Lad-free Ad

Have you ever played an ad on loop without realizing why you love it so much?

No? Okay, maybe it was just me.

Watching random YouTube videos are my micro escapades when I don’t want to commit to a movie or web series. Whenever those dreaded ads show up, I rush to click the skip ad option. But when Levi’s dropped an ad with stunning Deepika Padukone, I let it play. Once it was over, I found the ad on YouTube and played it again. And then again. Why did I do that? Was it mesmerically grooving Deepika or the catchy remix of legendary Usha Uthup’s song? Yes, I liked them both but those weren’t the only reasons that got me hooked.

Growing up in the 90s and spending my teenage years and early twenties in the 2000s, I wasn’t used to such ads. Most of the ads directed towards women showed them in regressive ways. Whether it was a household appliance or fashion item, women were always seeking male attention or validation. I still cannot get over the “Jo biwi se kare pyaar, woh Prestige se kaise kare inkaar (A man who loves his wife, cannot say no to Prestige appliances).

Most of the fairness creams ads told women they have to look Caucasian to be worthy of getting a job or a man. Women were encouraged to get slim waists to reignite the spark with their husbands. It was rarely about health and fitness. Women were reminded take the sole responsibility of providing nutrition, care, and education to their kids, while the husbands sat in the background reading a newspaper and sipping a hot cup of tea made by the wife. Basically, women’s lives were never their own. They existed to please and serve.

Levi’s came up with an ad with zero men in it. No man was turning his head to objectify a woman looking sexy in Levi’s jeans. No man was offering a job/promotion to a woman because she looked more confident and competent in a Levi’s outfit.

Instead, I saw women being unapologetically themselves. They were strutting down the company corridors in gender neutral outfits, they were biking with their friends in boxy jackets, they were playing drums, they were sweating while dancing, they were embracing their curves, and they were painting the town red with their girls. Women do not seek male validation to feel good about themselves, and this ad made it musically clear.

Having said that, I know we have a long way to go in terms of representation and equality. We need to stop calling women brave who embrace their true selves. Calling them “brave” means we are still idolizing the unrealistic beauty standards ingrained in our brains since decades. Anyone who does not fit into these absurd standards and “dares” to feel secure about herself is labelled as “brave”.

We make assumptions about women who refuse to fall into the trap of validation. “Maybe she is faking it?…Is she delusional?…She is just an attention seeker…Maybe she is hiding something…That outfit is so not right for her body type. Doesn’t she have a mirror?” Even I am guilty of such toxic thoughts about some of the most confident women. I am still in the process of unlearning social conditioning and I am proud to have come a long way.

Cynics might comment “What is such a big deal about it? Aren’t you in a way seeking validation through representations?” Maybe we are. But it is not the same. When a little girl in a wheelchair sees a Barbie in a wheelchair with cute clothes and a smile, it matters. When a teenage girl with cystic acne sees a grown woman struggling with a skin condition and still not settling for less, it matters. When a young woman with body image issues sees famous women, who do not hide or photoshop their curves and stretch marks, it matters.

I hope for a world when women are not told what they need to do with their bodies and minds. I know there is still a lot to work on, but we are headed in the right direction. On that note, wishing you all uniquely awesome ladies, Happy Women’s Day!