14 DAY TRIAL // India is not known as a very liberal country when it comes to weddings and traditions. Imagine people's reaction when a well-known jewelry company released a commercial that celebrated a second marriage.
The ad for the jewelry company owned by Tata Group is making massive waves online for breaking stereotypes and cultural boundaries. Widowed or divorced women have been shunned in areas of India throughout history and, now, here is a spot that features a beautiful dusky bride, with a child, getting married for the second time.
The commercial begins by showing a beautiful woman getting ready for her wedding. While the bridesmaids are helping her with the amazing jewelry, her daughter comes in and they share a typical mother-daughter moment before the ceremony. Accompanied by her daughter, the bride goes to meet her handsome groom and relatives.
During a traditional moment in the ceremony, when the bride and groom dance around the fire, the little girl intervenes asking if she can join in. The groom smiles and invites her in. At the end of the commercial, she asks him if she can call him Daddy, and he gladly accepts, picking up the girl and seeing that expression of happiness and relief on the bride's face.
Not only does the commercial celebrate a second wedding but it also tackles other stereotypes. Casting a bride that is a few shades darker than the usual Bollywood type, the ad goes beyond the limits imposed by Indian society.
This way, she looks like a genuine Indian woman and even viewers on YouTube were amazed by this, leaving comments like, “wow! Finally, normal skin tone!”
Naveen Jindal, member of the Indian Parliament, also expressed his approval on Twitter saying, “A dusky bride with a daughter in an ad? Well done @TanishqJewelry for breaking stereotypes with grace & power.”
According to Livemint, when asked about the commercial, Arun Iyer, the creative director of the agency behind the ad said “This is the thinking that most progressive people have. They may not be going through the same thing in their life, but the ad makes a bold, progressive, statement and people like to be associated with brands that make such statements.”
