Arts And Entertainment
| By : Futuristic Media Networks | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 28 Jul, 2007 | Total Views : 1773 |
Shruti Khazanchi & Jamila Hussain ? FUTURISTIC MEDIA NETWORK
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is really keeping itself busy, beginning with the ?bans? of channels like AXN and FTV and now coming down to ads. The babus that run the I&B Ministry seem to be fascinated by certain underwear advertisements. Lux Cozy and Amul Macho and we are told that many more are ?under scrutiny?. Both the recently banned ads were highly suggestive and the ministry felt it was vulgar and indecent and not appropriate for all viewers. According to ministry sources, they got several complaints against the ads, and only then they decided to ?scrutinize? them.
But what are these ads about. For those who came in late, the Amul macho ad was about a newly wed couple, the wife goes to the "Dhobi Ghat? to wash clothes and she is shown washing her husband?s underwear. Apparently, it seems that the woman imagines that the man still wearing it giving it a very filthy and suggestive idea. The tag line "crafted for fantasies" reinforces the concept, says the scissor wielders.
The Lux Cozy ad on the other hand shows four friends living together. One of them comes out of the shower wrapped in a towel. One of his friends pulls away the towel and locks the guy out of the house. There is a rally going on and he participates just in his underwear. His friends see him on television and are amazed. What surprises us is a lot of advertisements which have been more suggestive and inappropriate have escaped the eyes of the Ministry.
Advertisements like the "Liril" ad, showing a couple just come out of the shower and having performed ?certain? acts on another one and the other "Moods" condom ad which may not be visually unappealing but gets audiences to visualize something inappropriate are being aired openly on television.
Sanitary pads like Stayfree and Ultra max where in the pads are just thrown around like playing cards are equally vulgar and indecent or gross. Such advertisements which are controversial in nature have escaped the babus scrutiny. It's pure hypocrisy that the Ministry selectively targets certain ads.
Some people we spoke to opined that such advertisements cannot be deciphered by
children and can be aired as they think there is a very thin line differentiating between naughtiness and vulgarity. They also feel that such bans are unwarranted as society is mature enough to handle such issues. They could have show-caused the ad agencies and the advertisers and let them decide to pull out the offending ads?
However, an equal number of people feel that advertisements like these should not be made and aired as they fuel ideas that are alien to Indian culture.
The Ministry while banning these ads has warned all television channels to be more careful about their selection of advertisements and that content should be decent and appropriate and should meet the standards set by the Advertising Standards Council of India.
Admen of course are vitriolic in condemnation of the Ministry's actions. Is the ministry trying to sabotage creativity within the media industry,? asked a furious adman. Is it pure hypocrisy in the name of Indian culture,? asked another admen, saying that sometimes people tend to over react.
Written By : Futuristic Media Networks
