Have you ever observed that males tend to boast about how much housework they have done, even the smallest tasks, while women roll their eyes at the sound of this chest-thumping?
It was to be expected that this bit of wisdom would be picked up by the plethora of LinkedIn leaders and creators, who would convert it into some really insightful gold. They didn’t because Hindustan Unilever (HUL), a major FMCG company in India, took notice of it.
HUL had the opportunity to remove gender from the practice and art of dishwashing by leveraging its marketing and advertising power. Rather, it has unveiled a dishwashing liquid specifically for males. Yes, a men’s dishwashing liquid. Again, a men’s dishwashing liquid.
What was formerly mostly a female-performed chore now has a male-only product that is essential to finishing the task at hand.
Let me introduce you to Vim Black, a dishwashing liquid made specifically for men, ladies and especially the guys.
Milind Soman is the star of a digital advertisement film supporting the product launch. In the movie, a man boasts to a woman in a fitness center about how he assisted his mother with housework. When the man boasts about helping out at home, Soman makes fun of him and gives him a slow applaud, to which other gym-goers join in.
Easy to Clean, More to Brag is the new product’s tagline, which keeps making fun of males who exalt their domestic contributions.
The product, which was formerly priced at Rs 185 but is now sold out, was offered on the company’s direct-to-consumer website for Rs 0. There is a widespread belief that the company has not introduced this kind of product and that the purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of how equally men can contribute to household tasks.
The brand acknowledged that everything had been a “joke” following the initial release and response.
A few other celebs are advertising Vim Black on the Vim India Instagram page. The Vim Black package, which includes black scrubbers and a black apron, was observed being unpacked by Prathamesh Maulingkar, Vivek Dhadha, and Sahil Salathia. Further doubts over a possible partnership between the company and the station were raised when the product advertisement video was also shared to MTV India’s Instagram account.
afaqs! talked to four ad people and marketing experts to find out what they thought of the campaign and whether it was successful in starting a discussion about men’s roles at home or if it was just a gaudy marketing stunt that created buzz without having much of an influence on society. Or did it miss the mark completely and wind up glorifying gender norms?
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