Banjara's showcases how what's not fair in colour is gorgeous too

Herbal products brand Banjara’s has launched its new campaign that hits out the fairness-obsessed society. Created by India/2, the campaign comprises a film that focuses on how most often the pressure to be “fairer” really begins at home.

Indian’s obsession with fairer skin dates back to immigrants, conquerors and rulers from the West with fairer skin lauding it over the ‘local’ or native Indians, which later got defined into a caste system where dalits or ‘untouchables’ often had much darker skin than theupper castes. The innate implication is that if you have fair skin, you are somewhat superior to others around you. Most of the well-known FMCG companies are encashing upon this paranoia which is deep-rooted in our culture. Such advertisements encourage the notion that a fair girl is the definition of a beautiful girl, and that this skin color would ensure that she goes through a hassle free marriage and fulfill her every dream.

To enhance its positioning of being known for its natural range of hair and skin care products, Banjara’s supports a movement against colour bias in India, called “#proudofmycolour”.

Commenting on the communication objective behind the new campaign, Ramesh Vishwanathan, Managing Director, Banjara’s, said, “We wanted to change the perception that fair skin does not mean beauty. A woman should feel gorgeous in her natural skin colour. The focus of skin products should be on healthy skin and not skin lightening. The highlight of this short film will be to educate people to get over their unhealthy obsession about fairness.”

The ad film captures the concerns and apprehensions that older family members have about skin colour, especially when it comes to their daughters and marriage. A paati (grandmother) is unimpressed with her granddaughter’s success as a basketball champion; instead she wants her “dark darling” to apply a fairness cream to become pretty enough for a US-based boy who is coming to see her. The girl recalls how she has had to face colour bias her entire life. But all’s well that ends well, when the US-based boy she meets likes her “gorgeous” natural self. Throughout the film the colour bias is brought out through the conversation between the girl and her paati. It’s only at the end of the film that Banjara’s product range is shown.

“Many things – both desirable and not so desirable – start at home,” said Prabhakar of India/2, who scripted and directed the film meant for a largely Internet audience. “If we ever wish to beat this bias, it has to start with giving our children the confidence to blossom into talented, beautiful people who can stand up to such bias, rather than blame society and perpetuate this stereotype,” he added.

Sharing his views on the creative thought process, Krishna Mohan of India/2, said, “We learnt a lot from the movement against colour bias that we launched – #proudofmycolour. We built a community of almost 2 lakh in a period of just four months. And the support we got from our “mavens of colour”, be it the girl next door (in their hundreds) or celebrities like Padma Lakshmi, Radhika Nair, Nidhi Sunil, has been astonishing.”

Many of the insights from the #proudofmycolor campaign went into the making of the film for Banjara's Skin +ive. The ad has resonated well with audiences across the country and has recorded more than 3 million hits in less than a week.

The music, composed by Dr Divakar Subramaniam, is built around the theme – ‘You can’t judge beauty by colour’, and is especially created to enhance the desired message. The film has been shot by India/2 Productions and will play on prominent online mediums and cinemas as part of its outreach plans. The strategic promotion of the film on the Internet has been crafted by Manish Sinha and Arvind Jha of ParikshaLabs.

A second film that captures the affinity of advertisers, both large and small, to only portray “fair girls” in their advertising is next on the cards. It will take on the need to look beyond colour at talent and achievement, and for that matter, at the need to see beauty itself beyond colour.

Watch the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxMT-qnMUNQ

Campaign credits:
Client: Banjara’s
Team: Ramesh Vishwanathan, Aparna Lakshmi, Arvind Jha, Manish Sinha, Prabahakar S, Krishna Mohan R
Agency: India/2
Creative: India/2
Account Management: India/2
Planning: India/2
Production: India/2
Director: Prabhakar S

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