Vim, the liquid dishwashing brand is going through some controversy due to a recent ad of theirs. Brands getting into issues with their ads is nothing new really, several of them have gotten boycotted, trolled and so much more like Tanishq, FabIndia, Dabur, and so many more have been at the tail-end of this.
Some innocuous ad of theirs just hits some group or community the wrong way and they end up making sure the brand knows of their hurt feelings.
Sometimes this is necessary too since ads can get sexist, racist, colourist, casteist and so much more, to the point it’s important that the brands be held accountable for spreading negative stereotypes.
So what happened with the Vim brand’s ad and what did it do eventually?
Vim Black Controversy
Vim the popular household cleaning supplies brand by Hindustan Unilever Ltd came out with an ad featuring Milind Soman for their new product called Vim Black which was a black bottle of dishwashing liquid soap specifically for men.
The ad featured a guy in the gym trying to impress a woman by bragging about how he ‘helped’ his mother do the dishes at home. Soman then comes in with a bucket of dishes and gives the Vim Black bottle to the man and says “Wow, what a brag. Go on, did you enjoy? Now, here is Vim Black (he shows a bottle of the dishwashing liquid). Now wash all the dishes and keep on bragging. Vim Black for men, easy to clean, more to brag”.
This is not their only ad for the Vim Black campaign, with 2-3 more of them also uploaded to their YouTube channel. However, it was the one with Soman that really went viral, but not for good reasons.
People in fact, found it sexist and called out the ad for promoting stereotypes.
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Vim’s U-Turn
Vim, it seems seeing the backlash to the ad, quickly put out statements clarifying that this was all just a joke and an attempt by the brand to get more men into house chores.
On Sunday, in an Instagram post they posted an image with the line ‘’Dear men, it was a joke” and in the caption wrote “We aren’t serious about the black pack, but we are super serious about men owning chores at home!”
In another post, they further clarified the meaning behind the ad as “Dear Men, we see you bragging about the limited edition Vim Black bottle. But we forgot to tell you one teeny tiny detail –
Only the bottle is different, the liquid inside has been the same all along! Bartan dhona sabke liye ek jaisa, toh liquid bhi ek hoga na (washing dishes is the same for everyone, so the liquid too will be the same).
You don’t need a new bottle to enter the kitchen, just the realisation that these are your chores too. As you take on new year resolutions, why not chalk in owning your chores and make sure you cut out those bragging skills? P.S. No men were harmed during the making of this campaign.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Firstpost, The Indian Express, NDTV
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Vim Dishwashing men, milind soman, sexist ads, sexist ad india, diswashing liquid, gender stereotypes, Vim Dishwashing Liquid For Men, vim liquid black, vim black, vim black ad, vim black ad milind soman, vim black controversy, vim controversy, vim black backlash
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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