How long will girls and women be subjected to overt and covert sexism? How long should they be forced to alter small bits of their lives to fit in with the male members of their families? None of these questions are particularly novel but a new Amul ad has again brought these questions back to public attention.
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation's (GCMMF's) Amul has been criticised for its latest digital film, that was released on September 19, for being sexist and regressive.
The film which is a part of its 'Har Ghar Amul Ghar' campaign has been popular since its launch for all the wrong reasons. An Economic Times report says that Sanjay Tripathi, head of marketing HDFC life has tagged Jayen Mehta of GCMMF in a post that read "Stop this ad."
The video tries hard to project Amul Tazaa (the co-operative's milk brand) as a token of affection and care but ends up conveying a completely different message.
In the video, a young girl decks up a room for her infant brother with dolls. She withdraws when he father snubs her efforts and says her brother would not play with dolls. When the father realises that he has upset his daughter, he tries to cajole her by offering her milk. Then, as a peace offering, he teaches her to play cricket, so she can play with her brother once he grows up.
While honchos from within the marketing fraternity continue to speak out against the underlying message of the digital film, viewers on YouTube have been less subtle with their reaction. User Aabha Sharma commented, "shame on d makers of this ad! while the whole world is trying to move forward towards progressive thinking, they r going back to a sexist century!(sic)"
Another use Karan Agarwal drove home the point with sarcasm. His comment read, "Continuing its proud tradition of no bullshit social commentary, Amul side steps political correctness and gives invaluable parenting advice by answering the age old question, 'What to do if your wife accidentally gives birth to a girl?'"
Watch the video here:
.
The Economic Times report states that RS Sodhi MD of GCMMF termed the video "a nice film". The report quotes him as saying that the film projects things that happens in "every home".
Since it release on September 19, the video seems to have drawn more ire than approval.
