4 Powerful Indian Ads That Will Make You Think!

Perhaps the most powerful influencers we could ever have are television advertisements which reach out to audiences in the comfort of their home.  Over the past year there have been a few ads which have not only touched the heart, but have also made one think and rethink conventionally held opinions and attitudes. They are not only mediums of promotion but have also morphed into drivers of social changes. The ones which stood out for me were:

Vicks:  Generations of Care

A girl going to boarding school speaks about her strong mother who adopted her despite all odds, and who wishes to see her grow up to become a doctor. As the ad ends, we see the mother, a transgender activist called Gauri Sawant. This ad, based on a real life person and her story, not just pulls at the heartstrings but also seeks to redefine the lens through which we view transgenders. For this, it is laudable.

Titan Raga: Mom By Choice

A mom-to-be is at a family lunch when she is called upon to make a speech. She hesitates and then speaks about how she is not going to be a mom who can cook chapattis for her child or wait up late for the child to return home. And in this she is only following her own mother who raised her most unconventionally, and followed her own dreams. The bottom-line — pregnancy and motherhood should be a choice for a woman and not a sacrifice.

Urban Ladder: A Woman’s Place

A fabulous, simple, text-based International Women’s Day campaign from online furniture store Urban Ladder takes the patriarchal dictum of ‘a woman’s place being in the home’ head on. It ends with a powerful message that her place is anywhere she chooses it to be. This TVC was effective because of how simply the brand used strong copy without any visuals and got their message across.

Benetton: Equal By Half

A series of vignettes from everyday life where women claim their half of an equal world, whether at work, or home, in a relationship, or on the streets. The ad is simple, effective and hard hitting, without being preachy.