Black or White? The case of stupid ads…
These topics have been debated many times now, so it is nothing new. What is the meaning of the hype created over fair skin? Look at the advertisements of these so called fairness creams on TV. The girl or guy is shown as a nobody with a dark skin, and then suddenly someone gives them a tube of the cream, which our lead applies and her/his skin tones lightens by a major amount. And voila she/he gets their dream job, everyone begins to notice them and they get their love. I mean, isn’t a beautiful face one which is perfectly symmetrical with nice features, and not just a fair face. The ancient Hindu gods Krishna, Ram and Shiv are described as handsome, good looking but dark complexioned. Many African women are considered to be some of the most beautiful ladies in the world. They aren’t undergoing fairness regimes. Why are we so shallow that we are not ready to look beyond the skin of a person?
There are some other stupid ads also, shown on TV. The breadth mints ads take the cake here. They are so stupid that I bet they were conceived by some guy with an IQ of a hole in one (-ve according to a golf scorecard i.e. quite under par). Here the concept is virtually the same, no matter which brand being showcased. A girl is sitting or standing or whatever, a guy comes, pops a mint in his mouth and blows in the direction of his beloved. She jumps straight to him while the general public is shivering with cold due to the intense cooling effect of the mint tablet.
I could go on and on. There are these horlicks/boost/health drink ads, claiming that their drink increases the growth and stamina of kids. The sanitary pads for women ads. How many times I have seen my mother frown at these ads (She is a Gynaecologist) and dismiss their statements as lies, especially the one in which they say “Happy Period” in the end. I don’t have a firsthand experience here, but, I am retelling what I saw and heard. Soaps bars, emergency contraceptives. Shampoos claiming to fight hair fall and dandruff. Hair oils. The list is endless. Add you own points too.
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[…] Not fair, obsession | Leave a Comment Today I happened to read this post by Prateek on stupid ads which reminded me to write this pending post. He has written about how stupid these fairness cream […]
Snow Leopard's Blog 
Its truly a sad thing that people don’t learn to appreciate what they have and spend so much time, effort and money on improving their features. Very good article!
I especially hate the fact that whenever I go to the barber’s to get a hair cut, he keeps on pestering me that I should get a bleach/facial or whatever done. His reason is that my face has been tanned by the sun and bleaching would remove the tan making me fairer or something.
And then there are those reports of people going to cosmetic surgeons to get their features changed because they do not like the way they do, which you can read in the papers now and then.
Rightly said Smitzy, people do not know how to appreciate what they have. We were once taught through folk tales that a bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush. But…..
Nice Post.
Such stupid ads have changed the way people think.
Thanks.
A very nice post Prateek 🙂 . I was planning to write on the fairness issue for quite a few days.
I disagree with Gaurav. Such stupid ads haven’t changed the way people think. They simply reinforce your beliefs. And in turn help them perpetuate and as a result they stay on almost forever…