Portrayal of women: Tanishq, Airtel ads among the best, shows study

Havells' 'Respect for Women' series also strikes a chord with consumers

Jewellery brand Tanishq’s commercial on remarriage continues to strike a chord with consumers, even after a year of being first aired on television.

According to a recent study among advertising & marketing professionals in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, the Tanishq ad, which attempted to break taboos around the subject of remarriage, at the same time driving home the message of beauty in dark skin (the model was dusky, not fair), was the best in terms of portrayal of women in Indian advertisements. It scored 87 on a scale 100 (the higher the score, the better the ad).

Conducted by Hansa Research, the research arm of ad agency RK Swamy/BBDO, the study spanned a month, from October to November this year.

Hansa Research’s executive director, Srinivasan Raman, said the ad topped the list because of its sensitive portrayal of women. “It shows a woman living on her own terms, who also brings people together, her to-be spouse, her child... that is why it clicked,” he says.

The second-best ad in terms of portrayal of women was the recent ‘Respect for Women’ series of commercials by electricals maker Havells. The commercials show a man in different situations asking his wife to either make juice or coffee or iron his clothes or grind, and the wife in response simply gets the appliance concerned and asks him to do the needful.

Nearly 100 ad & marketing professionals part of the study said they found the Havells ads, which scored 76 on 100, humorous but driving a strong message of respect for women in simple, everyday situations.

The third-best ad was the much-debated woman-boss in a recent Airtel commercial. It scored 70, says Raman. While the ad was criticised by some on social media for being regressive (the woman is the boss at work and comes back to cook at home), Raman says the professionals surveyed found it balanced in its portrayal of women. “Here we see a woman balancing her work and home, which is a positive cue,” he says.

The next best set of ads was the heart-warming Bournvita commercial of a young girl training to be a boxer. The mother is portrayed as being strong, who stands by her daughter as she goes through the grind. It had a score of 68.

The next was the Bharatmatrimony ad showing the changing attitude of men towards working women and how men today were open to the idea of women following their dreams. It had a score of 63. The last one was the popular Nirma ad that showed three women pushing an ambulance stuck in a ditch (score of 60).