Forty years ago, the world was used to controversial ads. Campaigns on toasters, vacuum cleaners and even cigarettes, aimed at the kind of man who didn’t mind coming back home to a woman in an apron, a warm meal and beer… every single day.

The ads were offensive, no doubt. Some even termed them opportunist. So, forty years ago, it can be said... that the world had no rules, and was stark, raving mad... and not in a good way. Also, quite obviously, there was nobody manning the culture police’s alarm.
Fast forward to 2013, few weeks ago. JWT’s Bobby Pawar was fired for what’s now being described as the Ford Figo fiasco. And what did it have? Silvio ‘Bunga Bunga’ Berlusconi flashing a victory sign ferrying three bound women in his boot.
The resulting media blaze got so intense, Ford’s global CMO James Farley and CEO Alan Mulally both had to step in and firefight, telling the world, “Hey, it wasn’t us, it was some guy from an office in India, and he messed up.”
Bobby was that guy… and yes, they took his badge.
The advertising industry has had a long list of “rolling heads” and controversial campaigns. Some even more shocking compared to the contents of Berlusconi’s boot.
“Do you remember that ad which had Milind Soman, Madhu Sapre and that snake? Well, I was caught in a panel discussion opposite a very enraged political leader, a woman,” starts Prahlad Kakkar, advertising guru.
“She was going on and on about how we were making money and treating people like kutte (dogs). I then looked into her eyes and told her, ‘Madam, that’s Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre. They are models and this is advertising. If you and I were standing up there then yes, it would’ve been a problem — a big one’,” he reveals.
The case against that ad (another was against the illegal use of a snake) lasted for a full 14 years.
“But you see, it was tasteful and done well. There’s a very thin line between crude and creative and no, Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre didn’t cross it. That’s where the Ford Figo ad went all wrong,” Prahlad explains. “Ford is a car company that enjoys a squeaky clean, family-friendly image. Why would you want to have bound and gagged women in the imagery? That’s just silly.”

The adman then went on to explain the “thin line” that separates scandal and successful advertising.
“I don’t believe in that term, objectification of women. It’s not something we ad guys do or, most importantly, want to do. But if you need to sell a product, and your target group requires you to have ‘sexy’ written all over the campaign, why not?
If I was doing an ad on protein supplements, I would obviously want to show good-looking bodies. Simple. But you just have to make sure, you haven’t tripped any alarms. Ad guys are very intelligent people yaar, and for most of them the best ideas come under the tightest restrictions,” he says.
Guess he’s right. But what about ads for laptops? Do we really need to show how Mr Suit and the size of his hard-drive impresses the hot blonde sitting over at the next coffee table?
“Technology is now a matter of discussion and men now like to show-off their gadgets. So, if the ad shows a guy striking up conversation with a really smart woman at an airport… why not? Does that never happen in real life? Advertisements are the first to be influenced by the society. Even before movies. If ads have changed, then, the world has too,” says Prahlad.
Also, for many in advertising ‘hot women’ are an easy way out. “When somebody says, ‘let’s throw a girl in there’, that’s just being lazy. It shows that you’ve given the brief absolutely no thought and you’re just taking the easy way out. Most of our clients now want clean, simple and funny campaigns. Now, more than ever, there’s a movement within the advertising fraternity to churn out clean stuff,” says Avni Chinoy, from Grey Digital.
Ajit Devadason, a former creative director with McCann Erickson, also backs this feeling.
“Yes, clients and creative custodians are now more careful, even with certain words and expressions. The word bitch is unacceptable, but the client’s not even going to accept the expression, ‘bitching about somebody’. Many want clear samples. Everybody wants something that everybody likes,” he says.
“Also, about the Ford Figo fiasco. You could pull something like that with Benetton. They’re braver, and their whole campaign relies on controversy. Knowing Ford, there’s no way they would’ve accepted this... it’s another matter that they didn’t commission it in the first place...”
The point is that the advertising industry, along with the movie industry of course, is now under strict focus. But unlike Bollywood, Tollywood, Mollywood or Sandalwood, there’s now a conscious attempt at staying away from ‘cheap tricks’. Brands too now have a wider view of the world, with women no longer relegated to the passenger seat or “expected to score daily victories over the maali and the dhobi”. It’s now a fast-paced, action-packed, sensitive society.
No more bringing home vacuum cleaners to keep wifey happy.
The failed Ford Figo campaign then illustrates it perfectly. The world of ads will continue to shock, surprise and push the envelope of acceptable. But you can’t just bound, gag and dump an entire demographic into the boot. The line, albeit thin, is now extremely sharp — just like the new laptop that packs impressive storage.
The brief now is, ads for everybody… and yes, let’s stay off the controversy grass.