ASCI investigates Grand Vitara ad for objectification of women, finds no fault

Bang In The Middle's Naresh Gupta, the complainant has also raised concerns over the ad body's delayed resolution.

Maruti Suzuki ad for its SUV ‘The Grand Vitara’ received quite some backlash on social media for its portrayal of women. A woman was seen admiring the car without adding any value to the product proposition.

On 7th August, Naresh Gupta, founder, Bang In The Middle had lodged a complaint against this with The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). The complainant was assured that the resolution would happen within a month's time. However, the Indian advertising industry's watchdog took about 2 months to come up with the eventual resolution of the complaint.

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the advertisement.

The brand was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and instead decided to submit a written response.

Maruti Suzuki in its response said that, “The advertisement does not objectify women. The female actor has been presented as an independent strong modern woman who is not afraid to explore and express her admiration for an SUV. We chose a female artist (with traits like being urban / sophisticated etc.) dressed in a manner which portrays a young / urban / sophisticated / progressive outlook. Further, we are not stereotyping women and therefore we have portrayed our protagonist as a strong, independent character, breaking from the traditional gender norms of men being decision makers in the car buying journey."

In response to this, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) observed that the ad features a young female model who is seen to be "admiring the new car" and "expressing the excitement of experiencing the same." The CCC was of the view that the advertisement was in no way objectifying the woman.

Also Read: Grand Vitara ad sparks debate about portrayal of women in ads

Further, the CCC also noted that the advertiser carried out an independent study wherein they showed the advertisement to a group of people to seek their independent opinion on the same.

It appeared that none of them felt that there was any instance in the advertisement wherein the actor is suggesting anything indecent. The CCC discussed that the advertisement is a creative expression centered on the idea that the new Grand Vitara is a never-before-seen vehicle with a commendable exterior and interior design in addition to a vast array of novel features.

As per the CCC, "The advertisement does not objectify women. The protagonist shown as a female model plays the role of a potential buyer. There is no scene in the advertisement wherein she suggests anything obscene or out of context to merely titillate the viewers."

Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the advertisement is not in contravention of ASCI guidelines on harmful gender stereotypes. Hence, this complaint was not upheld.