MAM
The ins and outs of femvertising
MUMBAI: How many times have you come across ads that seek to empower women and ask them to take on the world (at times by using their product)? The general tendency of advertising in the seventies and the eighties was to objectify women in order to fascinate the ‘male audience’ to buy their product as traditionally, the man of the house was considered to be the only (buying) decision maker. But that has changed over the years and advertising has evolved along with our society.
Today, an increasing number of brands are creating pro-female ads in keeping with an increasing number of women finding their voice in society and the workplace – basically with the emergence of feministic values. The advertising industry that once relied actively on objectification of women to promote brands is now starting to attract the attention of female consumers and make them feel understood and valued.
While it may not be in listed in the Oxford dictionary yet, but femvertising is today de rigeur. It may be defined as advertising that employs pro-female talent, messages, and imagery to empower women and girls. Brands around the world are jumping on the bandwagon to empower women by integrating feministic messaging their ads.
But it might not be the best decision for all brands to take the femvertising route as one size does not fit all. Take the case of CEAT, a company majorly known for manufacturing tyres. It has introduced CEAT Safety Grip that is a customised scooter handle grip which seamlessly conceals a pepper spray in the accelerator throttle for quick and easy access at time of distress.
It’s aimed at instilling confidence among women riders and empowers them to take charge of their own safety.
A tyre manufacturer creating a line of product for women safety, strange is it not?
Brand-Building.com founder and brand guru Ambi Parameswaran points out that any brand which jumps on to a cause just because it is new is doing a singular disservice to the practice of marketing and branding. However it makes sense if the brand is in someway connected with women empowerment and has a long-term goal around this promise and premise.
Concern over women’s safety has become a prominent issue now than ever before as women vehicle (scooter) ownership is on the rise and an increasing number of ladies are now joining the workforce. But creating a separate line of products targeted only for women may incur extra cost to the company as a lot of time and money goes behind R&D and perfecting the product.
CEAT senior vice president of marketing Nitish Bajaj mentioned that the company works with external partners to design and test such products while it also has an exclusive authorised manufacturing and packaging partner which has invested in this product while CEAT will be extending support in pushing it to the target audience.
Women empowerment and safety find a resonance in every kind of product and service. A condom ad for instance speaks about women’s empowerment and safety in equal measure as a safety app that tracks where one is going. Harish Bijoor Consults founder and brand strategy specialist Harish Bijoor believes that using the empowerment theme to a greater degree of value will be the trend in the years ahead in India, as India wakes up to women’s empowerment and safety themes.
Creating campaigns and products designed specifically for women safety or empowerment sure does lead to a jump in sales and helps in improving the brand perception. Mindshare principal partner of strategy Preeti Mascarenhas recalls one of their biggest wins this year in strategy, the Nayi Soch campaign for Star as it not only got the audience pull but also helped in bringing change in Indian society.
Havas Media Group CEO of India and South Asia Anita Nayyar notes that it certainly does help in improving brand perception and is seen as a specific effort to create, keeping women safety and empowerment top of mind. It positively pre-disposes the audience to buy hence, leading to sales and being created and designed specifically for the ‘Women in Me’ helps.
Affirming that not all brands can pull this off, Ambi Parameswaran notes that if not enough thought is put into the process, it may end up confusing the consumer and cause damage to its long term prospects. Companies that manage to do this need to make sure that it is part of a long-term goal and not a ‘hire a cause of the month’ campaign.
Traditionally, it was believed that if a brand wants to target women, it needs to advertise on television alone as a majority of women in India are still hooked on to their TV sets as compared to digital. Our media experts seem to believe that it still holds true and not much has changed. The general consensus is still that television is the prime medium of attraction for this audience segment, followed by digital and then print. CEAT on the other hand believes that digital platforms help in creating awareness and hence will be showcasing its new film on social media. Tanishq in the past has maintained that the jewellery brand’s core focus to connect with consumers via digital and it will continue to invest heavily on it.
Whether femvertising here to stay or not is debatable. While Anita Nayyar and Preeti Mascarenhas believe that it is here to stay and we will continue to see the momentum growing over time, Harish Bijoor opines that it is just a passing phase. “When every brand around uses femvertising, and when everyone gets tired of it as a cliche, brands will nudge their way to Malevertising (Male Advertising) and this will be a yo-yo process for sure,” he concludes.
The balance swings between the ying and the yang. Even in advertising.
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
