Shreya Khunteta

For over a hundred years, Gillette has aimed to make men look, feel and be their best. During this journey, the brand has continually challenged stereotypes. Latest being, #ShavingStereotypes with Barber shop girls. On the eve of International Men’s day, adding second edition to their #ShavingStereotypes campaign , Gillette asked the question – Why don’t men cry ? The video is immensely powerful and is already creating waves online with many actors such as Hrithik Roshan, Dulquer Salmaan and Anupam Kher sharing it. As soon as this conversation initiated through advertisement the video has been reposted and shared thousands of times.  The campaign has been conceptualised and created by Grey Group. All of us have grown up hearing that men never cry, crying is un-manly. Since childhood men are taught not to show their vulnerability, not to show their emotions, not to cry because it makes them weak. Through a heartfelt story of Lt. Col Manoj Kumar Sinha, SM (Retd.), Gillet...

While watching a video on you tube, I came across an advertisement of Samsung Inverter Refrigerator. Being a student, refrigerator as a product didn’t grabbed my eyeballs. But still the advertisement worked its magic on me and I liked it, because of the cultural values it displayed. A beautiful mother daughter relationship was shown where mother still takes care of her working daughter like a child and daughter reciprocates it. It stated that nothing should come between the happy moments and the way mother takes care of her daughter, the same way refrigerator will take care of her mother. With increasing competition and growth of advertising sector, many companies have resorted to a common trend of using culture and our value system as a marketing tool. Consumption decisions made in the market cannot be viewed as an independent event- it is closely related with values and social relationship and cultural allegiance. Therefore, companies portray the culture of country, in ...

Public Relation is a management function which helps in maintaining the effective communication between an organisation and its various stakeholders. In today’s conglomerate world, PR is a growing sector in every business sphere. It has become an integral part of every business organisation and plays an important role whether it is health care sector, managing politicians or hospitality sector. With the growth in various industries and sectors, PR has segregated in to various niche segments; Health care PR is one such segment. Hospitals undertake significant missions in securing physical and psychological well-being of the society, in short providing public health-care. As for the public relations, it is a series of continuing activities evaluating the attitudes of the target community, developing relations based on mutual cooperation and acceptance, aiming at gaining the respect, affection and sympathy of the target people and establishing a positive image, and thus it is a sin...

Remember that beautiful advertisement of a transgender mother and her daughter gone viral. The heart touching story of how Gauri Sawant, a transgender woman and activist, came to adopt Gayatri, a young girl whose birth mother died because of AIDS. In this advertisement of Vicks, Gayatri narrates the struggles her mother faces as transgender and question the unfair legal treatment of transgender people in India. Vicks #TouchOfCare Campaign showed that there are no boundaries to a mother-daughter relationship and everyone deserves to feel what it means to be cared for and to care for someone. To experience the difference it makes in your life, to have someone that will unconditionally love you and care for you. Vicks through this campaign encourages people to do the same and transform someone’s life with #TheTouchOfCare. Advertisers today are turning focus on marginalised trans community. Positive portrayal of community is changing the way society used to look at them for cen...

Definition of family goes beyond blood relations. It is a broader concept in which we include all those people with whom we share love, support and bond such as friends, partners, neighbours etc. Though these people constituent the most important part of our life, still we forget to appreciate and value them. We do not cherish the beautiful bond and relation which we share with them. Tata CLIQ came with an interesting strategy to cherish these precious gifts who make our universe brighter. To celebrate our close relations and make them feel special, Tata CLIQ initiated a social media campaign, ‘GiftForAGift’ . In this campaign, CLIQ dedicated 10 days for sale starting from Oct 10, 2019 to gift our loved ones with the best smartphones, watches, shoes and handbags at nothing like before prices. Spoiling them with gifts will make this festive season just a little more festive for loved ones. It is also one of the most popular ways of making these people know how much they matter...

Kylie Jenner has gone above and beyond this holidays season as she drops her full ‘Kylie Cosmetics holiday collection’ housed in bright, Christmas red packaging. The gorgeous Holiday’19 collection features an impressive range of new products, and a plenty of sparkle for the festive season. From sparkly glosses to North-pole themed palette, Jenner has pulled out all the stops to ensure super glitzy look. Sharing her latest holiday collection, Kylie decided to get in the festive mood by wrapping herself up in red silk. Of course, the collection comprises of an eye-shadow palette of both matte and glittery hues, several different lip product and a couple of kylie skin products thrown in as well. The ‘Santa Claus North Pole’ palette features 16 shades ranging from red hues to golden shimmers . Rock the perfect holiday glam look with the ‘Naughty List Lip Kit’ which arrives in three shades; ‘Wish come true’, ‘Ho Ho Ho’ and Must be Magic’ . Other items are a r ed liquid lin...

As Olympics 2020 Tokyo comes closer, an upsurge in the advertisements related to sports can be seen. During pre-Olympics phase endorsements of sports-person doubles up. Various brands ranging from FMCG to electronics are weaving their campaign concept around sports and sports-persons.      1.     Google : Recently Google launched an advertisement under the campaign ‘With a little help’. In the video, Hima Das is shown running while search bar appears on window and questions related to running are searched. Then google maps show directions to the running academy, on Youtube videos of famous runners are seen sharing their secrets and inspiration. With the help of google assistance run time is recorded on stop watch, upcoming events are analysed and on calendar an event is marked. Google through this advertisement chases the unstoppable spirit of Hima Das, Naina Jaiswal, Pooja Bishnoi and many others. It directs us to find what it takes to reach our...

Shout out to heroes who break norms, queens who make their voices heard, the star that shines brightest in the dark and those who pave the way to an open and free society. Here’s to new beginnings and successful ends. Remember your story is open-ended and it starts with open hair. Pantene’s latest campaign '#FreedomHair'   has revolutionised the way we conceive freedom. The ad film makes a case for young women taking stand against the more prescriptive aspects of life in India where there are wide ranging social strictures on choice of apparel, education, profession and even marriage. It aims to inspire females to grab the endless opportunities that life presents. It poses a set of possibilities and avenues that her life could take and none of it being right or wrong. It features four women who are defying conventions in personal and professional life; Dutee Chand, Manjari Makijany, Ishita Malaviya and Paloma Monnappa.  A woman can decide what her story will be...

Remember that blue tin, white cream with its distinct fragrance.   Yes, I am talking about ‘NIVEA crème’ . It brings back my childhood memories when my mother used to rub it all over my hands, face and body leaving them healthy and soft. It still remains an unchanged part of my skin-care routine. NIVEA is a classic, every day, multi-purpose cream which treats damaged and dry skin. Maintaining its rich texture and comforting scent for over 100 years, NIVEA can be used in many ways. Known as an expert at caring for skin, NIVEA’s thick and rich formula keeps skin moisturized and soft, protecting it from blues of winter. It can be used to get soft and supple feet while bidding farewell to dry elbows and knees. Cracked lips can also be dealt with a touch of NIVEA crème as it nurtures and soothes skin. Harnessing the cream’s versatile nature, NIVEA along with Digitas India launched a social media campaign, #ManyWaysToCare. Through this campaign, they asked people to sh...

Can a girl, alone, late at night ask for help from a group of boys ?  It doesn’t seem to be safe in practical life. This issue of physical safety of women has been highlighted in ‘Going Home’ , a short film directed by Vikas Bahl, produced by Phantom Productions, featuring Alia Bhatt for #VogueEmpower .   The film shows a young girl, driving home, alone late at night on a lonely road. Suddenly her car breaks down and she is left stranded with no help in sight. She comes over a car full of men who are smoking and staring at her. Without a second thought she asks them for help. Rowdy look and cunning smile on the faces of men reveals that they are up to something. The Director has beautifully presented a completely different side of a story in merely five-minute film which surprises us. A utopia is visualised where women safety is not an issue, a world for which we females yearn for. The film has power to make us think and act. It pushes our face in mirror wall of i...

Sportsperson endorsing sportswear brand is a common thing, but when I saw Haier’s latest advertisement, it turned out to be unusual. Can you expect sportswomen promoting washing machine? Washing machine; symbol of homemaker and sportswomen seems to be an odd combination but Haier turned this collaboration into a creative campaign. Haier, China-based electrical appliances company launched Direct motion washing machine. Described as latest technology machine with powerful functioning, it’s Unique selling proposition (USP) is ‘No noise, only performance’ . In their TVC, they bring together the lives of Dipa Karmakar – gymnast, Hima Das – sprint runner and Simranjit Kaur – boxer and saluting these ‘Silent performers’ . Endearing similarity between sports-stars and brand is highlighted as these sportswomen through their hard work and commitment brought laurels and medals for our country. In the same way, Haier has always maintained long-standing relations with Indian consu...

With the advancement in technology, Indian political parties also seem to develop and adopt new strategies and techniques to win elections. Social media platforms are all set for a major windfall in upcoming years. In fact, this year advertising spend on social media will jump around 150% compared to previous 2014 elections.  In 2018, overall digital market was estimated around Rs. 10,819 crore and is expected to reach Rs. 24,920 crore in 2021, according to Mogae Media. In 2019 major general elections, social media and mobile penetration were widely used tool in political advertising. Usage of various social media platforms among politicians has increased and twitter is the most heated platform as one or other issue or controversy is always trending on twitter. Modi has over 46 million followers on twitter, more than any world leader except Donald Trump. The concern with over usage of social media is that it can be easily turned from ‘tool’ to ‘weapon’ . It can be u...

W hy don’t you cover them up? “ Because its my skin. Because I’d make it worse. Because I’d be satisfying you. Because I’ll trick you. Because I’ll be the reason you have trust issues. Because it’s my fucking growth. Because for every layer and second I spend doing it, I rip off a piece of my confidence. I rip off a piece of me. Because they’re my flaws. Because I am human. ” It is the answer which Leia gives to every single person on this earth who asks her this question. ‘Smashing stereotypes’ is recent campaign started by CHNGE ; a gender-neutral label which aims at breaking the chains of perfection, the society has built. The campaign features individuals with labels which others use in an attempt to define and modify them, spelled on their faces.  Through this initiative, they strive to raise awareness about body shaming, racism and other prejudices. All the models working with Chnge are unique in their own way and Leia is also one of them. As the n...

#ItskaytobeYou campaign  Look at that bodycon dress ! I wish, I could be slim to fit in it. Why am I the shortest in my group? Most people around us are always whining about their appearance, height and body. People are not able to accept themselves the way they are, which often leads to lack of self-confidence, sorrow and depression. In general, as children we’re able to accept ourselves only to the degree we feel accepted by or parents. As we grow up, we tend to lose our self and try to mould us according to the ‘perfect’ image in the eyes of society. To be acceptable by society, we have to first accept ourselves. When we’re self-accepting, we’re able to embrace all our facets and love ourselves unconditionally. To instill the sense of self-acceptance in oneself and the society , many companies used this as the message in their advertising campaigns. “How does it feel to be you? Are you easy with your cool and is the world easy with your heat? Do you feel old, do y...

Trends in beauty and fashion market keeps on changing with the shift in season. For now, the most visible trend in beauty and wellness sector is ‘clean beauty’ . Natural and organic are common keywords used on cosmetics and body care products. Quiet a lot of time these words are used interchangeably but do they mean same? While buying a shampoo if we see ‘100% Natural’ label then it does not mean that the product is ‘Organic’ . The thing is, there are few regulations on using these words as part of marketing jargon. Going ‘100% natural’ is different from going ‘100% organic'  and even the word ‘organic’ does not mean same as ‘100% organic’. 100% ORGANIC – If these conditions are fulfilled : ·        All ingredients must be certified organic. ·        Any processing aids must be organic ·        Product label must state the name of the certifying agency ·  ...

An ode to millennials; Fizzy Goblet was founded in 2014 by Laksheeta Govil. Since then it has managed to revive the beautiful silhouette of traditional Juttis and fashionable Kolhas, and give it a complete modern look. Recently, Fizzy Goblet opened their flagship store in Delhi on October 4 th 2019 at DLF Promenade in Vasant Kunj.  “ Delhi always struck a chord in my heart and influenced my design sensibilities, which is why I am thrilled to bring Fizzy Goblet to the city especially around this time of the year. ” Said Laksheeta. Other than their drop-dead gorgeous collection, what caught my attention were the ‘Invitation cards’ for the launch. Hut shaped invitations aptly represented the purpose as they looked like small version of store being opened. As the door of invitation is opened, a golden balloon is seen. As the balloon is popped, we find a miniature Jutti inside it. These invitations were sent out to all famous bloggers and influencers. Inv...