What worked:
The ad very effectively brings out how Indian families encourage the choice of men in marriages and prioritize their needs for career growth. Often, women's aspirations and ambitions are compromised while finalising their marriages to meet the requirements of men. A woman who continues to prioritise her career is called 'choosy' and stigmatised. The undervaluing of career as an option for married women may explain why the work participation rate among even educated women is dropping in India.
More conversations need to be initiated on women and work in media and advertising.
Gender Sensitivity Score (GSS): 4.75/5
What could have worked:
The ad focuses on the need to get fathers involved in talking about menses and supporting their daughters during the first period, which is an important issue.
But the ad has a negative tone, the women seeing the inability of the fathers to engage with them in conversation on periods as a shortcoming and the fathers feeling guilty and inadequate.
The onus of starting conversations rests on both the parents and the children. The mothers could play a big role in sensitising their husbands and initiating conversations between fathers and daughters and not stonewalling such conversations by making it an exclusively women's issue.
The ad also scores well on the point that it represents women of different age groups and body types.
GSS: 4.25/5
What did not work:
Is the victory in the T20 series only a victory for men? Where are the women in the ad? Visibility of women and girls, especially when there is high profile celebrity endorsement will help normalise the participation of women in sports as players, managers, viewers, commentators etc.
GSS: 2.25/5
Other films from last week:
GSS: 2.5/5
GSS: 2.5/5
GSS: 3.25/5
GSS: 2.5/5
GSS: 3.0/5