Indian Air Force: Batting for equality in the sky

IAF's new commercial inspires women to break free from traditional roles

Giving wings to a million dreams, the Indian Air Force (IAF) in its latest campaign “Ladki Hoon Main” goes all out to highlight the prejudices that women continue to face and calls on all young girls to break their shackles and fly high by joining the force.
 
In an attempt to attract and recruit more women, the IAF is championing the concept of equality in the skies. The television commercial (TVC) is a first-person account of an Indian woman fighter pilot overcoming personal, family and social barriers to become a part of the air force family. It is a story of pain and grit that sees her avoid the beaten track of taking responsibility of nurturing a family or sticking to safe professional choices. The first person narrative emphasises women’s ability to crack the toughest of jobs including flying fighter jets.
 
Having commissioned the first batch of women fighter pilots last year, the IAF has launched the new campaign to break the age-old stereotype of what women ought to do, professional choices that they traditionally need to make. The idea is to initiate a conversation around traditional roles that women are expected to play in society and at the workplace.
 
The objective of the campaign is to promote the IAF as a space for equal opportunities given that it is by and large considered a male bastion. The “Ladki Hoon Main” TVC is part of the IAF recruitment campaign — A cut above (which was launched last year marking the 84th anniversary of the force) — which encourages people with valour, commitment and passion to do something extraordinary.

 
The campaign has been conceptualised by Grey Group India. What inspired the creative agency to come up with the idea of championing equality in the skies?
 
“The most inspiring insight was that at the IAF, the service of the nation knows no gender. In many ways, this is a definitive stamp of equality, coming from the Air Force — often perceived as a bastion of male–only bravado,” says Sandipan Bhattacharyya, chief creative officer, Grey Group India.
 
For the IAF and team Grey Group there is poetic justice in the fact that women fighter pilots are taking to the skies at a time when gender barriers and stereotypes still abound on the ground.
 
For the creative team, this became a starting point and it shaped the first-person account around women pilots who are forcing us as individuals, society and a nation to rethink misconceptions and stereotypes around the role and place of women.
 
“As a writing style, we thought a first-person narrative would bring authenticity and make the film more provocative and compelling,” says Bhattacharyya.

 
There are no actors in the TVC, but real women pilots who are bravely challenging gender stereotypes every day. They have been filmed in real time.
 
The campaign showcases the IAF as a place which offers equal opportunities for both sexes. Be it the fighter pilots, helicopter and transport pilots, ground staff and technical staff, the Air Force has a place for everyone.