A conversation with Rishabha Nayyar addressing some key questions like
What are the current stereotypes of men in advertising and popular culture?
How to un-stereotype men and develop a progressive narrative for men?
Why do we make men appear as villain, whenever we make woman a hero ?
Why can't a brand redefine how a man ought to be ?
Why can't men potrayal be real and authentic ?
Rishabha points out that very little work, studies are available to understand men and their depiction in media. He shares his views on how do you think men have changed and hence how should they be portrayed . He outlines the harm in reinforcing traditional masculine stereotypes. He illustrates this with example of brands that are guilty. And some that are trying to get this right, but struggling. He discusses the campaigns and the brands like, Platinum Guild ( Three month’s leave),Ariel’s (Share The Load), Huggies (Dad changing diapers) etc.
Rishabha argues that 'bashing men' has become a formula for every FMCG brand trying to woo the women. Create the man to be a villain. A good for nothing, unreasonable and demanding character who would probably even put the Bollywood villains to shame. He comes across as Mogambo of movie ‘Mr India’.
Rishabha analyses advertising and cinema in our country over the last 10 years and comes up with typical stereotypes of men in popular culture
Macho Man : Very brave, risk-taking and adventurous. Boys envy him and girls adore him. Fear or vulnerability are not word that exist in his dictionary
Insensitive Man: Believes that while the Mughals have left the country, he is still their descendant and should therefore be treated like royalty. Will sit and do nothing. For him everyone is a servant
Provider : He is the male version of ‘Mother India’ in the context of doing things for others. He lives to only fulfill the dreams of everyone other than himself. He gets great joy in never doing something that makes him happy
Rishabha asks the fundamental question- Why does a man need to be the ‘Chief wage Earner’? Why can’t he be one of the wage earners.Why put so much pressure on him. He believes that the man of tomorrow wants to do things for the family but also fulfil his own dreams and desires. He wants to be a co-parent and not the absent parent. An interesting case in point is the SBI Life ad wherein the husband quits his job and lives his dream of doing a stand-up comedy
Rishabha argues that the problem with continuing to put out the traditional masculine stereotypes is two-fold. One we are being as unfair to men, like we we were to women, in the past. If un-stereotype women is a movement, then we should start a similar movement for men. Secondly, we are slowing down the pace of change for men in the society as the role models that we are putting out are regressive, dated and stereo-typical.
Rishaba thinks that what is missing when it comes to the narrative on men is authenticity. Neither is the guy in the ‘Share the Load’ ad real nor is the ‘Complete Man’. Why does the take on men have to be so black and white? As with all things in life, men also have their grey areas. Why can’t brands project them like that? The problem with the extreme projections that we currently have is that they are devoid of reality and as a result do not set the right expectations.He rounds it by discussing issues like should men themselves stop shying away from the reality and openly express their vulnerability / and raise a voice against incorrect portrayal .
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Rishabha Nayyar is currently Head of Strategy at 82.5 Communications, a WPP Ogilvy company is spearheading strategy across all offices. He has over 17 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience in which he has been a part of the brand building and communication story of more than 50 different brands (MNC, Indian, Leaders, Disruptors, Start-ups), set up and led a Business Management School, worked as an independent Brand Consultant and been a Visiting Faculty at some of the country's leading business schools like IIM Shillong and Symbiosis.
Rishabha's Linkedin Profile : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabha-...
Jagged with Jasravee is facilitated by Jasravee Kaur Chandra, Director- Brand Building, Research & Innovation at Master Sun, Consulting Brand of Adiva L Pvt. Ltd. Jasravee has over 20 years experience as a Strategic Brand Builder,Communications Leader and Entrepreneur. Jasravee is all about the authentic insight, a deeper cultural lens and the creative idea, for building meaningful brands that drive business growth.
Jasravee's Linkedin Profile : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasravee/
Jagged with Jasravee, is an initiative of Master Sun, the Consulting Brand of Adiva L Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.mastersun.in/
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