Mediaboss Marketing

A celebration of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, Pride Month (celebrated each year in June), over the years, has become a great opportunity for brands to stand up for the cause of equal rights and representation, globally.

However, the Indian brands still are very cautious and often seem to be floundering with half-baked attempts that could best be described as tokenism in most cases.

The creative industry feels that there is still a long way to go for them to champion the cause of equal representation in ads created for and with the community.

Elephant Design Co-founder & Director Ashwini Deshpande says, We have been seeing very specific, focused campaigns during pride months for a couple of years. In most cases, I dont quite feel sure about who they are targeted towards and what their purpose is. I also believe we are still exploring and discovering the proud tone of voice that will work in India. I have cringed at the caricaturing in Bollywood and I do hope we see sensible portrayals of real characters in communication. In any case, we have to do away with tokenisms that happens in June and also for Womens Day, Environment Day and Mothers Day campaigns.

It is not like that the industry has never created compelling pieces of communication representing the community, but the ones that got all the elements right are few and far between.

Some of the campaigns, not necessarily created for Pride Month, which really struck the chord have been Vicks Touch of Love (created by Publicis Singapore, 2017), Fastrack Come Out of the Closet (created by Lowe Lintas, 2013), and OKCupid Indias #AllyOfLove (created by Dentsu Webchutney, 2020).

Most recently, the Bhima Jewellers Pure As Love campaign (created by Animal, 2021), left a big impact. However, the industry at large, might still be manoeuvring in a safe field when it comes to telling stories of the community.

Dentsu Webchutney Lead D&I and AVP Strategy Freya DSouza says, Indian advertising has come a long way when it comes to narratives around the LGBT+ community. Some advertising hasnt aged well, while others have built considerable equity for the brand while staying true to the community and their current circumstance in society today.

Depicting diversity within the community as well as showcasing young Indian LGBT+ faces in advertising have helped open up conversations, especially on social media, around what used to be a sensitive/taboo or even derided issue earlier. That said, most advertising plays it safe in more ways than one, diluting what are essential topics of discussion for the community (issues around discrimination, oppression, legality, and everyday living) to cater to a more mainstream palate. The dialogue around LGBT+ issues in the country is evolving, and as brand marketers and advertisers, we get to decide if we choose to follow the conversation or lead it.

Madison BMB CEO & Chief Creative Officer Raj Nair adds that brands need to be seen as bold, fearless and progressive, just like the members of the LGBTQIA+ community if they really want to make a positive impact.

He highlights, Brands need to be seen as seriously promoting the cause if they want active support from the large community. The last thing the community wants is lip service and anything that could be seen as exploitative. Take the example of Benetton. Heres a brand that, for decades, has thrown all rule books out the window and has been 'woke' way before the word was coined. When Benetton puts out a message, its the most natural fit there possibly could be. The last thing a brand should do is jump on a bandwagon, just for the sake of it, for topicality.

When it comes to expectations for this years pride campaigns, Deshpande wants the brands to rise above tokenism and doesn't want it to be all about selling or increasing gift orders etc.

She points out, Brands need a lot more introspection before they do any Pride Month activities. Apart from one odd campaign, brands need to be clear about how they would be aligning themselves with the changing and open order of gender fluidity & sexual choices. In the absence of a clear & consistent manifesto, a campaign is pure tokenism and may do more harm than not. I want to see human stories that touch all aspects of relationships.

Similarly, DSouza wants to see representation across the gender and sexuality spectrum and perhaps, even a commitment from brands (and agencies) toward the LGBT+ community that extends beyond the campaign and Pride Month, to product, culture and more.

She says, I would love for brands that define themselves as bold, authentic, inclusive etc. in terms of brand persona and TOV to bring this to bear in advertising for the LGBT+ community, and extend the dialogue around what representation in advertising can and should be. Of course, this pertains to all brands but lets start somewhere. I do believe we can and should move beyond the depiction of same-sex couples and transwomen alone to include more of the spectrum of sexuality and gender. For example, while weve had trans representation (and I welcome more and more of it!), weve rarely seen transmen showcased in advertising. Why is that? Weve never spoken of pansexuality, bisexuality or asexuality.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)

Continue reading here:
Will brands rise above tokenism and topicality this Pride Month? - Exchange4Media