For her eyes only: Advertising in women's coaches gets innovative

Anyone who has ever travelled in the women’s coach in Delhi Metro would swear by the fact that it’s a most interesting place to be in.

Starting with displays of the latest fashion trends by college-going girls to the most bitter squabbles for seats, not to forget antics of children of all ages, the women’s coach in Delhi Metro is never short on entertainment.

But of late, something else is catching the eye of women commuters in the
exclusive coach.

These are advertisements by different brands to woo their all-female audience.

Ranging from fairness creams to shopping portals, kitchen appliances to even contraceptive pills, companies are coming up with the most innovative commercials to catch women commuters’ attention.

A few months back, Cholayil, (a Chennai-based ayurvedic products’ company), put up a reflective sheet with a mirror effect, in the coach, for women to see themselves in.

The subtext read “A face so beautiful deserves nature’s finest care. Try Medimix’s Ayurvedic Face Wash and see the difference.”

In another example of a fine reading into female psychology, shopping portal Amazon recently put up an ad reading “Love her handbag?” (This was obviously a reference to women checking out each others’ accessories in the Metro). “Buy yourself a new one now,” it advised.

Not just this, political parties also seem to have found a novel way to appeal to women exclusively by means of advertising in the Metro.

During the recent Lok Sabha elections, BJP ads which flooded trains, carried various slogans in the general coaches; but in the women’s coach, they specifically spoke of sexual harassment of women and inflation.

“Mahangai ki maar, ab ki baar, Modi sarkaar” clearly aimed at touching a chord with homemakers.

Praveen Gupta, Managing Director of EG Communications, which owns the rights for advertisements in Delhi Metro trains, says, “The women’s coach in Metro
has definitely emerged as a premier space to target the female section.

Women from all strata of the society and professions take this mode of transportation; as a result we have brands advertising not just in English but Hindi too.”

“Saheli, the brand of contraceptive pills for women, for example, had a series of advertisements in Hindi reading ‘I am free from stress,’ ‘I am free from side-effects’ etc.”

Advertisements of sanitary napkins and family planning schemes ‘issued in public welfare’ also seem to have, interestingly, homed in on the Metro women’s coach.

Copywriter Pankaj Suri, opines, “It is a very clever strategy. A half-an-hour to hour-long ride in the Metro offers little amusement but to stare at your neighbour or out of the window. If an intelligent, woman-oriented commercial is put up in the Metro, it is bound to catch attention. You will read through the whole thing unlike a TV commercial where you are free to switch channels or a newspaper where you can flip the page over.”

Women, of course, can’t help but enjoy the attention. Sarita Mohanty, who takes
the Metro from Noida to Janakpuri daily, says, “I took to the Metro for the comfort factor.

Now with these advertisements, one feels totally pampered and spoilt for choice. Metro certainly has advantages more than one.”