Cheat Sheet Principle of Life: We need more women-centric ads to brainwash the masses on women empowerment.

I hate cricket but my Dad loves it. When I was young, whenever he watched cricket, I used to watch the ads. Due to that forcible viewing, I did not appreciate cricket but I did appreciate the ads. They were my source of entertainment, interspersed with the boring matches. My interest in advertisements persists to this day. Any new ad, I have to see it and make a judgement about it.

In the recent years, there are a lot of women-centric ads. I am both surprised and happy about it. The first ad that I saw in this category, was the Whirlpool ad, in which the husband comes home and greets his wife with a glass of cold coffee. There are at least 2 or 3 ads, where the lady requests her husband to make coffee (Bru)/tea for her.

A jockey ad, adds a twist to a relationship, by showing a woman proposing to a man. In a recent coca-cola ad, the in-laws come to visit their daughter-in-law and ask her not to be too formal, but to share a drink with them. In a jeweller’s ad the in-laws encourage their daughter-in-law to keep her maiden name. In an Amazon ad, Mrs. Varma buys a smart phone for Mr. Varma, for Diwali.

Don’t get me started on the airtel ad, in which the guy’s boss is his wife. My only complaint is that not only she has to be the perfect working woman but also the perfect homemaker, who slogs in the kitchen to make a wonderful dinner after a working day. Why didn’t they show her giving orders to a cook? (In the Indian scenario, where domestic help is affordable)

The point that I want to make is that most of the brands have realized that women are major consumers too and they have the moolah to buy. They want to win over women. The women-centric ads, are showing women to be independent decision makers and pushing certain values, such as more domestic help from the husbands, being financially independent, assertive and having open minded in-laws. I think of these ads as small snippets of progress, which can change the mindset of a nation, slowly but steadily. But we are not where we want to be yet. I hope to see the day, where daddies are in the diaper ads, and male models stand beside the latest car models in the auto expo.