A conversation on twitter set me thinking. A friend asked if I had seen the following ad.
I answered that I had seen it and that I was disturbed about it. Then followed my attempt to try some twitter activism and below is a conversation that followed.
@shalinipv: Change the current docomo ad showing guy dumping girlfriend for no reason. It is offensive @tatadocomo #offensivedocomo
The above tweet was the beginning of the below conversation.
@x: @shalinipv @chandnipai your saas bahu type serials are worse for society..pls honour the Freedom of expression which is in d constitution
@shalinipv: @x am against saas bahu serials also. Never watch them. And this freedom of exprsn bit is frankly a bit too tiring. Dis is a society
@x: @arun4 @shalinipv @chandnipai (behenji) the URL to the ad is avaialble at www.mindyourowndamnbusiness.com
@shalinipv: @x well…its my damn business tht i’m minding thnk u! And u needn’t call ppl names pls. @ChandniPai
@x: @shalinipv exactly this is a society..and everyone loves the ad…the youth does too!..sadly behenji’s like u dont 
@shalinipv: @x hey young man there’s no need to be rude. u dont agree…dont join! No one’s forcing u.
@x: @shalinipv and behenji pls see the add properly..the girl has another guy on her mind as well…. @shalinipv is major #FAIL
@shalinipv: @x i dont accept that either. tht’s y i’m asking for it to be changed\
@x: @shalinipv @arun4 u guys shld start ur crap w/ targetting #Bollywood #films first..then move onto the small screen
Sorry for having inflicted the above conversation but the point of doing so was to analyse this subject.
First, the ad itself. The ad shows as by now you’ve all seen, a couple breaking up. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with breaking up, but the surmise for the break-up is what rankles. The guy and the girl are gazing into each other’s eyes one minute while in the next they decide that its all over between them just because they both see better prospects in front of them. Further, the guy looking over his girlfriend’s shoulder is shown staring at a woman dressed in clothes which would be considered to be sexually attractive suggesting that the creator of the ad wants to project that the woman is only a sexual object igniting man’s desire. His girlfriend is shown as a ”demure”, ”sweet” girl. Also, one is not privy to the looks or otherwise of the girlfriend’s new object of desire. Maybe its not politically correct to show the girl also following a sexy man, as women are not supposed to look for sexiness in men and its certainly not acceptable for ”demure”, ”sweet” girls to do so. Both these underlying sub-texts are very regressive and don’t do justice either to the man-woman love relationship nor to the equality of the sexes. I felt very disturbed on seeing this ad as
1. It was being aired on prime time TV during a cricket match when people of all age groups are watching.
2. I strongly feel such messages can influence the younger generation which then also begin to accept that such behaviour is the norm and that it is acceptable and even desirable.
3. While there is freedom of expression and while that is an unassailable right in a democracy, when what is aired has the ability to influence the mindset of a huge populace, the creators have to have some accountability.
4. Is it really necessary to show an ad with such a regressive message to advertise a bill plan for a cellular service?
The second analysis I want to do is to touch upon the above conversation between @x and me i.e @shalinipv. At the time I was surprised by the sudden and unwarranted hostility of this person. Later, on going through his profile I realized he was probably a representative of the company as his profile had Tatadocomo splashed all over it. If that was the case, then I think its all the more regrettable that a person handling the company account uses his personal account to stoop to such combative levels of dialogue. Is basic civility so difficult to maintain when one is arguing a point. Dialogue is not equal to argument. Period. Is it necessary to resort to name calling, in this case the use of behenji in his retort.
Somehow, I feel dialogue has regressed so much with this over emphasis on the self in the present day environment. There is, these days, the sense of power that the internet bestows on you, especially with applications like twitter making one feel that he/she is omnipotent.
However, in conclusion, I was rather disappointed at the support or the lack of it that my attempt to effect a change garnered. I was indeed disappointed that this didn’t matter to many and especially to youngsters. There have been many instances when the twitter fraternity has come together to denounce someone or something which probably did not affect so many people as this one had the potential to do.
Before I end, I’d like to post here, another ad from the same company. I hope that the readers of this post will read the subtexts in this ad. I would think that if this ad was exhibited in an occidental country, they would have lots to complain about.
nice models, i liked the second one..and also the first one..
hey..this is kaliyug..we shouldent take trivial things so seriously as if the world is in danger..
relax…
admen/adwomen are people with less morality and high greed..i think this statement will make you feel better..
PS – if the models werent good looking, who knows i might have blogged the same you did..
Yeah…admen/women are high on greed and I am hardly talking morality here. I am talking human values. Morality I am no one to preach about it. Are we not demeaning social, human relationships with this kind of portrayal, And I just feel that I cant stand and let it pass without making my displeasure known, even if i know that I am but a very small minority.
However, thank you for reading. Good luck!
Nice! I shall say two things.
1. I do not agree that the ad is offensive as it is not demeaning anything.
2. @x is a jerk :/
Thanks
PP
Thank you for reading.
Ad is cheap & daily plans or talk my minute has nothing to do with life, relationships, or how good or bad models look.
Looks like some of those who have commented here probably don’t have a sister or mother. How about some of you tell one of them that u will have a relationship by minute or that u will stand up for something or a girl only if she is attractive.
Wonderful values indeed!
World of Corporates get away by comparing darkness to dirt, planning relationships by minutes oh sorry seconds.
It is a shame that the so called educated talk cheap. !!
Yes…what I wanted to highlight is the demeaning of relationships which is not acceptable in any society.
Thank you for the support!
I was truly disgusted at this ad maybe not for the exact same reasons you had mentioned here but kinda close enough.
Human relationships are NOT some use and throw commodities. They require work, effort, energy and emotion. They’re fostered over a period of time.
The way this guy simply walks off is just so demeaning. He can do better than that! And was that like a marketplace where if you don’t like one model u can always settle for another? Seriously, they shouldn’t have themed it like this.
People already have mixed and confused opinions about relationships. This just makes the whole damn thing worse.
Brilliant post, I wanted to talk of this but then, you’ve done justice to the theme!
I wish to emphasize again and again that my aim is not to say that women are shown in a demeaning way like some others who read it misinterpreted it. In fact what I want to point out is the devaluing of relationships that are held as important in every society that I know or have read about. Commodifying relationships and making it a matter of shopping is what I am protesting against.
Thank you for reading and putting in your valuable comments.
@shalinipv but for the same ‘wrong’ reason, it sure must b popular by now. And isnt this wht they finally want?
@shalinipv If i was marketing this ad, I would defly go wt it for the same ‘wrong’ reason. Corporates dnt care abt society, its the money :-/ simple
@SPMenon simple ways yes… but this is defly catchy! Am again thinking like a corporate! If it sells… it works! @shalinipv
Sekher
yes…corporates do not care about society. Then dont you think its society’s job to protect itself and protest when its core values are devalued? I am curious to know whether there are ads like this there in the US and if someone raised a voice, would it be heard?
I completely agree with Lalita. Ad companies some time stoop to such levels. Remember the Fair & Lovely black skin ad. It was withdrawn after much furore in Parliament. But nothing stop these people in demeaning the human values.
Hi.
Thank you for reading…and I am glad to see atleast some people concur with the gist of this post. We…the people have an obligation I think to be vigilant at all times.
Misplaced gyaan of the ad companies that they know our current day youth. By trying to sell fantasies, they presume that the youth would be drawn to their brand. Sometimes, humor can be sick
I agree with nomad and others who are of the view that the corporates, dont care anymore for the society & relationships. These guys (The so called think tanks who comes out with ‘brilliant ideas’) for their clients have to think about the people (the common Indian man who still cherishes & nurtures values which are the base of the Indian society) outside their plush offices who are at the receiving end of their idiotic craps. This debate is not about the disregards meted out to women, rather about the way they approach relationships, in the Indian society. This is not America. Tata DOCOMO is a big fail, and the seniors at TATA should take a look at what’s happening. Such adds are ruining the values which are the basis of a great Corporation.
Yeah…I was thinking too that the brand TATA associated with this service needs to be alerted. Are they really ready to have their brand marketed like this?
Thank you ever so much for reading.
Globalization have priced human relationship in terms of money value. Every corporate looks to attract crowd into their advertisement. For which they even use all possible methods. The adv will only give a negative impact on the younger generations. I don’t think that watching this adv, every one may do accordingly, but the Message that conveys is not at all social and moral.
Request all to compare the rate of divorce from 1990 to 2010. The impact of globalization has affected the human relationship too. This sort of advertisement is made to compete in the global market. I am not at all fully against globalization
To the Author: It is appreciable that you could bring this topic into discussion. This sort of actions prove that we people are not ready to swallow all that be aired in the market. Congrats and Go on further, All Best Wishes
Hi Bijnu.
Thank you ever so much for reading. Yes…we the people need to be always vigilant. We must stand up when we feel our core values are being twisted. I am glad for all the support I am getting here. I do hope we can make a change. After all the purpose of this exercise is to safeguard values which I do not think are old fashioned even if we live in a post modern world.
I fail (ed) to understand what the ad is trying to say.
Another one in the same series — the one with the girl driving the car to a remote-car race, well, I do/did not understand that one too.
On relationships and morality, I think there are many more offensive ones in the Indian broadcast scene. In this case, I am surprised — like many others here — that such a message coming from a brand co-owned by TATA in India.
I, for sure, have not kept pace with these ideas. And I am yet to decide if that is for my good or not.
Thank you Pradeep.
Yes…I think its for your good that you have not kept pace with these ideas….simply coz there is a real paucity of them. For one decent ad on the Indian scene…there are 10 poor ones…so not much that you are missing.
Yeah…the remote car race is just as hare-brained in its message as everyone of them in the present series. The only redeeming one from the DOCOMO stables was the initial one where the entire train starts singing the same tune. Made me want to check out the brand…but now with these new ads…I would not go near it by many miles.