Can advertising be the antidote to toxic masculinity?

Crimes against women, be it 12 years ago in Delhi or merely 12 days ago, have consistently struck at the very heart of the nation. In the face of these horrific injustices, questions arise – what actions did we take, and how did we respond?

12 years ago we, horrified after we learned what had transpired, came out of our stupor and accosted intuitions and civil society on their failure to protect women and prevent the spread of poisonous masculinity.

But has anything changed in the decade since?

People talk about 24x7 helplines, improved policing, creating accessible spaces to eliminate no-go zones, and setting exemplary judgements and punishments, and while these are the right ideas, not many want to treat the root of this issue. 

Many children grow up without healthy examples of gender relationships and only observe and then imbibe misogyny and patriarchy. It is not exactly shocking to see them repeat the sins of their elders. 

Add to it today’s widespread influence of media be it our movies or social media – especially those dastardly meme pages on Instagram - has only bolstered the reach of toxicity, especially the one around masculinity. 

The inability to see women as equal human beings is one of the evil gifts toxic masculinity showers on us. 

There are little to no spaces left to unlearn this social conditioning, and then learn what is right from wrong. And here is when the role of advertising comes under the limelight. Yes, this communication sector has problematic work in its portfolio, but it also has work that has influenced readers and viewers for the better. 

There was Incredible India’s ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ campaign that showed viewers what is right from wrong– a couple castigating a photographer near the Gateway of India for harassing a foreign visitor to India. Bharatmatrimony’s ad for Holi in 2023 showed how women face violence under the guise of ‘Bura na mano Holi hai’. 

Trolls attacked the latter for being anti-Hindu but the brand and the agency refused take the ad down; a few vertebrae still stood erect in the otherwise limp and docile communication world. 

One cannot discount the power of influence advertising still holds. At least two generations still associate elections with Tata Tea’s Jaago Re, and the folks growing up in the 90s will remember PSI’s Balbir Pasha and how it tried to normalise the conversation AIDS.

We asked a few creative leaders how they think advertising can rewire and influence young men (even the older ones), misbecome the dangerous avatars they’ve taken on, and do the right thing and unlearn what they’ve seen and absorbed. If not, is the situation beyond repair?

Binaifer Dulani, creative and founding Partner, Talented

I’ve always believed that media dollars can meet business objectives while also championing social justice. However, it’s important for us to realise that patriarchy affects men, as much as it affects women. 

In media narratives to create gender equity, we have often focussed on writing and casting the ‘strong and powerful woman’ without realising that we have an equal responsibility to also role model the ‘secure and emotionally available man’ to coexist with her.

As women emerged as a powerful and influential cohort, we built narratives that overcompensated for the way history limited her potential, by creating another problem: unloading the burden of potential on her. In that, we manufactured the mythical woman who fights for and writes her own destiny without any support. 

We created the fallacy that ‘women issues’ are issues that women need to find solutions to, when in fact, they are human issues - that require both men and women to equally participate. 

Our work as an industry to create equity needs to focus on creating better imagery and depictions of allyhood - from men – who powerful allies and have a massive role to play in the present model of our world.”

Ajeeta Bharadwaj, chief strategy officer, Wondrlab Network

On whether man can learn and unlearn what they’ve seen and absorbed

India is a patriarchal country and societal conditioning has been to reward a man for being a man. Respect, privileges, freedom, benefit of doubt. The problem with conditioning is that it teaches us what to read as ‘normal’. 

If we keep observing the preference, privilege, and respect for men, we learn to read this as normal. What is needed now, is some amount of ‘unconditioning’. Is it normal to expect your wife to give up her career and follow you to a new city without so much as a discussion? For many, the answer would still be Yes. Is it ok to raise your voice at her so long as you’re not actually raising a hand? Sadly, again for many, the answer would be Yes. We need a cultural force to step in and set this right.

Some movies have stepped up and tried to change these paradigms, but unfortunately today for every movie that empowers women, you have a spate of movies that normalise violence against women or paint misogynist men in a macho light. Advertising is more regulated so it becomes a more reliable player in consistently and seamlessly reshaping gender narratives.

If not, is the situation beyond repair

Prior to launching Bharat Matrimony’s Be Choosy campaign, which encouraged women to be choosy in life partner selection, we did pan-India research where we found fathers talking about how they would not take the conversation ahead with a family that expected their daughter to give up her career. 

Single men talking about how they would help their wives around the house. Stated intent or reality? Well, at a time when the UN believes that it will take an estimated 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership and 286 years to close gaps in legal protection, this is hope enough around which we can build advertising as a force for gender equality.

Pallavi Chakravarti , co-founder and chief creative officer, Fundamental

The burden of rewiring an entire population, right especially like you rightly said, one that has grown up seeing misogyny or found patriarchy running through the veins of their households from the time they've been born, I think the burden of effecting that change cannot be on advertising alone. 

I don't think we will be able to carry that burden as an industry but that doesn't mean that we should stop. I don’t think any one thing is going to go about changing centuries of what is ingrained. 

With repeated efforts, educational campaigns from the government, word of mouth, advertising, and different avenues which get people to reflect and rethink what they are doing will eventually bear some fruit. 

So, I don’t think it’s realistic to say there will be an ad campaign which will change the way the world thinks. That only happens for case studies, and it is not an accurate picture. 

But equally, when such topics are spoken of, there is some change somewhere being affected. We will be drinking up our own Kool-Aid if we believe everything, we do have far-reaching consequences but we will be selling ourselves short if we believe it has no consequence. 

Ours is to keep trying. For any socially conscious industry, especially one which has mass influence, the job is to keep trying wherever relevant. 

If a campaign shows up on WhatsApp in some group, family, friends, society, or alumni, all of these things matter. It may not change the individual you are, but will strike a chord somewhere. 

Where necessary, an effort should be continued. 

Vinayak Kohli, creative director, Infectious Advertising

The task of rewiring problematic men would be a difficult and complex one, and it goes without saying that advertising alone cannot solve the issue.

But it can certainly make a difference.

How? Well, advertising has a powerful tool at its disposal: creativity. Through creativity, we can create stories that appeal to the emotional side of our audience – men, in this case – which can be an effective way to influence their thinking.

Secondly, advertising allows us to take a complex issue, take patriarchy or gender stereotyping, for instance, and reduce it to a simple, fresh message. Such simplicity and freshness help the message stick in our audience’s mind and make a deeper impact, compelling them to question their own beliefs (about women, in this case).   

So yes, if we keep on targeting men with messages regarding women’s issues – for a long time – I believe we can make some difference.