Brands pitch gender balance in ads, but some say they have miles to go

Even as advertisers attempt a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of gender, marketers and consumers say there still is a lot left to do

An ad by ICICI Lombard shows a group of women clapping their hands and singing in unison at the Kumbh Mela, all wearing special gloves that help early diagnosis of a set of illnesses. Women, the ad says, rarely take care of their own health and it is time to change that. 

Colgate-Palmolive has released an extension of its ‘andar se strong’ (inner strength) campaign with M S Dhoni and his wife Sakshi where the couple talks about strength in the face of adversity. Both describe the inner reslience of the other. 

In the controversial Surf Excel ad for Holi, a young girl protects her friend from the onslaught of colours to help him get to the mosque in a clean pair of clothes

Women’s health, equality between couples and courage among girls are some of the themes being aggressively pursued by brands. Also women protagonists are finding a bigger say in categories such as furniture, durables and auto that were largely helmed by men. And even in jewellery ads (Tanishq, for instance), women’s  roles are being sharply redefined.

Ashish Mishra, managing director of Interbrand India sees this is a sign of gender recognition. “Many high involvement categories like realty and durables have begun to have women in key roles now,” he said. According to Mishra, one of the first hints of change came with the Godrej Interio ad where a couple (Sam and Meera) decide on the right furniture for their home. “Many categories have followed suit since. And most have the woman being portrayed as the smarter of the two,” he added.

Change is evidently in the making, but yet marketers and consumers in a survey conducted by Kantar believe that these are baby steps in a world where women have traditionally been relegated to categories such as health drinks, jewellery or household goods. Consumers also said that in spite of the changes advertisers are still working within stereotypes. In India, 67 per cent male and 62 per cent female participants said, “The way my gender is portrayed in advertising in my country generally is completely out of touch with reality. Globally, according to the report (Adreaction, Getting gender right), 76 per cent of female consumers and 71 per cent of male consumers believe that advertising is completely out of touch with the nuanced gender shifts that have taken place in the past decade. While it may be true that more ads are now talking about women and casting them in a more equal role—in India, almost 60 per cent television ads target only women—the targeting is led by stereotypes, the report said.  

The ad by ICICI Lombard raises the issue of women neglecting their health

What are brands getting wrong or why are consumers sceptical of the efforts being made?

“People move faster than media and advertising,” said KV Sridhar founder and chief creative officer Hyper Collective who believes that most brands are indulging in mere tokenism on gender. Prasanna Kumar Eswaran, vice president, Creative Development Programs’ in South Asia for Kantar believes Indian companies are missing out on the opportunity of identifying women as influencers for categories like automobiles where men are seen as traditional purchasers. Eswaran sees the Airtel advertisement, where a young woman advocates the use of the network, as being truly progressive. But most of the rest he said simply want to avoid being offensive.

The report says that brands are failing on gender targeting. “Gender targeting should not be an either/ or decision.  Even the categories which are perceived to be female dominated, males do play a key role in decision making and vice-versa,” it said. Advertisers have to be bolder believes Sridhar. “All my life, I have faced resistance to suggestions of breaking away from stereotypes. Clients hide behind the fact that they are mirroring society,” he said.