Tuesday, February 25, 2014

An Open Letter to Fair and Lovely


Dear Fair n Lovely,

I had the chance to see your latest advert. Firstly, kudos for moving away from the “Rs.5 Crore” challenge, because it wasn’t just a recipe for disaster,the whole idea also seemed thoughtless. Also, how did you zero in on Yami Gautam as your brand ambassador? She is stunning and is one of the few, very few good decisions you have made.

Moving on, the new ad. Let me run it down for you. It starts with a dad-daughter pair finishing their morning run and the dad throwing the dreaded “Shaadi karlo beta” question (The daughter/main protagonist is dusky / brown). You guys finally decided to move out of that fairytalesque lab, which appears so bright and white that it might have gobbled up a month’s supply of Fair and Lovely, for all one knows. Good change that. The daughter throws the clichéd “But, I want to work, make a living” retort, dad goes on a “The guy I have found for you has all that” riposte. Daughter sulks and goes to meet her fairer than an “Irish on a gloomy, snowy winter day” friend, who else but Yami Gautam.

Yami does what she does best, plays the Fair and Lovely Card with that quirky smirk, and asks her friend to accept her dad’s proposal & marry. Then, we have the “La laa laa la laaaaaaa” background music, as the daughter walks with an unbelievable confidence and strut in her walk. The daughter is now looking like she underwent a "Vanilla Ice Cream & Snow concoct" facial, the radiance is unreal. She tells her father that she is ready for marriage, but after 3 years, when she is as successful as her would-be husband. The father is awed by his daughter’s new found confidence and is rendered speechless, her mother gives a wry smile, and the daughter walks back, beaming, midst the “la laaa la laaa laa” BGM.

Whew. You guys seem to have put some serious thought into it. Now, let me not play the Racist card. I believe you have had to face quite a bit of that backlash, and I have myself made a sly racist comment earlier in this letter. So, better I stay away from it. I understand that yours is a fairness cream, and you need to propagate the idea of fairness as a plus through your ads. I understand that you cater to the Indian Market, which has an unhealthy fetish with fair skin. Nevertheless, what I don’t understand or like is, why you need to do so at the behest of the “Not so Fair” people.

It is okay to show a fair skinned person as confident, brave and outspoken. It is not okay to show a dusky person as under-confident and easily flappable. It is okay to show a fair-skinned woman as the most sought after chick in college/office. It is not okay to show a dark-skinned woman being ridiculed by guys because of her skin colour. It is okay to show a fair skinned woman making a guy fall heads over heels on first sight, and get on his knees straightaway. It is not okay to show a dusky-skinned woman being asked by her friend to use a fairness cream, and get fair in order to get the guy of her dreams.

I get it that, this particular stereotype has always existed in the consumer’s minds, and it is not something that you guys created. But wouldn’t it be better that as a socially conscious brand (as evident from your Fair and Lovely Foundation initiative), you work towards eliminating stereotypes and not acknowledging and leeching on it? Food for thought, maybe.

I know enough people who aren’t exactly what you would call fair, but are amazingly lovely and confident folks. And they most certainly aren’t from the “Fair Skin equals beauty, success and confidence” school of thought. So, It would be really nice if you give your ad guys a bit of a jostle and ask them to come up with something better and less stereotypical. You guys need to be a bit “fair” now, don’t you?

Cheers,
Me

P.S – Yami Gautham is awesome. Please don’t change her. 

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