VIM launches #VimBlackForMen – A satirical Ad campaign

Vim, the largest dishwashing brand in India, has launched its new ad campaign #VimBlackForMen that aims to break gender stereotypes.

The campaign conceived by Lowe Lintas, brought to life by media agency Mindshare and produced by MTV is based on the premise that Indian women are thriving in numerous fields and take pride in expressing themselves in various roles be it housemaker or an entrepreneur. However, societal stereotypes of defining them only through chores like caregiving and household tasks are bogging them down.

Through the lockdown, men overwhelmingly entered the kitchen, mostly for the task of dishwashing. With the lockdown gone, so have the men from the sink!

Vim has roped in Indian actor, supermodel, film producer, and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman as the protagonist in this campaign, to help launch a fictional product called Vim Black for Men that is purportedly designed for men, whereas in reality, it is the same product as the existing Vim liquid.

The key message being driven is that men need a change of perspective, not a specialised product to get them to own chores at home.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Deepak Subramanian, Executive Director & VP – Home Care, South Asia said, “We have always believed in empowering women and breaking the gender stereotypes that come along with household chores. Dishwashing in India as a chore is traditionally seen as a woman’s responsibility and has been distributed unevenly between family members. The lockdowns enforced a unique behaviour shift, where the men came to the sink and social media went abuzz with men at the sink. The aim of this campaign is to rekindle a perspective change in a non-preachy, quirky way so that chores at home can truly become democratised.”

Speaking about the idea and the campaign rationale, Prateek Bhardwaj, CCO - Lowe Lintas further explained, “On occasion, when men do household chores, they consider their contribution a favour rather than their responsibility. We wanted to change the narrative and encourage men to take ownership of their chores. Rather than approach this head on, we took a subversive approach to tell men that they too, belong equally at the sink." 

On the scale and size of the campaign, Ajay Mehta, Senior Vice President Mindshare commented “With the brand taking such a bold step, the campaign needed an interesting medium to land the message effectively. Therefore, MTV was the perfect partner to bring alive the idea, with Milind Soman as the face. Even the short videos added just the right amount of sarcasm and quirk to the mix.

We knew there had to be more to this campaign to create the dent we aspired to. So, to break the stereotypes we got a male voice to give quirky & interesting tips to men on ‘all things dishwashing’. The idea was brought to life in Milind's voice on Alexa and Google Assistant. Everyday reminders for men to do the dishes were created in the form of quirky fridge magnets and a calendar to ensure the conversation stays alive in the minds of the audience outside social media.”