India has always been a country of taboos and restrictions. But things have been changing fast, and for the good. And since advertising is a reflection of the society, many recent Indian ads have reflected those behavioural changes that are evident in the modern Indian.Below is a list of some recent Indian ads that defy the preconceived social norms and taboos.
1. Myntra’s Lesbian Ad: This is probably the most-talked about ad in India right now. The country's first advertisement showing a lesbian couple preparing to meet the parents is making waves on social media. The online video shows two women in a live-in relationship flirting and dressing up for the day, chatting about the expectations they face and their love for each other. Titled 'The Visit', the ad breaks the taboo of lesbianism in India. Shot for Myntra's ethnic wear collection, the digital film has got over 2 lakh hits on YouTube over 10 days.
2. Fastrack’s Move On Campaign: It is argued that before Myntra, Fastrack was the brand that brought out the lesbian issues out in the open through its ‘Move On’ campaign. Move On is a controversial ad campaign by Fastrack was to show the relevance of “moving on” from things that are limiting. The campaign involved a series of short ads representing socio-cultural issues that are controversial. One of the ads shows a couple inflating a large playhouse and moving in. The ad ends with bold white-coloured text saying “Live in. Move on.”, hence encouraging those who want to have live-in relationships to go ahead and do so. Another of the ads under this campaign show two girls walking out of a bright pink closet, one by one, tugging at their clothes with the copy “Come out of the closet. Move on.”, thus encouraging homosexuals to embrace their sexuality. All these ads talk about being bold in accepting issues considered taboo, especially when it’s about accepting oneself.
3. Tanishq’s Second Marriage Ad: Widowed and divorced women have historically been shunned in areas of India. So imagine the nation's surprise when jeweler Tanishq celebrated a second marriage in its new ad.India was "mesmerized" by the ad and many trade outlets called the commercial "revolutionary" and "crazy bold." Tanishq is possibly the first to introduce remarriage in Indian advertising, which was a taboo till now.
4. Airtel’s ‘Boss’ Ad: Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel’s ‘Boss’ad, which presents a working woman cooking for her man, had stirred up outrage on Twitter. But adman Prahlad Kakkar went ahead to hold that the ad is perfectly valid and there’s nothing wrong in the content. The much-debated woman-boss in the Airtel commercial was criticised by some on social media for being regressive (the woman is the boss at work and comes back to cook at home), but many professionals surveyed found it balanced in its portrayal of women. The ad questioned the taboo of a woman being the boss in India.
5. KBC’s ‘Kohima’ Ad: The ad campaign for Sony TV’s popular game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ alludes to the widespread issue of racial discrimination faced by people from North East India across the country and sends a powerful message about racism in India. In the recent past, North East students have been beaten up, humiliated and killed owing to their facial features and the KBC ad couldn’t have come at a better time.
