This Women’s Day, Swiggy teaches us ‘How to Eat like a lady’

The campaign is a dig on the unfair societal constructs and norms set up for women.

Swiggy’s International Women’s Day campaign- ‘How to Eat like a lady’ is a dig at the age-old advice and rules that all women have been conditioned. The campaign is being widely appreciated by the netizens for doing its bit in fighting patriarchal norms that dictate even the smallest and mundane parts of women’s lives. The fun campaign aims at combating the unfair burden put on women in their everyday lives and reflects upon them through food.

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The brand’s campaign features women of all ages and backgrounds, breaking these societal norms and doing the exact opposite of whatever is required in order to ‘Eat like a lady’.

For example, a lady is shown slurping her tea loudly, when the voiceover suggests a lady should not be slurping her tea. Another shot, shows an elderly woman burping unapologetically at a brunch. With a voice over dictating all the rules and table manners that are mostly restricted to women, the ad shows the ladies doing the exact opposite, thus making a loud statement.

Swiggy’s ‘How to Eat like a lady’ campaign draws sharp parallels to Always’ 2014  #LikeAGirl campaign that aimed at turning around the stereotypes surrounding the phrase ‘Like a Girl’. The phrase was and unfortunately is still associated with negative connotations. For example phrases like, ‘You’re driving like a girl’, ‘You’re running like a girl’ meant that the person was not good enough at the activity.

The brand wanted to challenge these stereotypes and came up with a campaign that is still widely remembered today.

While Always’ campaign took an emotional appeal, Swiggy leveraged humor and irony. The campaign's playful yet poignant approach not only encourages viewers to question societal norms but also fosters a sense of empowerment among women who may feel constrained by rigid gender expectations. Swiggy’s Women’s Day campaign aligns with a number of global and local initiatives advocating for gender equality and challenging deep rooted sexism.