However, times are now changing and so is the audience’s thinking. Indian advertisements are churning out some revolutionary content that is shifting the dialogue. 

1. Saffola Gold – Heart Ka Khayaal 

We have been seeing women cooking meals for her family for a very long period of time. This advertisement flips the picture and depicts how the man of the house takes up the responsibility to cook a meal for his wife when she’s stressed about her work. 

2. Ghadi Detergent – Saare Mael Dho Daalo 

Released a week before Holi, this advertisement acts up as a voice against eve-teasing that happens during this festival. This campaign urges women not to hold back but stand up to someone who intentionally tries to apply gulaal without her consent. 

3. Colgate – Smile Karo Aur Shuru Ho Jaao 

Depicting the true meaning of ‘there’s no right age to fall in love’, this beautiful advertisement showcases a woman in her old age who breaks the news of her remarriage to her family. This campaign explains that we should embrace new beginnings keeping aside the societal taboos. 

4. Vicks – Touch Of Care 

In this heart-warming advertisement, we see how a transgender mother fights against all odds every day for her adopted daughter. Based on the true story of Gauri and Gayatri Sawant, this campaign was the first of its kind where a transgender person was showcased unconventionally. 

5. Horlicks 

Revolving around a mother and her two daughters who are driving back to their home, this advertisement portrays women breaking stereotypes by driving and fixing car tires all by themselves. In this campaign, when the worried mother starts looking for help in the night, her elder daughter steps up and fixes the punctured tire herself. 

6. Titan Raga – Mom By Choice 

This soul-stirring advertisement celebrates motherhood by showcasing that it’s a woman’s self-made choice and not due to societal pressures. In this campaign, the protagonist talks about her own mother who did not give up on her own dreams of travelling, even after becoming a mother.  

7. Cello Signature – The Sign Of Success 

This advertisement gives a simple message of how women are not confined to the kitchen anymore. In this powerful campaign, we see a woman leaving her home to take up a job as an IAS officer, a profession usually dominated by men. The campaign also focuses on her supportive in-laws who tell her to worry about the country’s administration and not the house.

8. Havells – Hawa Badlegi

This advertisement had a simple yet brilliant take that smashes typical gender stereotypes. This campaign revolves around a newly-wedded couple sitting at a registrar’s office, where the husband clarifies that he will be adopting his wife’s surname to the official.  

9. Reliance Fresh – Jee Le Zara 

This advertisement revolves around a woman in her 50s who plans a trip to Goa with her girlfriends. While her concerned husband asks her not to go, she doesn’t change her mind and leaves for a five-day vacation. YAS QUEEN! 

10. Ariel – Share The Load 

In this advertisement, a father introspects about his own role at his house when he watches his daughter juggle work and chores. He then tries to bring a positive change by sharing laundry duties with his wife.  

Which stereotype-smashing advertisement do you love the most?