While we as a society have made significant strides in discarding some age-old gender stereotypes and much of the public discourse around 'sexuality' today seeks to understand and accept different sexual orientations, this ad seems to want to set us back by at least a 100 years. What I find offensive about this ad:

1. It suggests that men stop being men when they share some of their wives' habits.

2. It suggests that by sharing their wives' (feminine) habits they become worthy of derision and therefore get a shampoo bottle thrown at them to 'knock them out' and bring them back to their senses.

Fairness creams and the cosmetic industry in general have done enough damage to exarcebate the biases in our society, and now we have ads like this feeding us messages about what kind of behaviour is 'gender appropriate'.

What next? Ads that promote shaving creams and shampoos while urging women to "stop before you stop being a woman" and mock women who refuse to shave or women who keep their hair short? How much are we willing to tolerate and endorse in the name of "creative expression"?

Are we ok letting our children internalise such dangerous messaging?

Are we ok letting the media perpetuate the notion that "when men do manly things, it is ok. When women do manly things, it's still pretty ok. But if a man decides to do unmanly things, he needs to get something thrown at him to knock him out"? 

Please sign this petition urging P&G to bring the ad down and let men (or women) be whoever they choose to be! Thank you!

P:S - When I emailed the media manager at P&G, this was his contrived response:

"Hi Merlia,

Thank you for reaching out to P&G India and sharing your concern with us. It is always very helpful to receive feedback from consumers, and at the onset we would like to say that it was never our intent to cause any offense.

These videos are a creative expression of the insight that men & women are different and therefore the products they use should cater to their unique needs. Our intent is only to enable men to use products that are meant for men. We deeply regret if a well intended lighthearted creative expression has inadvertently offended you.

P&G remains committed towards touching and improving the lives of our consumers and we thank you, a valuable consumer, for reaching out to us.

Warm Regards,

Ganesh Shankar

Communications | India

Procter & Gamble"