Saffola Gold takes the ‘woke’ route; reverses gender roles to push heart care

The new campaign once again reminds us of the adage – stress is not good for the heart.

A couple is having a picnic at the park, but a call from the ‘boss’ spoils the mood; it has to be picked. There is a fight between a boss and his subordinates. It looks a bit ugly. Sudden exclamations of “No” punctuate a house’s silence; foreheads look ready to burst.

Now, did you imagine the man at the picnic answering the call? Did you picture him yelling at his subordinates? Was he the one to break the silence of the house due to work stress? Most people will answer “Yes” to these questions.

If Saffola had made this ad a few years ago, we’d have seen a man return home, stressed from work, and his wife would use Saffola Gold oil to prepare ‘bhaaji’ for him – making sure his heart is healthy.

Saffola Gold released such an ad on November 18. It’s a ‘woke’ ad. One where these stereotypical gender roles are reversed. It’s the woman who picks the calls, is seen in an argument with her colleagues, brings work to home and is stressed, while the man cooks food for her because stress is not good for the heart.

What’s interesting to note is the song that’s played in the background is to the tune of ‘Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye’ from the 1990 film ‘Jurm’.

Mullen Lintas is behind this new campaign for Saffola Gold called ‘Rakhna Heart Ka Khayal’. Its chief creative officers Azazul Haque and Garima Khandelwal said, “As a brand, Saffola has been synonymous with heart health since its very inception. But the core task was to drive proactive care of the heart in line with the brand endeavour and by showing a context that viewers can identify with”

“We wanted to take a more progressive stance and tell our story through a gender role reversal, as heart health is universal. So, we built the narrative around women’s heart health, but relatable and extendable to all. Hence, the story of a husband concerned about his wife's heart health, as her work involves every day stress, seemed sweet, emotive, progressive and relatable, and emotionally compelling.”

Koshy George, chief marketing officer, Marico, said, "Saffola has always been committed to raising awareness about heart health as well as steps to proactively take care of our heart. Through this new campaign, Saffola aims to drive awareness of the impact of stress on our heart and the need to take proactive care.”

“The new TVC also portrays an interesting shift in the dynamics of the modern Indian household and shows the husband taking care of the wife’s heart and overall health. The campaign lucidly conveys an important message. While we take our busy and stressful lifestyles in our stride and can’t do much to change it, it could be putting tremendous pressure on our heart and, therefore, proactive care is a necessary step."