'Vim black for men': How Hindustan Unilever's latest ad is facing backlash
The link to the product has been showing that 'Vim Black', priced at "Rs 0" has sold out, which suggests that most probably, such a product has not actually been launched. It's possible that the brand did the gimmick for a satirical effect.
Follow'Vim Black', a variant of Hindustan Unilever's dishwashing liquid, is making headlines after its advertisement specifically targeted "for men" and Twitter is having a hard time deciding if it's legit. Recently, Milind Soman posted an ad on Instagram promoting the product, in a bid to drive home the point that men should be participating equally in dishwashing and other household chores.
"Vim Black - dishwashing liquid made for men. Or is it? @vimindia @mtvindia #VimBlack #VimForMen #BragWithSwag," Soman's caption reads.
While it is not clear whether an actual 'Vim Black' has been officially launched or not, but many people have been criticising the campaign, claiming that it has driven home the exact opposite of the point that it was supposedly trying to make.
The link to the product has been showing that 'Vim Black', priced at "Rs 0" has sold out, which suggests that most probably, such a product has not actually been launched. It's possible that the brand did the gimmick for a satirical effect.
Earlier in 2021, the company had campaigned to a similar product that was based on the premise that Indian women are thriving in numerous fields and take pride in expressing themselves as homemakers, as mothers, as artists and even as chief executives. But societal limitations of defining them only through chores like caregiving and household tasks are bogging them down.
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The ad campaign was directed by Lowe Lintas and has the tagline "Nazariya Badlo, Dekho Bartano Se Aage" which hopes to nudge society to see women beyond archaic roles.
In the commercial, a man assumes that it is the wife's job to cook and clean and tries to impress the protagonist by offering to "help" her with cooking tasks. The girl immediately offers to "help" him instead with dishes, nudging him to be independent in household chores as well as she could be held up at work with no time to do the dishes.
The groom's initial shock and eventual shift in perspective emphasise the campaign's call to view things differently. According to the company, the ad's lead character is "more than just her chores" and advocates for equal partnership.
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Prabha Narasimhan, executive director and vice president for HUL had said they were inspired by the successful women who excel in whatever they do, being homemakers and decision-makers.
"They are much more than chores, but sometimes get limited by society’s definitions of them. If we offload them from these societal stereotypes and the stress caused by them, there is so much more they can and will be," she said.
