Gender blender

The fact that changing gender roles are making brands reposition themselves became apparent at a press conference organised by Coca-Cola to mark 40 years of flagship cola Thums Up in New Delhi on Tuesday. After announcing the launch of the first ever product variant of the “masculine” beverage brand, one of the senior executives fielding questions pre-empted the women in the room, saying, “Masculinity is a state of mind.” He explained that Thums Up was meant to unleash the “toofan” (thunder) in all of us, and added for good measure that men did not stand a chance of competing with women in this regard.