An Indian Advertisement

If you’ve been to an Indian wedding,
you’re probably aware of the amount
of gorgeous jewelry that’s worn by
the bride. One of the makers of that
jewelry—Tanishq—is facing backlash
for a commercial some Americans
might find completely innocuous.
Take a look at the ad in question:
See anything controversial? There are
two aspects of it that have Indians
buzzing. The top YouTube comment
—“wow! Finally, normal skin tone!”—
should give you a clue about the first.
Adweek reports that “agency Lowe
Lintas chose a lovely model whose skin
tone is apparently ‘duskier’ than that
of most advertising brides.”
The second aspect is a bit more
complicated. The ad depicts a bride who
is clearly getting married for the
second time. Widowed and divorced
women are generally not looked upon
favorably. By casting this woman, who
is getting married for the second
time, in a very positive light, Lowe
Lintas has challenged India’s status
quo. It’s huge for a country that
isn’t used to having its status quo
challenged.
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Lowe Lintas India’s national creative
director, Arun Iyer, had this to say to
Livemint about the commercial:
“This is the thinking that most
progressive people have. They
may not be going through the
same thing in their life, but the
ad makes a bold, progressive,
statement and people like to be
associated with brands that
make such statements.”
He added that the agency was
conscious of the way the ad was
shot to ensure that it did not
come across too strongly. From
the casting of the actors “it had
to look like a marriage of equals,
not something that was done out
of pity,” to the execution of the
ad, to ensure that it looked like
a small, cozy wedding. “We didn’t
want it to look like we were
trying to make a point,” said
Iyer.Are Brands responsible to challenge the social norms?

posted from Bloggeroid