Since the dawn of commercial communications, gender stereotypes have dictated women's portrayal in Indian advertising; however, it has also seen a lot of evolution. 

Back in the day, when advertising was a Mad Men’s world, people saw advertisements from a man’s perspective. In the Indian context, women have often long been portrayed as aides, providing support for men to accomplish their goals, or have been subjected to objectification. Their portrayals reinforced the traditional gender roles of the time as caregivers or homemakers without much agency, an exception being Surf's Lalitaji ad of the 80s where the housewife was at the front and centre of the detergent commercial. 

The widely controversial Layer Shot ad that had rape-y undertones was launched as recently as 2022. 

Vir Das summed up women's portrayal in Indian ads in this commercial for He Perfumes. 

The change in the narrative

Women are an important demographic for marketers today, a far cry from how things were half a couple of decades ago. Not only do they have decision-making authority in a household, they now also have purchasing power. Having a loyal customer base of women is therefore important to any brand that wants to enjoy long-term success.

Ads have also mirrored society in reflecting the social and economic mores of the times. With the number of women increasing in the workspace, portrayals of women have also undergone a sea change.

“The purpose of advertising is to build a strong recall value and affinity for the brand. To achieve that, advertisers tend to tailor their messages to appeal to their target audience. As the family structure transitions at large from a joint structure to a nuclear family. Women hold a fair share of decision-making in regular purchases for products and services catering to the home”, says, Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy Transformation & Marketing Officer, Luminous Power Technologies on the change in the representation of women. 

Echoing similar thoughts, Yash Kulshresth, CCO at ^atom network said that women were shown as housewives but with the financial contribution and the feminism wave, the narrative has changed. He said, “As women's financial contributions started in significant proportions,  the portrayal of women in ads also became more versatile in the mid-90s. The voice of women became more important than their bodies.  However, prevalent sexism in Indian and International ads in epic proportions often overshadowed the multifaceted roles demonstrated in a few ads.”

“But femvertising had enough by 2014. The rise of inclusivity and empowerment questioned everything that Creative Dictators wrote.  As a society, we started seeing things beyond physical appearances, addressing subtle stereotypes, and pushing for authentic representation. Now you see women on bikes in the air, not women with wings selling you Red Bull. The loud potato-potato is not the heirloom of men anymore. Maternity leave is not a break anymore. It's no longer a Mad Men world, and it shouldn't have been ever”, he added.

Living in an increasingly progressive world, as a demographic, women also value brands that respect them back. Marketers have eventually come to realise that this important cohort deserves a nuanced portrayal, which is evident in the way women are represented in ad films today. 

From playing second fiddle to their husbands and being the kitchen goddess to having agency and autonomy, women in Indian ads have come a long way. 

The shift in the tone can be seen in impactful brand campaigns such as Ariel's Share the Load, Dove's Stop the Beauty Test; Whisper's Touch the Pickle, and Vicks: Touch of Care. Even a brand like Fair&Lovely had to bend to the will of its progressive customer base by changing its name to Glow&Lovely. 

Advertising has evolved with more female voices taking center stage or being equally represented. Even in marketing board rooms, women are taking part in the brainstorming sessions to give a better perspective having inclusivity at the forefront.

The road forward

Although the narrative has started to change, advertising still has a long way to go. Showing women as superhumans who can manage everything right from their personal lives to professional ones and still look fresh and beautiful paved the way in the advertising world. 

However, creatives and marketers are becoming aware of this fact and crafting communication to present a picture of equality. “It is of utmost importance that we don't vilify men to portray women as heroes, and we don’t portray women as superhumans; we tell her story in a real and unbiased manner”, says Rashmi Ambastha, Executive Creative Director at EFGH Brand Innovations. 

She further added that we all have biases, and acknowledging them is the first step towards change. Stereotypes are deeply ingrained in our cultural and moral fabric, often influencing our actions without us realizing it. “While creating ads to challenge stereotypes is commendable, it's imperative to acknowledge our own biases and approach ad creation with mindfulness. Only by recognizing and addressing our inherent biases can we bring about meaningful change”, she said.

As for Kulshresth, the road to cover is more than we have travelled. “Just when we think we have evolved, an ad like Layer'r Shot jolts our fibrils. Gladly, we are living in a social media age. These ads get cancelled, and the affinity towards such brands reduces to zero”, he said.

“What we often forget is that India is way more than just metros. Brands frequently create films and award ideas to attract the evolved minds of metros. But the truth is that the deep trenches of Bharat still smell of patriarchy. Brands catering to Bharat still reduce the representation of women to "housewives" or "sex objects." Brand custodians and ad-land need to take a vow to evolve Bharat. We cannot continue to do the same things by undermining Bharat's intelligence anymore. We need to attack problems at the grassroots level. We don't need one brand to be progressive; we need many brands not to be regressive”, he added.