Fairness industry is a multi-billion business endorsing the notion that being ‘fair’
is beautiful and being ‘dusky’ is always risky. This article explores how the
advertising of fairness cream belittles the existence of women in India. Focusing
on the promotion of whitening brands as a case study, the authors bring out the
contradictions and unverifiable assertions in the marketing philosophy of beauty,
the social obsession, the aspirations of young men and women, the Bollywood
glamour, and the darker side of fairness. It is appalling to see the reckless
promotional campaigns even when the tons of whitening tubes cannot change
what is genetically determined by the amount of melanin in the skin. Such
advertising campaigns of whitening creams and their strategies rob not only the
consumers of their self-esteem but also infuse a false sense of inferiority and
guilt. The article seeks to understand the marketing campaigns of whitening creams
and suggests that their advertising appeals can be altered to salvage the image of
Indian women whose survival is not just confined to the skin tone. It further urges
the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)1
to have stringent guidelines to
check the representation of stereotypical assumptions of women and their social
status in advertisements.