Gone are the days when commercials were just about touting a product and maligning others. Now ads are creative and impactful. Now creating ads is an art and ads aren’t less than cinema.
In the fresh few years, we came across numerous short ad clips that are beyond just ads. Each of these has a powerful social message, and they know how to deliver it strongly. These ads make us ponder about some of the darkest social concerns of the country. Some of these are product promotions, yet they want the society to change that’s what they show.
You may also like: 7 Interesting Indian Sports You don’t know about
So here are the top 13 Indian ads that are bashing the stereotyping and other social issues right in the face.
Table of Contents
1. Tanishq Jewelers- The double knot
Directed by Gauri Shinde, this ad shows that love knows no boundaries. It screams that the color or age or anything isn’t going to matter when one falls in love. It also says that being a divorcee isn’t a matter of shame. And the ad is spot on with its intentions.
It features a dusky woman all set to get married again. As she stares in awe at her necklace, her daughter peeks through the door, and later she also calls her for the Pheras. That is some serious impact.
2. Dekh Le – The gawking men
This powerful ad is a mirror for the gawking men. Starting and teasing women in India has been a daily chore for men. Now, this ad makes them, know how awful they look while they stare.
The ad shows four instances where men are staring at different body parts of women. A minute later all those women any coincidently flash some or the other kind of mirror to their face. Men after they see how they look in the act get conscious and embarrassed. What a smart way message the society!
3. Havells fan – Hawa Badlegi (Registrar’s Office)
Hawa Badlegi is an ad series by Havells speaking of the reforms that the Indian society needs. In this particular ad, a newly wed couple enters the registrar’s office. The husband tells the registrar that he wants to change his last name to his wife’s. In another event, a Hindu-Muslim couple delivers a baby girl. Here the father says that the girl is free to choose any religion. In the last event, a servant is asked by the family to sit and dine with them. Breaking all the boundaries and stereotypes is what this is.
You may also like: Why Indians fail to pursue their valuable dreams.
4. Tata Tea – Alarm bajne se pehle jaago re
Tata tea has strongly impacted us with its Jaagio Re ads many times. This ad can be said to be the 2.0 version. Stronger than ever. It asks people to wake up before the alarm rings.
Th ad is in the form of satire where a girl asks people to wait for the incidents and crimes to happen before acting. Many impacting lines like your player hasn’t yet defeated, and the rape hasn’t yet occurred, hit hard. The message is clear; we need to act before any mishap happens. After that, candle marches and social media screamings are meaningless
5. UCB – Equal Halves
UCB’s effort to support gender equality is quite clear here. Impactful right from the first second, the ad claims that women aren’t better halves and not even the weaker halves. They are the equal halves. These women want their half in everything.
6. Google – The Reunion
This was the most shared ad of 2013. It firmly takes on the Indo-Pak partition of 1947 and its aftereffects. Here two friends meet for the first time after the partition only with the help of Google. Here, the granddaughter of an old man helps him meet his childhood friend in Pakistan. She searches him on Google and invites him. The friend comes to visit the old man on his Birthday. The climax is too gorgeous.
You may also like: The changing spectacles of Indian festivals
7. KBC – Kohima
This campaign was aired to promote a season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Here a north-eastern girl plays the game with Amitabh Bachchan when an interesting question flashes on the screen. The question reads, “Which country the city Kohima lies in.” The girl takes audience poll, and 100 votes go to India. Then the girl asks, “Despite Kohima being an Indian city, how many people do actually consider the people from Kohima as Indians. The issue of racial discrimination of north-eastern states people is raised well here.
8. The bell bajao campaign
Initiated in 2008, this campaign had a series of ads against domestic violence in India. Here the ads had people stepping ahead and interfere whenever they come across any domestic violence happening in their surroundings. Individuals in the ad went on to ring the bell at the houses wherever it happened.
9. Lifebuoy – Help a child reach 5
Unhealthy lifestyles and infections kill millions of children in India before they even hit 5. This ad intends to aware people to help children survive and giving them clean surroundings. Here a man walks on his hands al the way through his village to a distant temple only to bow in front of the God. The man is thankful as his child is the only in the village who survived till the age of 5. That’s why the hygiene and clean lifestyle is important.
You may also like: How Indian Lifestyle Differs from American: 3 key elements deciphered
10. FasTrack- The Closet
FasTrack has created an interesting yet impactful one as ‘The Closet.’ The ad features two girls coming out of a pink colored closet, and it’s pretty clear what they were up to in there. The ad does the justice to the tagline of the brand which id ‘Move On.’ It supports in all causes the rights of LGBT community. A smart way to ask people break the stereotypes.
11. Fab Alley – What The F**k Should I Wear?
This ad has one badass message. Here the comedian Radhika Vaz is up to ask the girls to show their middle fingers to all the pressures, expectations, and fashion policing. She stands all nude while she smashes the concepts of women having to conduct and wear in a certain way. She also smashes the body shamers. The ad explicitly speaks about the freedom of women to wear and be whatever they are.
12. The Times of India – Tum Chalo to Hindustan Chaley!
Now this one is a very smart portrayal of the tagline, ‘Tum Chalo to Hindustan Chale.’ It shows that even one individual can inspire other to fight a challenge and better their nation. In the ad, a city is under rains, and a tree is fallen on the ground resulting in traffic. A passage is cleared for VIPs, and everyone else is criticizing the system. Out of nowhere, a kid comes and starts trying to lift that big tree up. OtherS just follow the kid and start working the same. A message delivered well.
13. Airtel – Barriers break when people talk
This ad will make people think about the differences that the borders create in human minds, The ad shows two kids. One of them asks another to kick a ball. A short while later, the two kids crawl under the fence and start playing together. The ad shows how a simple communication can bring people together.
So now that these ads are voicing some of the biggest social issues, we hope to see a freshly reformed society soon. Feel free to suggest any other favourite ad campaign of yours.
