First the disclaimer: Forest Essentials is a brand I am very fond of. I am a fan of their bath gel and I am told they make a great male fragrance as well. But this ad is not about men. It is about women. Strong, sensuous, devout women.
The ad film created by Wieden+Kennedy has an ethereal look about it. Young women in virginal white clothes pick jasmine flowers before the sun rises and wend their way to what looks like a medieval fortress. As dawn breaks, the princess rises and to the background chants of Aum, she is ceremoniously bathed by hand maidens. Oils, honey and creams are used to pamper her skin. Fresh from her royal bath the princess bows to divinity in the form of a priest and then sports a steely look as she sheathes a sword and mounts a white horse to lead a group of warriors. The film ends with a pack shot of the Soundarya Radiance Cream and the line “Luxurious Ayurveda.”
You know why I love this advertising? It’s really not about just the ad film, which is made rather well. It’s not even about the multiple facets of women, which come out very well. It’s really about the positioning of the brand. Everything about it is Indian and flaunted that way. Soundarya, the name, is one example. And the positioning of the range as luxurious Ayurveda is just so good.
If you thought Ayurveda reminds one of bitter
The new woman
The new woman, at least as perceived by a section of the marketing and advertising community, has arrived and is stepping out with panache. The Titan commercial is an example of just that. Nimrat Kaur (of Lunch Box and Cadbury’s ads fame) is the woman who is quietly sitting at an airport when she is accosted by a young man who turns out to be her ex. When she enquires about him he says he is just where she left him and proceeds to say that they could have made things work if only she had sacrificed her work for their relationship.
Nimrat then says that he could have sacrificed his work, bringing out the expected response from him, that as a man, how could he not work. With studied nonchalance the poised young lady looks at him and declares that indeed he was just where she had left him. Ouch! Touche! Now this is the sort of situation and dialogues we are getting to listen to that are refreshingly new, relevant to a particular segment and spot-on if one is aiming a stylish brand of watches at a segment which has either already arrived at this mental state or is definitely positively inclined towards it. The script is bold and yet shot without a trace of brashness which would have made the lady look bitter. Ogilvy has a winner in this advertisement for Titan.
Women in advertising
This is our last column for this calendar year. And it is dedicated to the women in our lives. The ones we live with, love with, work with, play with, learn from, look up to, pray to and cherish. And the seminar organised by the IAA in Mumbai earlier this month reflected on the portrayal of women in Indian advertising. Just a quick word on the advertisements which were hailed in a survey across Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai as being gender sensitive. These were, in no particular order, Airtel (wife/boss), Bournvita (mother training her child), Tanishq (re-marriage), Havells (Patni/Chutney), Bharat Matrimony (working wife) Nirma (decisive women).
We salute these advertisers and their advertising agencies for helping change gender frames. All these products and services seem to have done well in the market. Proves our point. What’s good, is good for business.
Vox Pop : We invite you to write in and tell us which ads you found gender sensitive in this year. Regular reader Madhulika Rawal’s vote goes to the commercial made for Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) which depicts a marriage scene and as Madhulika says, the bride “is confident, witty and wants to enjoy her wedding day instead of crying.”
Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Mail your comments to >cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in