By Sanjeev Kotnala
Tanishq does it again. And the brand is appreciated for remaining true to its tradition of seeking change and making progressive statements, despite the last time getting trolled for trying to tinker with tradition and rituals.
Frankly, what is there to appreciate. It is one of the safest advertisements on change. Earlier, Tanishq touched on more sensitive issues and took down the ads, and by now, the brand has realised that intent does not count in a troll-controlled ad.
SIMPLE SAFE TANISHQ AD
The recent Tanishq Rivaah ad is simple. The bride tells her mom she will come home first to have her favourite Bhindi and then go to her in-law’s home in the same town. In the South Indian language edition of the Tanishq Rivaah advertisement, the bride’s favourite dish is changed to a regional favourite for that relatability.
This change of dish with absolutely bas lip sync is seen and appreciated as an effort to regionalise, and it makes me laugh.
CONSISTENCY MAKING ITS MARK
Commentators on social media find the Rivaah ad brilliant. The brand continues to operate in the wedding space and plays it safe – really safe this time.
Audiences by now expect Tanishq to pick uncomfortable societal truths and make a progressive point! Yes, the society that the brand finds comment-worthy is only Hindu.
SOCIETAL TRUTH ONLY IN HINDU MARRIAGES AND RELIGION?
The ad could have used any religion. Parsi, Muslim, Sikh or Christian as the base and would have made equal sense.
Maybe in the case of Christian marriage, the ornamental display of Tanishq Rivaah’s designs would have been a problem. Parsi marriage may not have made sense for their limited population. Sikh weddings would have given equal opportunity for jewellery display. But a Muslim marriage with bridal jewellery would have been the most apt. However, that would have been playing with fire.
Naturally, Tanishq Rivaah, like other brands, found uncomfortable societal truths in the easiest and largest segment- Hindu. These repeated instances make a Hindu like me question if the Hindu religion is a deep mine of regressive rituals, traditions, norms, experiences and expectations.
NOTHING WRONG WITH RIVAAH AD.
Interestingly, there is nothing wrong with the Tanishq Rivaah advertisement this time. Three is nothing to troll about.
Tanishq Rivaah makes it simple. It says: ‘The wedding day is the day of celebrating choices, from choosing the partner to selecting how life should be. When you think of all the choices made so far, you feel a sense of pride and also gratitude. Gratitude to your mom for always understanding and supporting those choices. As this bride makes another choice, she knows her mother will embrace it joyfully’.
The bride tells her mother she will come home first and have her favourite dish.
It is a statement of choice with enough ambiguity about what the bride wants and where she will go when she comes to town. She is depicted as an independent, ambitious working woman, making the attitude and the decision understandable and digestible to the masses. It also makes the trolls hold their social media post.
Though many Hindus, in the name of tradition and norms, would want to see the bride first come to her husband’s home and then one of the evenings or someday go to her mother’s place for the love of Bhindi, they would not find many issues with the advertisement.
Net-Net
I have nothing against change or empowerment or equality, or inclusiveness. These are all progressive thoughts that must be promoted and discussed.
My grouse is against brands repeatedly targeting Hindu religious traditions, rituals or norms to make the point.
It seems brands know and understands the risk of tinkering and pointing out anything with other religions’ traditions, rituals and norms. However, the brands take liberty and do not have the same sensitivity while reflecting on the Hindu religion.
The advertising industry and the brands do not appreciate the advantage of a secular nation. The culturally divergent country without the ‘One country, One law’ approach provides a vast canvas of rituals, traditions, norms and expectations across multiple religions and regions. However, the Hindu religion is the one that is always commented upon, be it festivals or marriage or inheritance or woman empowerment.
I am still waiting for some courageous brand to take on the minority religion and reflect on some not-so-progressive traditions and practices. There must be some.
Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior business and marketing strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia on Wednesdays. His views here are personal.
Prabhakar Mundkur is a veteran advertising professional, a prolific musician and an even more prolific commentator who has worked across continents. He is currently holidaying in Canada, and wrote this tribute in the wee hours of the day to a man he loves much, and he owes so much to.