1. They no more reinforce the old belief that a
woman is supposed to forgo her own comfort
and keep on doing household chores without
getting tired.
Depiction Of Women In Indian
Advertisements
2001-2010
. The mother-in-law is rarely present;
when she does appear, it is as a
distant, benign installation

2. Women are now depicted in
contexts like…
girl child
a career
woman
prospective as a person
mother who
enhances the
appeal of the
advertisemen
t

3. • Is the woman the target-audience a
product/service is aimed at?
• Is she the primary consumer of the
product/service advertised?
• Or is she herself the product or service?

4. Characteristics Of Women in
Ads.
• More decision making power
than the past
• Potraying women as
commodities and sex objects
• The modern Indian woman is
independent, in charge — and
does not have to live with her
dark skin.
• independent, assertive,
enjoying life and a career
woman.
• Not a “house wife” but a
“home maker”
• scrupulous, religiously
intolerant, craving only for
their own family, politically
naïve, socially inevitable and
culturally ultra-modern.

5. Women as sex
objects in irrelevant
ads • There is an advertisement of a premium whisky that shows
one man is taking first sip of that particular whisky and the
lady sitting in front him appears to be losing some inches of
her dress after every drink the process goes on up to three
drinks. After three sips of the drink he finds that the breasts of
the previously over-clad lady have become quite visible and
half clad and his own shirt has slipped from his shoulders. And
the voice smurs- KuchhBhi Ho SaktaHai (Anything can happen).
• In one advertisement of an after-shave lotion, a man comes
out after shaving and using the particular lotion and the young
girls in the vicinity start following him seductively.
• In one advertisement of a bike one individual is shown as
moving hand on the body of the bike and the image of a semi-
nude lady props up instead of the bike.
• In one advertisement of a deodorant spray young two-piece
bikini clad females start flocking the man who has used that
spray recently.
• In another advertisement two girls are using the telescope to
watch, admire and get fainted out of infatuation by looking at
the man wearing only a particular brand of underwear.
• Another advertisement of an underwear shows a young man
kissed in almost every party of his body by the infatuated
young girls in the ladies toilet.

6. Battle of sexes
• Coming to the question of change, the
roles of men and women have
changed.
• The world of the Indian woman is no
longer limited to the four walls of her
home and the Indian male has to chip
in with household chores. Advertisers
are taking notice of this
metamorphosis: A father cleaning his
child’s dirty t-shirt in the Ariel Ad or “the
woman of substance” as portrayed by
Femina Ads - independent and head
on!
• Now men are featured in ads of female
shampoos and bathing soaps

7. More realistic ads
• Now modern advertisements are
presenting a more realistic and
balanced picture of Indian women
such as HERO HONDA
PLEASURE (Why should boys
have all the fun) in which they are
advertisement advocates women
empowerment
likewise in advertisement
PRUDENTIAL LIFE
INSURANCE (JeeteyRaho)- in
which, a young couple is seen
where a wife asks husband to
sign the life insurance papers

8. conclusion
• Women in India are increasingly exposed to education
and participate in workforce; gender demarcations are
undergoing rapid change.
• They have now greater physical, cultural and social
mobility than what their mothers and grandmothers
used to have.
• Today’s woman has the freedom to explore new ways of
living, peer bonding, handling relationships, and so on.
• Since they are getting monetarily independent, their
value at home is also increasing.
• This has reduced the „commodity‟ status of women
and their portrayal as sex objects in advertisements has
witnessed a key change.
• . While it is common to use women in advertisements
to attract men, the reverse is also happening in few
cases, though in a subtle way
• This stereotyped and sexually aggressive portrayal of
women is a profitable trend in the new market
economy.