Just an ad

The internet is fired up with heated debates about this advertisement. With no offence intended, I wish if I could ask this to all the self-proclaimed feminists out there, who have left no stones unturned to spark this needless uproar on this new advertisement of the 3G network of a leading telecom player - Why dissect an ad when it’s just an ad?

Shockingly, this ad has upsetted many on the social media as well. But the Boss, Wife, and Chef avatars of the woman is in no way portraying her as weak and submissive, but on the contrary celebrate her capability and urge to multitask and excel in all of them. I happened to watch the ad a few days back, but hardly noticed the mayhem and hullaballoo about this on the web, until I read an article on a leading website, where the author accused that the makes of the ad are promoting gender stereotypes. It was then that I discovered that the ad has garnered a bulk amount of negative publicity, thus becoming the talk of the town.

Even after watching this supposedly controversial ad, I couldn’t decipher the reason that triggered this pointless uproar.

The determined boss who wants her subordinates to stay back for an urgent assignment is seen transforming to a loving wife who rushes back home, whipping up a delectable meal for her husband, and waiting for him to come back. This has been portrayed as downright regressive, wherein the feminists have come up with the unpalatable argument that the ad affirms and justifies the common misconception that in Indian society the husband would always be on the superior side, irrespective of a professional upside that his wife might have.  Adding to my shock, a few blog posts out there portrayed the woman in the ad as a schizophrenic who cannot make up her mind to live up to her position and self-identity.

While the uproar continues to rise, I also read a few articles that are written by a group of ‘defenders’ who believe that the ad perfect and normal in an Indian scenario. This has led to the rise of an obvious question that I have for both the defenders and the offenders - Are we realty running short of worth-discussing problems, the reason why we make this needless hubbub about an advertisement? If sexiest or progressive is the question, the answer for the supposedly serious buzz around us is this one – It is just an ad, watch it or leave it, you are free to choose! If the intention is to throw light on the prevailing misogyny of being an Indian woman, there are several other issues that are worth to be raised.

The ad is in no way a case to kick start a discussion on feminism, which is a much intense concept on factuality, the reason why I do not feel the need to have a fiery debate on an advertisement, especially when it doesn’t portray our women to be docile. The woman who is seen working as a strong and resolute boss is displaying the alter-ego which is a loving wife, and not a lonesome soul who is forced to beg to her husband to save herself from a boring evening. It’s quite humane, and common amid us, and is common to both men as well as women, if they for their respective partners. If the boss in the ad was a man, we wouldn’t have had the same perception, on the contrary would have taken pains to go gaga over the depiction of a loving husband who rushes home to surprise his wife with a scrumptious meal. But the twist in the tale has gathered a group of blazing protesters, who, I believe, should look in to more serious issues that we face in our society, and raise their voices for genuine reasons, leaving behind an advertisement that will make profitable gains to a brand, no matter what kind of publicity it receives.

As the caring wife in the ad is shown getting ready to serve a mouth-watering home-cooked meals, proving her goodness, and having seen this rising hue and cry on the supposedly regressive side of the ad, I have yet another doubt arising in my mind - Had she been shown ordered home delivery for the dinner, would she be portrayed as a bad wife? What if she'd made some sandwiches instead of the elaborate and appetizing meal? The critics would have pounced on to the makers of the ad for portraying women in a negative and big-headed manner. This is nothing but the aftermath of the problematic mind-sets people who fail to understand how to strike a balance in life, and keep it moving happily. The career woman is not a submissive domestic goddess in the latter half, but just an affectionate wife. Ask them off the record, and most of the women who eagerly jot down their disagreement with the concept of the ad would definitely admit on doing the same at their respective homes, even amid sparking a flurry of unwanted controversies and raging debates.

The ongoing buzz and social chatter has shocked me in many ways. As I said before, if a role reversal can create such fierce uproar, why does it mellow down when a man does the same? Why is he portrayed as loving and affectionate? Doesn’t the same apply to a woman too? After having seen thousands of ads that portray men as the boss and women as the subordinate, we get to see turn-table roles in a progressive manner, yet we create a lot of fuss about why she cooks for her husband. Isn’t it quite natural for one to cook for the other partner when he/she is late from work? Please correct me if I am wrong!

I want to explore the world outside my comfort zone

Having a comfort zone in life, professional or personal, would be like sailing smoothly on a calm ocean, where you hardly come across a hindrance to block the easiness that you continue to enjoy. On a professional front, I am surrounded on the four sides by the mount of unobstructed and comparatively less stressful milieu, but off-late, a strange feeling of boredom and exasperation has started growing deep down my heart, for reasons that I am yet to excavate. But I believe that the reason behind this indefinable aloofness is my constant fear of getting outdated and unnoticed, especially when the entire world around me is fast-paced, increasingly competitive, and optimistically cautions, accelerating towards more and more professional triumphs each day.

Hence, differing from the conventional choice of gluing myself on to the comfort zone, I’ve started longing for a shift, a change to uproot me from my comfy work zone, and put me in to an unaccustomed ambiance with unfamiliar people around, for me to grow further. After having a long yet not-so-bumpy ride that helped me carve a niche for myself as a copywriter, I’ve lived both the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows in professional life. The alternate ebb and flow of workplace juggles have unveiled several morale-boosting as well as shattering revelations, along with pouring several knowledgeable, happier, and harrowing moments intermittently.

This revelation was intensely reinforced off-late, when I began suffering some discomforting workplace difficulties that fine-tuned my mind to broaden the perimeter of my courage zone, and look for worth taking risks that can fuel my ride to engaging in more accomplishments and achieving more accolades in life. Throughout the past 6 years I’ve worked all my way up in an uneasy male-dominated workplace that honed my mind to shed down the flagellations of naivety, and to rise up to the challenges that were thrown before me, thus pushing my boundaries wider. In the beginning, I was always bound by the fear of impending risks that I should tackle on exposing myself to newer situations. But I have managed to step beyond my then comfort zone; expanding my confidence, trying out newer things, speaking up for what I felt was right acting confidently and courageously, and taking up the needed risks. I’ve managed to strive even through the most difficult times, triumphing unquestionably.

With no armor to protect me from possible setbacks and criticisms, I had to encounter numerous moments of fearful disagreements, backlashes, and humiliations that constantly aroused my fear of losing the battle I had willingly chosen to fight. After several years of relentless struggle, I managed to overcome my agonies and succeeded in setting for myself a comfortable zone surrounded by easiness on all the four sides.

But while I carry the strong urge to keep pace with the fast-paced world around, and move ahead in my work-life, I have to confess that deep down I also have a fair share of fears that prevent me from getting out of my comfort zone. With a whole bunch of responsibilities that keep holding me back, the bitterness of indecision and insecurity keep thwarting my plans to rise-up and embrace some of those ‘must-needed’ risks that are essential to move-on. I am not new to the discomforts of new ambiances, but what scares me is the profoundness of a looming uncertainty that awaits me in a new setting.

I fear I no more carry that intense zeal and vigor, the reason why I am finding it hard to open the doors once again and readily let me face the riskiness of experimenting a prospective platform that promises yet another journey of professional adventure. Or am I letting the fear of losing resurrect once again, to tighten its firm grip on my mind and soul? I am well aware that a corporate career offers little security for playing safe. I keep reminding me of the words of John. F. Kennedy, who once said: “Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished with a guarantee of success.” But my fear of failure has increased manifolds, the reason why I keep driving myself away from newer challenges in professional life. Or perhaps I’ve started looking at me and my capability through the mistakes setbacks that I’ve encountered in the past. However, what I need now is the willingness to give up on the familiarity of the comfy zone, so as to tightly hold on to the discomfort from outside your comfort zone, which can be increasingly crucial to a must needed change in my professional life. Given a prospective chance, I want to give up on this security of the known and the comfortable, to take up bigger and challengeable professional roles, and win over my fears.