Dr AL Sharada
Jan 14, 2022

Creative critique from a gender lens: 3-7 January

Dr AL Sharada, director, Population First, reviews a selection of ads from last week

Creative critique from a gender lens: 3-7 January
What worked
 
 
It is for the first time that I have seen an ad for adult diapers featuring an elderly woman. And, a woman who is so full of life and chutzpah, enjoying a cricket match wearing her team's T-shirt and the dry pants to not miss any part of the match. It is not very often that we find women, leave alone elderly women, enjoying sports. Women have more issues of incontinence as they age and we must speak about it without a sense of shame. 
 
Gender Sensitivity Score (GSS): 4.5/5
 
It is a very positive and empowering ad. It shows three young women meeting at a bar to have a good time, thus normalising women going to a bar, which is often looked down upon in some segments of our society. It makes the unsolicited intrusion of the man sending a drink to the young woman look so uncool. Finally, it shows the young woman dealing with this intrusion with dignity and poise putting the man in his place.
 
GSS: 4.5/5
 
What didn't work
 
The ad once again falls into the trap of showing mothers as having no other ambition than to get involved in their child's activities. How about a woman opting for Kellogg's for breakfast, so that she has some time for herself while the child is getting her nutrition. So empowering for both! Too radical a thought?
 
GSS: 2.5/5
 
 
The ad once again glorifies the whole practice of hordes of family members coming to 'see' the girl in an arranged marriage context, which should be avoided to stop the practice that could be very humiliating to many young women. The young woman is shown as not being her confident self but playing to the audience. Though humorous, the ad does not portray the woman in a positive light. 
 
GSS: 2.5/5
 
Other ads from last week:
 
Cred 
GSS: 3/5
 
GSS: 3/5
 
GSS: 3.5/5
 
GSS: 3/5
 
GSS: 3/5
 
 
GSS: 3/5
 
 
 
Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

4 hours ago

Adobe’s APAC CMO: ‘There is a balance between ...

Duncan Egan weighs-in on how much AI should be relied upon and how much B2B marketing is changing, in his own role as a marketer to marketers.

5 hours ago

When the pavement becomes a cancer ward

A gut-punching film from St. Jude India spotlights how unsafe shelter, not treatment, threatens young cancer patients’ survival in metro cities.

5 hours ago

Theblurr bets big on AI to redraw agency rules

The newly-launched AI-native marketing agency promises faster pods, sharper outcomes and no more media-creative silos—or excuses.

6 hours ago

What makes a 'new-age agency' in 2025? Not hype

Speed, soul, and strategy now define creative partnerships—because in today’s feed-fuelled world, relevance fades faster than your next scroll, says Vamos Digital founder.