that you need our product to be a ‘good’ woman.
But it seems advertisers have a good defense to fall back on if and when they are questioned about these ads. According to their research, many advertisers believe that women like to receive such kind of adulation from their spouses. And hence, they believe that these products actually provide a solution for their problems. This has caused a vicious circle where advertising is affecting the society and vice versa.
Then again, there is still a ray of hope for women in the near future. Towards the end of 2012, a commercial by banking giant HDFC, which shows a woman buying a vacation plan for her parents, received a lot of positive reviews from both feminists as well as ad men.
There are lots of ads apart from these which have been targeting as well as highlighting young, independent women who can make their own financial decisions. Brands like Marie Gold, Mia jewellery and as one blogger pointed out, MIOT hospitals.
By and large, a woman’s presence has been integral to many ads, but in the recent, turbulent times we live in, if we keep aside all the said and done research, it is still morally correct to show a woman playing second fiddle to men in mainstream advertising?
Sources:
Women's Web
Firstpost
No comments:
Post a Comment