Opinion: It’s Not The Ads, Our Mindset Is Where The Problem Lies

Recently, Dabur fem and Fabindia’s ads came under scrutiny. Over the years, some of India’s biggest companies have had to pull out advertisements that have had a social message. The reason behind it is the hurt sentiments of the mob that feel the message of the ads go against their beliefs.

Every 2 minutes, we come across an advertisement, be it while watching our favourite shows or watching Youtube. Advertisements are crucial for brands to endorse their products and elevate their brands.

However, sometimes, even a well-thought and well-scripted ad meant to bring a social change gets criticised and gets cancelled for it’s against the “normal thinking” of people.

The withdrawal of Manyavar’s ad, Dabur’s Fem bleach ad, FabIndia’s ad and Tanishq’s ad shows how easily sentiments of Indians can be hurt and how fast they take “relevant” actions.

Most of these brands and ads are focused on women and try to portray how disturbing certain patriarchal or societal rituals are. Let’s look at what these ads were about and how quickly people took a stand against them.

The Manyavar Ad

“Boycott Manyavar” started trending on Twitter hours after the latest Manyavar ad was broadcasted where the concept of kanyadaan was questioned. The ad focused on how a ritual of kanyadaan considered a woman a burden and tried to give a message of not performing such a ritual.

However, the message failed to impress the audience and instead, it received backlash. People called it a “non-sense ad which harmed their religious sentiments”.

The Dabur Fem Ad

An ad by Dabur for their fem bleach was criticised for showing two women fasting for each other on the auspicious occasion of Karva Chauth. Even after three years of homosexuality being legalised in India, such ads are criticised and alleged of using such an occasion to advocate change.

Narottam Mishra (Minister for Home Affairs, Law and Legislative Affairs, Prisons, and Parliamentary Affairs in Government of Madhya Pradesh) asked for withdrawal of the ad and said that action would be taken if the brand failed to adhere to his warnings.

The Tanishq Ad

Tanishq, a jewellery brand’s ad, was taken down after receiving backlash from people as the ad showed interfaith marriage. People commented that such ads promoted the idea of “love-jihad” since it showed a Hindu woman being married to a Muslim man.

Fabindia’s Campaign

Fabindia’s latest campaign for their collection, “Jashn-e-Riwaz“, received severe backlash from people as people deemed it hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Social media criticised the company for attaching Muslim ideologies to a Hindu festival.

The ad was highly critiqued because Urdu words were used for naming the campaign. However, the company had said that it wasn’t their Diwali collection. But unfortunately, the company took down the campaign after being heavily trolled.

Receiving Backlash Rather Than Appreciation

These ads tried to show that certain rituals and traditions don’t suit society and are discriminatory. All of these ads at their level attempted to bring a social change, but instead, they received backlash.

I didn’t see any problem with these ads. I feel these ads must receive appreciation for talking about these issues and trying to bring a change. However, I feel that India still lives in a small bubble that thinks that only their religion is superior, that girls are a burden on the family, that we aren’t a secular state, or that being homophobic is cool.

We still have a long way to go.