Mango Slice Ad being Provocative
- Areej Tauheed
- Jul 31, 2022
- 1 min read
This ad featuring Katrina Kaif was infamous when it was originally launched. It was initially targeted by the religious parties for being too 'provocative' However; one must not misunderstand the criticism of this ad as labeling it too vulgar or provocative. Instead, it is the sexualizing of women simply for their bodies in an advertisement that was the issue. In comparison, one would see men in advertisements in essential roles, sportsmen, businessmen, and actors having exclusive content in promoting products. However, when it came to women, the ads would feature women's overtly photoshopped and excessively airbrushed faces—indicating to society and consumers the desirability of women just in conjunction with their bodies. Often this will be defended by big capitalists with the motto, 'sex sells'; however, they fail to realize the implications of using sex as a selling point. It is not as if this motto affects men and women equally. Women constantly face the brunt of such philosophies as their use encourages the sexualization of women to the point where it is all they are seen for. It would go well if advertisements also feature women in the same wholesome capacity as men.
Areej this is such an important issue! I have always been bothered by commercials that use women as a luring object to sensualize their product. You might have seen ads of Lux, Samsol, Veet, and various hair dyes where the models in the commercial are sensualized and only using the product which the ad is about to lure men (in one hair cream ad you can literally see a man creepily stroking mehwish hayat's arms and she being creepily happy about it because the cream she used served the purpose - appearing desirable to a man). You're right in saying that the producers use the "sex sells" idea here, and so they use that to advertise women's products, but what…
I think as a consequence, women try and live up to those photoshop standards because the reproduction of this sexualization of women establishes, in their minds, that that's the only way they're desirable. This has spilled over into social media too where its just a race to the most likes and most story views. This is a sad situation and it needs an immediate and consistent antidote.
This ad made me uncomfortable the first time I watched it when it came out and I was too young to understand what was bothering me so I thought maybe its too provocative. As a 10 year old, I probably wasn't the target audience for such an advertisement which is why it didn't make any sense in the first place and definitely did not encourage me to buy Slice. However, as a 21 year old watching this ad I have understood the reason for it and it doesn't at any level make me feel any better than what I did as a child. It is still uncomfortable to watch and to know the rationale behind the producers mind is even…
Thankyou Areej!
I agree with you actually Marketers believe that sexual appeal advertisement is a sturdy tools in ensuring the effectiveness of delivery of advertisement.
These marketer should change these misconceptions and construct a better image of women in a dignified manner so that her role is ensured to bring a change in the society.
I think it is not a new thing for brands and products to associate themselves with celebrities to build an association in the minds of all those who are watching. The juice ads featuring Katrina Kaif were sort of an innovative venture because as far as I can remember it was the first time seeing a juice ad with such strong emotional overtones. Notice how I did not use the word sexual? Why should I?
There was nothing sexual about the advertisement if you ask me? Neither are there any sexually explicit scenes or behaviors engaged in the ads. It simply shows Kaif longing for the slice juice which she has in a sultry manner. Maybe we can say that…