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Shortly after business tycoon Cyrus Mistry passed away in a tragic road accident, the Union Road, Transport, and Highway ministry has rolled out a campaign focussing on promoting air bags in passenger vehicles.

Although the ad has been made in a setting which is relatable to majority of Indians it has started inviting criticism from netizens as it allegedly ends up encouraging ‘dowry culture’. The spot​, tweeted by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and featuring Akshay Kumar, shows an emotional father at his daughter's 'bidaai'. Kumar, who plays a policeman in the ad, makes a comment that the couple is in a car that has "just two airbags” and hence not safe.

The scene cuts to the couple walking out of the car, and the arrival of a new car. The groom is now seen counting the number of airbags in the new car to six. There’s explicit implication that the car belongs to the groom and is not a gift from the bride's parents which can be dubbed as dowry.

"You should smile now that your daughter is safe," Kumar tells the bride's father, after the car has been changed.

The video has over one million views on Twitter alone. The advertisement has elicited intense responses from the netizens who are slamming it for promoting the dowry culture.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This advt clearly promotes dowry AND provides free publicity for expensive cars. Somebody should tell <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfNG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OfficeOfNG</a> that each extra airbag hikes up the price of the car!</p>&mdash; RD (@DharRenuka) <a href="https://twitter.com/DharRenuka/status/1569193739914219521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will <a href="https://twitter.com/akshaykumar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@akshaykumar</a> come to court to say dt car was just a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gift?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gift</a> &amp; not dowry if <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Marriage?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Marriage</a> fails<br>We all know misuse of IPC 498A <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DomesticViolence?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DomesticViolence</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AnubhavMohanty_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnubhavMohanty_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/asliyoyo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@asliyoyo</a> are not even spared frm <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BiasedLaws?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BiasedLaws</a><br>Meanwhile unionminister promoting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/marriagegifts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#marriagegifts</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PapaKiPari?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PapaKiPari</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Burden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Burden</a></p>&mdash; Poonam (@MyNation_PM) <a href="https://twitter.com/MyNation_PM/status/1569343994047660035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Some netizens also complained about the condition of roads in the country that also lead to accidents.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How about safe roads first? And corruption free RTOs that issue licenses without tests or without visiting RTO? And traffic cops focusing on violation of traffic rules and not collecting fines for PUC etc? Promoting expensive cars is not a solution.</p>&mdash; Twinkle Twinkle (@HowIWunder) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowIWunder/status/1568822833345884162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Opposition parties also jumped in to criticise the spot. 

"Is the government spending money to promote the safety aspect of a car or promoting the evil and criminal act of dowry through this ad," asked Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Twitter.

Just days before, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, which was released on 29 August, showed 6,753 women losing their lives to dowry-related harassment in 2021. The same set of data, for 2020, revealed that 19 Indian women died due to dowry harassment every single day.

"Actually dowry is a bad word. Even a hint of it in advertising is considered insensitive. This is an advertising  faux pax!," says brand expert Harish Bijoor, founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

Naresh Gupta, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Bang In The Middle says that when he first saw the ad, he found the context to be linear and over reliant on Akshay Kumar.

“However, the second viewing does raise the issue of dowry and everything else that the netizens are saying. And there is then a bigger issue that no one seems to be addressing. Why should I have a choice to buy car with just two airbags? Make it legal to have six airbags, and don’t release any ads. More than dowry, it don’t like sarkar (government ) mocking citizens,” he points out.

“…when I was buying a car in the segment that I chose, it has all the features what the dad in the ad says - automatic, music system, six speakers, but six airbags were not on offer. So, it’s a bit of a downer as an ad when customers don’t even have an easy choice in the market,” Gupta notes.

Gupta mentions two impactful global ads from The Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Australia urging people to rethink the speeds they drive at.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3noalme3jXM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

“I would have loved to see a campaign that said “ask for 6” That would have been so much more impactful,” he concludes.

Govt’s road safety ad slammed for promoting dowry

Anoop Manohar, chief marketing officer at Axis Bank chats with Storyboard18’s Shibani Gharat about the brand’s 'Dil se Open' campaign, how it was born from their employees going beyond their duty to serve customers. He also talks about how they are creating value by helping customers achieve their dreams.

<div data-youtube="true" data-youtube-id="HMF38DCQV20" data-youtube-title="Anoop Manohar Exclusive On Axis Bank's Dil Se Open Campaign | Storyboard 18 | CNBC-TV18" class="youTubeVideoPlayer" data-youtube-category="News & Politics"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMF38DCQV20" width="100%" height="360"></iframe></div>

Storyboard18 chats with Axis Bank’s Anoop Manohar

<strong>MAST
what3words - Making adresses, simply simple
Agency: Famous Innovations
</strong>

The right location. Smart direction. Smarter script. Great casting and craft. That's what makes the location-based technology app what3words’ debut commercial for India worth a re-watch. Shot in the vibrant city of Kolkata, Mast &amp; Meh logoit features the city’s trams, autos, old bookstores, Victorian buildings, and narrow lanes, all for a good reason. Giving directions to anyone in India is a complex task, given the general lack of signs and good city planning, and its complicated and duplicate street names. Pointing to the right address is always a challenge even when you have Location on. The new darling of the ad world, Vijay Raaz, an actor known for his craft, nails the part of a customer giving directions to a delivery person. At one point, he turns directions into a rap. The brand takes the right turn as it makes its debut ad pitch to the Indian market. We have just three words for it - a Mast ad.

<iframe title="Making addresses, simply simple - what3words India TV ad 40s 2022" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rj-oDP8EKIw" width="885" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<strong>MEH
Cadbury Fuse - #BhaariHai
Agency: Ogilvy India
</strong>

There is nothing wrong with this commercial except we’ve seen it all before. Using The Great Khali's strength as a creative device was first discovered in 2015 in a pretty epic cement ad. It's surprising that brands are still repurposing a similar narrative. In this spot, we see students feeling "bhaari bhookh" during a chemistry class. One of them is seen sending a text message to someone called "big help". In comes the big man, The Great Khali with a bar of Fuse safely hidden away from view in one big hand. He enters the class and triggers a cascade of disruptions in the lab, displacing beakers and bulbs. He offers a bar of chocolate to the student, saying, "issey khaane ke liye bhaari bhookh aur khilane ke liye bhaari haath lagta hai." We hope the next time a brand gives a lighter task to the man and a new twist to how they use Khali in commercials.

<iframe title="Cadbury Fuse | #BhaariHai (Hindi 40sec)" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SXtrDI6ps6c" width="885" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<strong>MEH
Ferns N Petals
Agency: Mullen Lintas
</strong>

Ferns N Petals latest campaign touches upon a widespread issue - cyberbullying and trolling, and somehow plonks the brand in the middle of the issue.
The ad shows a loving uncle (Anil Kapoor) using Ferns N Petals personalized gifting service to print embarrassing photos of his younger days as an actor when he was ridiculed, to cheer up his niece Jahnvi Kapoor who is dejected by incessant trolling about her fashion sense.
Kapoor delivers the closing statement in his familiar manner by saying “Duniya ko karne do bakwaas, you should always be Jhakaas.”
There’s a huge expectation of viewers to know Kapoor khandaan connections and feel sorry for the famous celebrities while we make their family tree in our heads.

<iframe title="FNP TVC: Anil Kapoor Sends Gift to Janhvi Kapoor (Full Story)" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QX1S-5M72Pg" width="885" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<strong>MAST
Fastrack - #PrideInOurPronouns
Agency: Brandmovers India
</strong>

Remember the pink cupboard and the two ladies who walked out, adjusting their clothes? Yes, we are talking about the iconic 'Come out of the closet... Move on' campaign from 2013. Cut to 2022. The brand has sort of done it again. Assuming gender specific pronouns is a problem and through this new campaign Fastrack does a fine job of explaining why a Nikita is not always a ‘She’. The campaign shows a social experiment conducted with teachers, testing them and helping them relearn the basics. The brand gets full marks for being consistent over the years. It hasn’t flirted with purpose like so many others. Instead the brand has committed to a cause it can embrace and stuck to it.
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<strong>MEH
Shyam Steel - Hamesha Ke Liye Strong
Agency: Rediffusion Brand Solutions
</strong>

House, family, relationships, adjustments - why do brands always hire husband and wife duos, in this case Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, for selling these emotions, and products and services around these emotions. While the ad conveys what it had to, which is how adjustments must be made to make relationships stronger, which is the motto of Shyam Steel’s flexi strong TMT bar, it is overdone and dull. In other words, it’s quite meh. Team Virushka could have been better used, we think.

<iframe title="Shyam Steel India | Grand Launch | English | Virushka | #FlexiStrong" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wJL8SCs67S8" width="681" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<strong>MAST
Manipal Hospitals - Happy Doctors' Day, Really!
Agency: Social Panga
</strong>

This film is weaved around a statistic which claims that more than 90% Indians do not trust the healthcare system. It shows two friends in a coffee shop where one complains about her work life and admires the ‘respect’ her friend receives as a doctor. A series of flashbacks follow where we see patients and family members complaining about the tests, medicines and treatment prescribed. We hear them say that their home remedies would have been a better cure. In the next scene, however, we see a patient and family thanking the doctor for saving his life and the tough decisions she took despite their lack of trust in her. Keeping it real is just what the ad doctor ordered. We like the straight-forward script and lack of melodrama. The film subtly conveys that the one of the country’s most respected professions also needs to be one of its most trusted.

<iframe title="Happy Doctors' Day, Really! | Manipal Hospitals" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/32AfU4qOdYw" width="775" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<strong>MEH
MSD Pharmaceuticals - #HPVsearchkiyakya
Agency: In-house
</strong>

MSD Pharmaceuticals’ campaign ‘#HPVsearchkiyakya’ features actor Sara Ali Khan who gives her friend some sound advice after scaring her with the mention of HPV or Human Papilloma Virus during a random conversation in the ladies’ room. Her advice - go online and look it up.
This ad makes the case for brands to hire advertising agencies and not rely on in-house teams to create compelling ads.

<iframe title="Learn about HPV prevention | HPV search kiya kya?" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7sByWKgzVq8" width="885" height="498" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Mast & Meh: what3words, Fuse, Fastrack, Shyam Steel, Ferns N Petals, MSD pharma show us acts and ads