For decades, society has tried to define gender roles for both women and men.
These gender roles have been quite evident through the entertainment and ad content that the Pakistani industry has produced over the years, but brands are moving more towards thematic ads now.
Traditionally speaking, men are believed to have very socially accepted masculine standards. You generally see men being expected to mend an electric wire, change bulbs, hammer nails into a wall, and change tyres. Women however are expected to be nurturers of the house and cook and clean for their families. This may not necessarily be what they want, but are handed down and trusted with due to years of gender socialization and patriarchal societal structures.
The latest campaign and TVC of Shoop noodles are trying to fight just that with its concept ‘Trust Tou Must Hai’. The ad opens with the shot of a man trying to change the tyre of his car when his teenage daughter spots him and steps outside to give a helping hand. As soon as the man sees her, he asks for a glass of water which is what we typically do with the youngest ones in the family. This is when she asks if she can get the tool instead to fix the tyre.
Have a look:
Though reluctantly, the father hands over the tool to his daughter trusting her and steps back only to discover that she is actually skilled at performing the task.
The look of surprise and delight later on his face is the fact that he feels proud of her daughter knowing and learning a life skill of changing a tyre, something you generally don’t expect women or girls to be adroit at.
Shoop campaign of #TrustTouMustHai, subliminally is pointing to the fact that the new generation of teenagers is competent and adaptive to numerous skills required to survive in the 21st century.
While many families train their daughters in cooking and their sons in fixing tyres, they seldom think that such are everyday tasks and come handy when you’re trying to live an independent life.
How often do you see a woman driver stepping out of the car and fixing her flat tyre on the middle of the road in Pakistan and men making the bed? Wouldn’t it be refreshing if some day we see women drivers fixing their vehicles and men cleaning?
After seeing the reactions on social media, one can safely say that there is more and more need of such campaigns in the local arena.
This fight and activism will not only shun such stereotypes for women but will also curb the toxic ones associated with masculinity. Even standards of supposedly manly behavior need a paradigm shift for the overall progress of society.