Mindset Behind a Bad Ad

"Words are very powerful. They can maim and devastate, or they can enthuse and liberate."

Originally published by Women's Feature Service (WFS), this editorial critically examines the role that advertising can play in either reinforcing or challenging stereotypes. Author Shree Venkatram enlivens the issue through examples, including that of financial company ING Vysya Life Insurance. Venkatram agrees with those who argued that, socially, the television ad that featured a series of scenes showing men bearing the "burden" of women was "all wrong".

At the root of it all, she explains, were two Hindi words - "bhaari" and "bojh" - which literally translate into "heavy" and "burden" and which are synonymous with the female and the raising of the girl child in India. The first scene in the ad included a bridegroom at his wedding. He looks at his bride, and, as the ground caves in, the words ring out, "Dekhne mein toh pyaari hain, khushiyan thodi bhaari hain" ("She is lovable, but the happiness is a little heavy"). The next scene shows a daughter jubilantly handing her father a letter stating she has been selected for an MBA course (for a fee of Rs.15,00,000). The same phrase rings out again, and the ground sinks beneath the father. The word "bojh" was used towards the end, as a nurse hands over a newborn baby girl to the father...and the ground caves in under his feet, as "Kahin khushiyan bojh na ban jaiyein" ("Happiness should not become a burden") rings out.

According to Venkatram, the Education Secretary from the Delhi government joined in the protects against the ad, asking, "Why wasn't a son shown? It is not like a son can study for free." Someone who claimed to know those who made the ad commented: "[I]n the past another life insurance company showed the 'cost' for a daughter getting married and a son doing his MBA. Then the comments were 'why is there a boy shown? Like only boys study and girls just get married'." But here, Venkatram argues, is where words come into the mix. She presses, "Would the word 'bojh', or for that matter 'bhaari', ever be used for a son? Never! Most Indian parents do their very best, even scrimp and scrounge, to give their son the best education they can afford. But it would be blasphemous to term him a 'burden'."

"Just imagine," she continues, "What a powerful ad it would have been had the woman been shown buying a house for her parents, or her parents saving happily for the MBA course minus the 'bhaari' or 'bojh' factors..."

In light of the power that the media can have in shaping attitudes and behaviour, Venkatram argues, the onus lies on the media itself to be "both responsible and cautious. Words that condemn or derogate sections of the population must be avoided. For stereotypes harm, they limit and stunt human potential....The medium that reaches the masses has to liberate, help us out of the ghettos of our mind into a world where the human spirit and potential knows no shackles."

Venkatram concludes with a plea: "Let the media, especially ad and film-makers, be more discerning of the words they use. Regulation should come from within."