Before Vim Black, 5 ‘Progressive’ Ads That Were Called Out for Being Problematic

Akshay Kumar's road safety ad to Zomato's 'Har Customer Hai Star' campaign, here are 5 ads that were criticized

In a sea of cringey, forgettable, and regressive advertisements, there are a few marketing campaigns that stand out - with their fresh and creative takes. Some brands even attempt to convey a strong social message through their advertisements.

There have been some very progressive campaigns in the past, like the Tanishq or Surf Excel ads that promoted communal harmony, or Ariel's 'Share the load campaign' shattering the stereotypes that washing clothes is only a woman's job.

But there have been other times when ad agencies, in an attempt to design progressive campaigns, have actually created problematic ones.

Take, for instance, the new advertisement of 'Vim' featuring Milind Soman that caused quite a stir recently.

For the unversed, the ad shows a man at the gym, bragging about washing dishes and helping out his mother - in order to impress a woman. Enter Milind Soman, who offers him ‘Vim Black’- the dishwashing soap exclusively meant for men.

This campaign created much confusion among the consumers who had a difficult time deciphering if this was a clever dig at men who think washing dishes is a woman's job or if they tricked men into believing that they, in fact, do need a separate dishwashing liquid that looked macho!

The company published a clarification after the controversy, stating that this campaign was an attempt to start the conversation around men sharing the responsibility of domestic chores equally. They wrote that ‘despite the different packaging, the liquid is the same’

However, even if the ad was well-intentioned, Vim still introduced a different 'macho' packaging for the product which again reinforced gender stereotypes.

Just like Vim, there have been other ads that have backfired. Here's taking a look at them:

Fem Bleach

The Fem ad launched in 2021 showed a same-sex couple participating in the Hindu ritual of Karwa Chauth. While the ad represented the LGBTQ community in a positive light and attempted to normalise the conversation around same-sex couples and non-heterosexual relationships, they forgot that their 'fairness bleach' propagates colourism and regressive beauty standards!

Road Safety Ad:

This road safety advertisement by the government of India was launched in the aftermath of the tragic demise of notable businessman Cyrus Mistry, who lost his life in a road accident.

The ad featuring Akshay Kumar intended to create awareness around the importance of airbags in the car, but completely failed to bring out the message of road safety. Instead, the conversation between Akshay Kumar, who plays a cop, and the bride's father ended up promoting dowry.

Zomato

Zomato had been in hot waters with its staff over many reasons, including job insecurity, low and fluctuating income, and poor working conditions. So when the company launched its 'Har Customer Hai Star' campaign, Zomato drew heavy criticism for being tone-deaf.

Amul

Amul, in their recent ad, decided to honour women and 'celebrate the spirit of Indian women' by showing women working in the kitchen, serving, and cooking for their family.

Now, many women, including me, could interpret the ad in one of two ways, either Indian women's only contribution to the lives of others is by cooking for them, or Amul only celebrates women who find their happiness in the kitchen.

In both the cases, Amul lost respect by creating this regressive ad.

Voltas

Did you know that a dishwasher can only be used by women, especially mothers? Well, because it was unimaginable for men to clean dishes (since the Vim black was just recently introduced) and no matter how progressive or modern a woman is, at the end of the day, its her job to clean up the mess.