The evolving portrayal of women in advertising

• Despite all the chatter, gender stereotypes still persist in the marketing of certain products, reinforcing biassed tropes.  

• While some brands embrace inclusivity, others perpetuate traditional gender roles, influenced by societal norms and target audience preferences.

• Brand custodians play a crucial role in reshaping cultural norms by advocating for more gender-inclusive advertising that reflects an equitable society. 

The Indian advertising landscape has made significant progress in its portrayal of women in advertising. While women are still depicted in domestic roles such as kitchens, shopping in supermarkets, and cleaning, there is a notable shift with women taking on lead roles in advertisements across diverse categories, including cars, insurance, and fintech.

However, a larger chunk of products are still marketed and are catering to women in very different ways than they cater to men.

For example, A deo/perfume serves the same purpose for a man and a woman. However,  in ads, we see female deodorants being sold based on their ‘Freshness’ and ‘Hygiene’. Whereas for men, the perfumes are still attracting women. Some product categories, although used by both, rarely show women as consumers/. For example, alcohol, tobacco and gambling ads. Similarly, categories like home care rarely show men.

What drives these category codes? And how do societal norms influence them?

Falguni Vasavada-Oza, professor, area leader - strategic marketing, MICA, suggests stereotyping is prevalent in branding. Some brands choose to reinforce these stereotypes for safety, while others opt to challenge them. For instance, Ariel challenged the notion of laundry as a gender-specific task, promoting it as a gender-neutral life skill. She explains that some brands prefer to conform to these stereotypes, while others strive for change and inclusivity.

“Advertising creates brand images in consumers' minds, influencing their inclination towards or distancing from a brand, though sales are influenced by multiple factors beyond advertising in today's age,” she adds. 

Is this a category problem?

According to Vidya Damani, principal consultant and brand strategist at chlorophyll brand and communications,  there is a difference between mirroring the target audience’s changing lifestyle and taking a stance to be woke.

Damani opines that while brands from categories like fashion and lifestyle are ready to make conversations about gender roles and depiction of women, many traditional categories still choose to carry on with biassed tropes, not only in advertising but also in designing the target for the products.

“Where I do see a slight positive shift in the portrayal of gender roles, is for brands that cater to the masses (especially tier II and III). There is an acknowledgement of women as decision-makers. What would make a real difference is talking about the struggles and constraints that don’t allow women an equal platform.”

“As communication specialists, if we want to take steps towards putting things right, we might need to press the refresh button on category codes for sectors like real estate. Can we please stop cueing luxury by showing ‘beautiful’ women in gowns, aimlessly strolling around a property?” she adds. 

Along similar lines, Vasavada-Oza feels that categories like kitchen spices where male superstars have taken over as brand ambassadors still manage to come across as sexist.

“The shift is driven by the increased visibility of male chefs in mainstream media like MasterChef. Celebrities like Ranveer Brar and Sanjeev Kapoor are becoming more accepted as chefs, with their popularity rising on platforms like Instagram. In a few ads, you might see men cooking or taking charge in the kitchen. However, typically, they're portrayed as customers being served directly at the table within a patriarchal framework. So those ads are still targeted to women,” she explains.

Vishnu Srivatsav, creative head, 22feet Tribal Worldwide believes that advertising uses progressive narratives to make a point and not to depict life. “This is why you see non-traditional portrayals are the idea sometimes. The true indicator of societal progress would be the day we see a Milind Soman appear in a dishwasher ad that doesn’t make a point about gender and instead have him simply be the protagonist in a typical dishwasher bar commercial. This would be the day we can say that we have progressed as a society enough where we don’t have to celebrate every man who enters the kitchen and every woman who enters the boardroom. We’ve observed this shift happen a bit in car and motorcycle advertising, but many other product categories still have a long way to go.”

What roles can brand custodians play?

For marketers, gender specialisation provides opportunities like creating a different line of extensions suited for each sex and playing in different price fields. However, at the bottom of it is that we are living in times when all of us are collectively fighting to undo the gender norms decided by the patriarchal society. How much sense does it make to ‘genderise’ products?

Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby says, in an equitable world, where men and women are equal participants in everything, “Our advertising also needs to reflect that. Culture codes based on stereotypical gender roles need a serious rethink, if we are to become a more progressive society. Our literature, art, films and advertising need to pay special attention to permeate a more -gender equal messaging. The problem is persistent not only in Indian advertising but across global markets too. As brand custodians, we need to consistently ensure not to give in to the obvious and sometimes subtle gender stereotyping that creeps into our narrative,” says Dasgupta.