Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Changing face of Indian women in ICICI ads
On July 27, 2007 in Ads, Business, Character, Discriminatory, Family, Society, TV, Values
Advertisements that we see around us are a good barometer of how society treats its members. The subject of fairness cream ads and their demeaning effect on women, especially ambitious ones who are dark skinned has been covered in numerous debates in the past. It is an accepted fact that those ads are meant to sell the concept of fairness being a desirable trait, and hence all ads will portray fairness in women in India as a desired goal, whether it be to get a better match in marriage, or to get a better job or a more glamorous job.
Something that is no so obvious is the portrayal of women in other ads such as the ads dealing with banking. One good example is the development of ads dealing with the selling of ICICI insurance products. The first set of ads portrayed women who were totally domesticated, without a voice, and who were shown as gaining assurance through the filling of their foreheads with sindoor. These first ads were criticized for a number of reasons such as the concept of showing a lady as totally dependent on the male for security, and who gets assurance only when her male is safe. The vermillion was extended to become the ICICI insurance mark, conveying the impression that ICICI was a way to make the status of women safer. Nowhere was it urged that even women could be insured, or that they were working in a job, or that their status in the family was such that it would be good that even they got insured. Mind you, ICICI has a number of senior executives who are female, and who doubtless are insured.
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Doordarshan nostalgia: Khandaan
On July 15, 2007 in Business, Classic, Doordarshan, Family, Hindi Serial, Masala, Society, TV
I was just reminscing of serials from an earlier age, when Doordarshan was the only channel available, and we used to wait for our favourite serials to appear on TV. In the current age of a massive number of family dramas and saas-bahu serials, and my favourite type (joke, I don’t really like them), 2 mega-rich families colliding with each other, I remember a serial from an earlier age.
I am talking about a serial called Khaandan. It starred a number of characters such as Neena Gupta, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Mohan Bhandari, Jayant Kriplani, and so on. I wonder how many people remember this serial, but I was an avid watcher when it came. Of course, this must have been 20 years back now, and I have never seen a re-run of this serial, so the memory is a bit foggy.
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