Gul Ahmed- 'Mein Perfect Hoon' and Shoop | 'Trust Toh Must Hai' Ads breaking stereotypes!
- Mahnoor Noman-22020331
- Aug 2, 2022
- 2 min read
Once in a while we come across ads which catch our attention. Ads we just cannot skip. We do not walk away in between programs to get our chores done, neither to we change the channel. Most of the time, they are those ads that challenge stereotypes. Because the ones that do not challenge stereotypes, chances are we have seen some rendition of it, and hence, they are not exactly new for us. Here are two examples that I thought were very refreshing to watch.
This stereotype is pretty basic, one that has been embedded in our minds since forever. Women have to depend upon men of the house to do chores like getting groceries, 'rotis', things that mostly involve going out. Moms tell dads and/or sons to get them and wait for them if they are not at home. This ad challenges two such stereotypes. The girl in this ad sees her mother worrying about the groceries, so she gets up and does so by taking out her bike, a vehicle that most Pakistanis think is not made for girls.
This was a different concept as traditionally we have always been taught to wait for males of the family in order to get out. Moreover, riding a bike for girls is always seen as very strange and it reminds me that yesterday I heard two women talking amongst themselves that nowadays girls are not that innocent anymore and one of the reasons they mentioned that in their times, they would never see a girl riding a motorbike. This immediately reminded me of this ad and here I am!
The second ad is 'Mein Perfect Hoon' by Gul Ahmed;
We live in a society where everyday we hear of a potential 'rishta' family rejecting girls on the basis of their physical appearance. Too fat, too slim, spots on face, too dark, slanted nose, curly hair, the stereotype is that girls should hide all these so called 'imperfections' and girls should be perfect. This fantastic ad empowers women with those exact characteristics that they have been bashed with because it is all in the mindset. If we start believing that we are perfect with out imperfections, no one will have the courage to tell us otherwise. So this ad tells us that girls do not have to take these comments quietly. If in Pakistan, this ad educates at least some people, it can save a lot of young girls from going through this mental torture and this criticising behaviour.
These amazing ads are not only exciting but also thought-provoking. In a society where stereotypes have taken roots for a long time, these ads are like a breath of fresh air. We live in a society where we have to witness examples of these on daily basis so we can totally relate to this.
Interesting!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Mahnoor!
Therefore, there are several thoughts available to support the statement, "Log kia khen ge." I'm going to share one of the YouTube links that I like the most: https://youtu.be/jKInknqqCJA
I'd like to add to your remark that a lot of media outlets are challenging these prejudices. Bike riding is not a girls' idea, as you stated in the blog. So, I'm explaining how difficult it is to change one's thinking in the aid I'm sharing. And I believe that this is changing today since I have noticed many girls riding bikes, which is encouraging, but we must continue this.
Your second argument, that all judgments are made against girls, is undoubtedly the well-known…
Hey! Thankyou for writing this blog. Really loved it. As someone who does not watch TV, I had missed out on the second ad and watched it for the first time so really appreciate that you brought it up.
The first ad really breaks gender stereotypes in Pakistan (different types of stereotypes were mentioned towards the end of our "Heroes vs Villains" reading as well). It's a really wholesome ad and I loved watching it. I really like how Shoop brought it to the mainstream media as we really need to normalize and create a safe space for women bikers in Pakistan.
I like the message conveyed in the second ad as well. In a country with products like fair…
Hey, Mahnoor! Thankyou for bringing this up.
Both of these adds implicit such a powerful message,empowering your daughter to be independent and embrace their-self it actually feel like a breath. We can only hope that these breaths will increase in number to become a breeze and ultimately, a storm that breaks all stereotypes.
Second thing, I remmber besides appreciation this Gul Ahmad add gain a lot of criticism “that they are giving message of imperfection by the perfect model” but when Khaadi introduced Plus, size models, in their campaign it realizes us that, small steps lead to big changes.
Mahnoor, you've brought such thought-provoking ads! And I really liked the cinematography and plot of shoop and gul-ahmed ad.
If a girl is born with darker complexion or frizzy hairs or short-height, the society makes life of that girl worse than a hell. Like she has to consistently listen to the words like, "koi cream lagaya karo or iss ka rishta kesy Hoga, height kitni chhoti hai tumhari, Shaadi Kon karega". She has to make herself go through hell just for fitting in the "perfectionist construct" of society. Therefore, according to one of the researches, women are more tend to have mental health problems than men. Like, they're constantly facing such discrimination or down-to-depressed stereotypical notions of society.
What I…