Dr AL Sharada
Sep 29, 2023

Creative critique from a gender lens: 18-22 September

Dr AL Sharada, director, Population First, reviews ads from last week on the basis of gender sensitivity

Creative critique from a gender lens: 18-22 September

What worked: 

 

Amazon

Women frequently hold back from spending on themselves due to societal and cultural pressures that prioritise others' needs over their own. This societal emphasis on selflessness often results in a reluctance to invest in personal desires or self-care, leading to feelings of guilt or fear of appearing selfish when they consider personal spending.

 

Conversely, women may find spending on others more socially acceptable, as it aligns with their nurturing and caring roles. 

 

However, breaking this pattern necessitates a shift in mindset, encouraging women to prioritise self-care, self-worth and autonomy, ultimately fostering more balanced spending habits.

 

The Amazon ad effectively portrays this transformation in a sensitive and relatable manner, inspiring women to fulfil their desires and needs.

 

Gender Sensitivity Score (GSS): 3.25/5 

 

What did not work: 

 

Adidas

"Aggressiveness is not the main trouble with the human species, but rather an excess capacity for fanatical devotion," the adidas ad somehow reminded me of these words of Arthur Koestler.

 

The music, the lyrics, the maniac expressions, and the unbridled aggression promote a fanatical obsession with winning the World Cup a third time. While it is true that everyone wishes that we win the cup a third time, we would also like to see the hard work, tenacity and maturity of our players and not the mechanistic images of their mean looks, gritting teeth and stressed-out images in the ads promoting the World Cup.

 

Ads for sports events and brands have long had aggression and machoism as the dominating themes shaping the way athletes and competitions are portrayed to the public. These themes often serve as a double-edged sword. While on the one hand, aggression can be seen as a driving force in sports, where athletes push their limits to achieve greatness, on the other hand, the overemphasis on aggression coupled with machoism can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and promote a toxic sports culture where failure often leads to violence against the players and their families.

 

The challenge for creative communicators is to strike a balance between aggression, and machoism and celebrate the sporting spirit and values such as teamwork, respect and fair play. 

 

GSS: 2.5/5  

 

Other films from the work: 

 

Maaza Mango Lassi

GSS: 3/5

 

Acko

GSS: 3/5

 

Fujifilm 

GSS: 3/5

 

A23

GSS: 2.5/5 

 

Uber

GSS: 3/5 

Source:
Campaign India

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