Behenji turns bold

A spate of new commercials is more gender sensitive.

Much has been said about the changing ways and attitude of the Indian woman, and advertising seems to be keeping pace with her. It's not surprising then that in a recent Pond's Dreamflower talc commercial, the bride refuses to fall prey to the demand for dowry and returns the wedding ring.

She's applauded and also finds a suitor among her admirers. In fact a quick ad scan reveals that Indian advertising is increasingly showing women rubbing shoulders with men and taking up more challenging jobs.

Clearly, the advertising agencies are handling the gender issues with sensitivity. Recently, Ogilvy & Mather altered its commercial for a private sector bank based on a single complaint that was posted on the agency's website.

The earlier tag line stated something to this effect: "agar mere pass paison ka per hota to mein apni beti ki shaadi ek raj kumar se karta aur bete ko padhne videsh bhejta" (If I had a tree of money I would have married my daughter to a prince and sent my son abroad to study).

The complaint, that the ad is discriminating, was also made to the Advertising Standard's Council of India (ASCI).

O&M was was quick to react and altered the ad to say: "Agar mere pass paison ka per hota to mein apni beti ko videsh bhejta aur bete ka business shoroo karwata" (if I had a tree of money I would have sent my daughter abroad to study and helped my son set up a business).

Though Abhijit Awasthi, senior creative director, O&M, says that neither he nor any member of his team (including women) felt that marrying one's daughter to a prince connotes encouraging dowry, but the agency readily changed it.

"The bank is among our esteemed clients and we could not let its image erode even if one out of 200 million viewers has been offended," says Awasthi.

Ad makers agree that the advertising must reflect social changes. Santosh Desai, president, McCann-Erickson, says that ads are changing for two reasons: one, women are becoming more assertive and confident.

Secondly, the advertising fraternity is being watched closely by trade and voluntary bodies like women's organisations. "Consumers are not ready to pardon even the occasional lapses," he says.

Desai points out that even the fairness cream, Fair & Lovely, commercials have been upgraded to suit the new environment. The cream's older ads showed a woman fetching a good groom after using the cream.

Later, the ad showed a girl becoming an air hostess. In another fairness cream ad she is not content being an airhostess: "itni oonchai kafi nahein" and she goes on to become a pilot. In the Fair & Lovely ad the product user is offered the role of the lead actor by filmmaker Rakesh Roshan.

"Not that being a housewife is inferior but advertising has to reflect the change in aspirational levels. Sometimes admakers dictate and lead the society, for instance the Fair & Lovely ad shows a woman cricket commentator. So far, there is none in India," says R Balakrishnan, national creative director, Lowe.

Coyness in advertising the sanitary towel category is also passe. The new lot of commercials feature busy working women with little time to waste.

In a Whisper's ad, Perizaad Zorabian is confidently rushing for a full-day film shoot on the second day of her periods, while in another one a reporter is getting ready to enter a packed cricket stadium to cover the match.

"Old anxieties and insecurities are dying out and the new ads are bringing the woman out of her inner world," observes Desai.

Ad makers claim the idea behind all advertising is to reflect aspirational and heroic values and most feel that today's women match men in financial prowess and intellect.

"They are an intelligent universe. And yes it certainly helps to show them as they are in real life today," says Meenakshi Bhalla, vice president, O&M.