The LGBT Paradox : Is India ready for the next wave?

The BBC program on August 14 called ‘TV Adverts in India target the modern Indian woman’ refreshed memories.   When the Anouk Ethnic Wear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef27m5ocK6Q) TV spot hit India a few months ago there was consternation amongst the close-minded critics and a sense of anticipation of breaking old boundaries amongst the more liberated.

While the brand took only one more step forward in their series of commercials, which expressed ‘Bold is Beautiful’, the interest amongst both consumers and marketing and advertising professionals was palpable. The supporters said this was a brave move forward. The critics raised questions like ‘ will it really work?’, ‘ does it connect with the brand?’ etc.

While we were arguing the merits and de-merits of the Anouk spot, another revolution was taking place in the West when Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover shook up social media. In spite of being a cultural heroine, the big brands kept mum. The ad industry was asking the question if brands will choose to weigh in on these new phenomena.

And on the heels of the Caitlyn Jenner shake up came the momentous US Supreme Court decision. So June 2015 was quite an action packed month for LGBT.

Overseas the boon of playing to LGBT audiences is that it is a powerful spending group in its own right. In January 2015 for example Tiffany’s featured a gay couple in their ad for the first time in their history. Not to shock like the Anouk ad but because this audience is a viable audience for Tiffany’s. Little is known about the LGBT audiences in India in comparison since current databases in the country have studiously avoided the sexual preferences of the target audiences they study. So if the Anouk ad was meant to shock, it shocked. One is however not aware if the ad was directed to the LGBT audience and how worthwhile an audience this is for the brand and what value the ‘pink rupee’ holds. One has to assume that it was only to carry on the brand’s theme of ‘Bold is Beautiful’.

 Whither LGPT in India?

 One could probably predict 4 phases of LGBT in the country. And easily enough that acronym itself would lead us to the 4 stages.

L :   At least we have crossed this barrier. Intellectuals may argue with this was supposed to be an ‘ L ‘ ad or is what they refer to as gay-vague? Gay-vague advertising has been aimed at subtly targeting this specific audience without offending other audiences. The 2013 Fast Track ad  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmk9D53G6F8) perhaps also comes in the category of gay-vague. Ostensibly it has 2 women literally coming out of the closet.

G: Guess G or gay is a little more in the face than ‘L’. For some reason people find lesbians a little less objectionable in advertising. Or is that only my perception?

B : Now this may be considered quite deviant behavior for the traditionalist. Even today I hear people say ‘bi’ in hushed whispers or is it because they may be referring to celebrities? I am not quite sure. It may be sometime before we see this in the public arena.

T: Now this may have seemed the most contentious of them all but in 1994 India granted voting rights to hijras our version of the transgender. And if it shocks all of you who thought Tamil Nadu was a traditional state, it was the first state to introduce a transgender ( hijra/aravani ) welfare policy. Under this policy a transgender could access SRS (Sex Re-assignment Surgery) in a government hospital, free housing programs, and admission in government colleges for higher studies.

 Whats the next stage?

Since India is so celebrity smitten, I guess if celebrities came out of the closet and indicated their sexual preferences, they could start endorsing brands? Now one wonders how far this is going to be in the LGBT continuum? Unless laws change it is unlikely that the most celebrated people in society may confess to anything other than heterosexual preferences.  After all, it is only recently that Venus Williams herself admitted her preferences, because she thought that it would affect the ‘Venus’ brand.  And some people watching Wimbledon this year were still blissfully unaware of the other pretty lady in the box.

 Advertising and Ethics

The last question on LGBT is really whether advertising must promote behavior, which does not have the consent of the laws of the country? I am not sure that as a general principle this is a good thing. Only because one wouldn’t know where to draw the line. Would one use murder, rape, terrorism and other behavior in advertising just because it is shocking, or to promote brands in advertising?

If one were to look at advertising as an art form however then like all other arts it must make every effort to push society out of the status quo. If movies, advertising, music and painting were to treat LGPT more positively, then there are no doubts that it would put immense pressure on the law, the government and society in general to make LGPT an accepted way of life.

From that point of view the Anouk film must be congratulated for being a nudge in the right direction.