A new TVC along the skin-lightening-product segment for a product called Clean & Dry Intimate Wash even promises Indian women protection, freshness (and most importantly) fairness “down there”! The commercial shows a young couple relaxing in their house. The man is shown reading a newspaper while the attractive wife – or whoever! – pouts, unhappy at being ignored. Reason? Her dark-coloured privates! Providence steps in, in the form of Clean & Dry Intimate Wash, ostensibly whitening the parts that seemed to have earlier cast a shadow over the guy’s inner view of the young lady and bingo, suddenly aal izz well! Pout disappears, break-up averted, newspaper flung aside to (undoubtedly) explore and enjoy some real whitening-strikes moments!
There’re too many questions that hit one when such an advertising hits the ceiling. Where do we stand on such in-the-face ads? Isn’t there an LoC that the product’s positioning is crossing? But then, how is such a product expected to be launched or marketed? One possibly cannot expect a simple word-of-mouth campaign, can one? And if the product is legal, then why have any hassles on the marketing of such a product? Are we going through the same wave of astonishment that one saw years ago when condoms were marketed in a savvy manner by Kamasutra as opposed to the politically correct yet moribund manner in which Nirodh was advertised?
When invited to comment, political journalist Mahua Chatterjee admits she’s tempted “to laugh hysterically so that she may not weep!” She soon gets serious and unleashes a series of posers. “Who are these guys creating these ads or manufacturing these products? Clearly a lot of us are totally disconnected from their radar! Is this their professional version of marketing which decrees: find a gap and fill it? In their drive to sell a product, is nothing sacred, safe or out of bounds? In the crazed rush to grab eyeballs, is titillation of any kind permissible? What about social responsibility, good taste, style & class?” questions Mahua. Then, tongue-in-cheek, the journo enquires why despite a zillion face-whitening products for men “nothing like Intimate Wash has been dedicated to their, er, penile space?”
Actress Moon Moon Sen, after a hearty laugh, offers discrete perspectives. “Sometimes, some ads – even if uncomfortable – are necessary. We live in a society where women (mothers & daughters) don’t always know about a lot of stuff, and doctors or professionals who do, hesitate to communicate these facts, due to mental conditioning, rendering them taboo. Unfortunately, many of these are necessary for a woman’s well-being. However, a vaginal whitening cream doesn’t remotely come in that category and does strain the imagination! A douche or cream for infection is understandable but...”
While documentary filmmaker Ishani Dutta finds the ‘intent’ of the TVC “inappropriate and sexist”, 23-year-old copywriter Tanu Koundal can’t stop laughing! “It’s too funny... I know that India is very whiteness crazed and men prefer fair complexioned wives, but it’s the face and body on display that is seen and reacted upon... not the private parts!” says Tanu. But the young lady also believes that this kind of advertising – edgy, weird and hitting no-man’s-land – is a part and parcel of today’s permissive, sexually-cool society where nothing is a big deal anymore. But isn’t the product strengthening the unfortunate fairness orientation of Indians and fortifying racist paradigms?
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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