Not adjunct

Advertisements have slowly been making a refreshing departure from gender stereotypes, writes Alpana Choudhury

After cleaning, cooking, cracking the daily crossword and re-reading classics lying neglected in trunks, I still find myself at a loose end because of being 24/7 at home. So, the idiot-box substitutes for evenings at the theatre, walks in the park, catching up with friends over coffee… Alas, the cacophony of newsrooms and depressing medical bulletins makes television a poor substitute! But, as I surf channels, the silver lining in the dark cloud of unruly Parliamentarians, scary statistics of Covid-19 deaths and soppy soap operas, are some refreshing advertisements that have made a distinct break from the past.

So, I don’t switch channels when actor Akshay Kumar promotes a brand of atta or rice; or a husband woos his wife by making pakoras; and another one lends a helping hand in washing clothes; or when yet another sensitive soul makes a nutritious milk drink for his hard-working, doctor wife. It is cheering to see the advertising world, slowly but surely, changing its archaic mindset. In my youth, when we battled gender stereotypes in advertisements, it seemed pretty much a lost cause. So, seeing an actor (yes, the same Akshay Kumar) today, making a strong case for sanitary napkins, calls for a loud Hurrah! And when a plug for a toothpaste urges a nervous mother-to-be to smile away her doubts about her maternal skills, when adopting a child, you know that the ad world has come a long way. That the child being adopted is a girl, makes the ad even more heart-warming.

Role reversal

Promotions of children’s products, too, have become more progressive. Since decades, we have been saying that gender equality must start in the cradle and it is heartening to see some advertisers moving in this direction. Amongst others, there is an encouraging role-reversal ad for a children’s health supplement, with a cute moppet on the sports field, expressing concern at her little, male playmate falling ill ever so often. Her cherubic giggle when he responds with a playful “Okay, Ma!” has me chuckling every time I see this ad, even though I have seen it countless times. Very endearing, very entertaining.

Another health supplement has a teenage daughter changing the flat tyre of the car which has her mother at the wheel. Seeing her mother’s wonder-struck expression, the youngster explains that she has watched her dad do it. Clearly, dynamic role models in this family! And then, there is the young, cricket-buff son trying his hand at stirring up noodles for his first life coach, his mother.

Path-breaking

While the early years of advertising saw it use the female form for its sex appeal, to plug unrelated products like bikes and booze, today you have a couple exercising together, with the wife helping her equal half bend that extra inch to touch his toes, and then enjoy a health drink together.

Strength, not sex appeal is the leitmotiv here. Whoopee! But, as an ‘oldie’, I simply hate the promotions that slot us as dutiful mothers/grandmothers. Surely, we have better things to do than frying aloo parathas for the family or oiling and plaiting our granddaughter’s tresses! Amongst the several ads in this category, that propagate stereotypes, is the one of a famous, glamorous film star of the 1960s and 70s, promoting a spice brand, while wielding the ladle and sharing cooking secrets with her actress daughter.

How clichéd is that? (Incidentally, this actress also has a son who is an actor. Why did she not impart some tips to him?)

It’s nevertheless heartening to see former cricketer Virender Sehwag endorse a dish wash liquid with élan.

Age no bar

Thankfully, however, there are other advertisers waking up to the fact that senior citizens can have a life of their own, away from pots and pans. A truly path-breaking one is for a toothpaste, where a stylish, sixtyish woman introduces her fiancé to her extended, stunned family at a lunch in a plush restaurant. Who said older women can’t romance? Or start a new life at sixty? “I was so lonely through the lockdown, that when it lifted, I decided to smile and live fully, without fears of what people will say,” she says, while happily showing the new ring on her finger. Another exhilarating promotion, on Bengali television channels, of a detergent, makes you want to hop, skip and dance. A sprightly, full-of-beans grandmother hurries up and downstairs, to don a red saree, and join the red team of a children’s kite-flying competition; while a voice-over tells you to hold on to life’s bright colours, no matter how old you are. Remembering her days when she flew high, the livewire granny tugs expertly at the manja to bring the opponent, blue team’s kite down. A winner all the way!

Men in the kitchen, girls and boys on the field, grannies flying kites and wearing engagement rings…these are a few of my favourite things…I sing, in a poor imitation of Maria from The Sound Of Music. And then I don’t feel so bad!