Pond’s in India has come up with an ad ‘miniseries’ for their White Beauty cream, of which these are the first three (each just under a minute long). It stars well-known Bollywood actors, which is symptomatic of a lot of advertising in the country – stars draw the eyeballs. Unfortunately, it has a very stale storyline and is bound to raise the hairs of feminists. True, in the India of yore, the women who were traditionally thought of as ‘pretty’ were the fair ones (strange for a country that is brown-skinned!), but it really isn’t true anymore, and Pond’s should know better than just stick to a message that’s been done to death. I’ll wait for part 4, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m sure there are brilliant ideas in a country that’s as large and diverse as India – why give us this trash again, Pond’s, WHY?
But if it makes any difference, I like the ‘miniseries’ concept. Apparently, ad agencies in India like Ogilvy & Mather (the agency behind the Pond’s ad series) and Lowe are tagging on to this to create what the media is calling ‘ad novellas’.
Pond’s White Beauty – Episode 1
One Size Fits One 