Indian ads that got women right, and two that really didn’t

Think back to the ads you grew up with. A girl gets a job, a husband and a confidence boost, all from one tube of fairness cream. A mother runs around the house while everyone else waits at the dining table.

Then, slowly, some brands started seeing us. As two marketers, we keep a mental list of Indian ads that empower women and the ones that set us back. Here it is, out loud.

What makes an ad “get women right”?

An ad gets women right when it shows women as people with their own goals, not as helpers in someone else’s story, and when the product fits that idea naturally. The best ones start an argument at the dinner table. The worst ones sell a product by making women feel something is wrong with them.

The ones that got it right

Ariel, #ShareTheLoad (2015, and “Dads” in 2016)

The first film in 2015 asked one question: is laundry only a woman’s job? The 2016 “Dads Share the Load” film went further. A father watches his married daughter juggle office calls and housework while her husband watches TV, and he apologises for the example he set.

According to D&AD, when the campaign began, 79% of men surveyed believed laundry was a woman’s job. A later survey put that figure at 26%. In 2024 D&AD gave it a White Pencil for sustained impact.

Marketer’s note: the product was the conversation. You can’t talk about laundry without talking about detergent.

Tanishq, remarriage ad (2013)

A woman gets married for the second time. Her young daughter asks to join the pheras, and the groom lifts her into his arms so they walk around the fire together.

Marketer’s note: a jewellery brand chose a remarriage and a dusky bride for its wedding film. In 2013, that was a risk. It’s still on almost every list of Indian ads that changed the conversation.

Whisper, Touch the Pickle (2014)

Period myths say a menstruating woman shouldn’t touch the pickle jar, enter the kitchen or visit a temple. Whisper’s campaign told girls to break the first rule on purpose.

It won the first-ever Glass Lion Grand Prix at Cannes in 2015, made by BBDO India.

Marketer’s note: naming one small, specific myth worked better than a vague “break taboos” message.

Vicks, #TouchOfCare (2017)

Based on the true story of Gauri Sawant, a Mumbai-based transgender activist who raised her adopted daughter, Gayatri. The film follows Gayatri remembering her mother’s care, and Vicks appears only at the end.

Marketer’s note: the brand stepped back and let the story lead. That restraint is why it worked.

The two that really didn’t

Fair & Lovely, for decades

For years the brand’s ads showed darker-skinned women losing out on jobs or marriage proposals until a fairness cream “fixed” them. In July 2020, after global protests about colourism, Hindustan Unilever renamed it Glow & Lovely.

Marketer’s note: a name change doesn’t erase decades of telling girls their skin was a problem. Many of us still remember the before-and-after shots.

Layer’r Shot (2022)

A body spray ad built on jokes with an obvious undertone of sexual violence. In June 2022, the Advertising Standards Council of India suspended it, and the government asked Twitter and YouTube to take it down.

Marketer’s note: someone wrote it, someone approved it, someone shot it and someone bought media for it. That’s a lot of people who didn’t say no.

How to spot an ad that talks down to women

• The woman’s problem is her body, skin or age, and the product fixes it.
• She only exists to serve, admire or worry about someone else.
• The joke only works if she’s an object.
• Men in the ad are allowed to be lazy; women aren’t.

FAQ

Who regulates offensive ads in India?

The Advertising Standards Council of India, a self-regulatory body, handles complaints about ads. Anyone can file one through its website.

Why did Fair & Lovely change its name?

Hindustan Unilever announced the change to Glow & Lovely in 2020, describing it as part of a more inclusive approach to beauty, after criticism of fairness marketing.

Which agency made Ariel’s Share the Load?

BBDO India created the campaign for Procter & Gamble’s Ariel.

From ads to your own brand: read Cleopatra did her own PR for personal branding lessons from a queen.