The husband in the Havell's ad is of a parochial mindset, accustomed to being pampered and attended to, by wife and mother. The wife, too, seems quite used to this and is happy to stand and serve a meal to her husband, sitting only after she has done so. She takes umbrage only when she is compared unfavourably with her mother-in-law. The husband is taken aback when she becomes assertive. "25 types of chatni, banao"and "chatni......patni". He is flabbergasted with, for him, the unthinkable, that if he wants to eat something, he can prepare it for himself.

   The advertisement tries to show us, and succeeds to an extent, that housework is not a woman's job alone. The advertisement's tagline, "Respect Women", though well-intentioned, does not quite hit the mark. 

    The second advertisement does a far better job of breaking gender stereotypes. A woman is shown seated confidently with her male colleagues in a boardroom. The male speaker addresses both her and the woman over the intercom politely and respectfully. The other two male colleagues are intrigued by "Rajat ki recommendation" of "Kiran" who is automatically assumed to be feminine, and the visuals accentuate this impression. The qualities of being hardworking, personable, eager to learn and willing to put in long hours would all have been commendable in a man, but their sneering and knowing expressions convey that these very attributes are feminine wiles to flirt and charm her way to a promotion. When "Kiran" is about to enter, one of the men sits up and straightens his tie, no doubt to make a favourable impression on the young woman he expects "Kiran" to be. When they realise that "Kiran' is a man, the change of expression from curiosity to embarrassment is very telling.

     The tagline " Change the way you look at a woman's success. She is unstoppable now", is effective and gets a thumbs up for being a successful advocate for gender equality in the workplace. 

     The third advertisement starts on a promising note, with the daughter being a busy working professional. She has learnt responsibility and a good work culture from her mother, " tum hi se to seekha hai". But the archetypal mother is the selfless caregiver, juggling career and housework and worrying about her child's nutrition. She is indulgent but does not take her daughter's job responsibilities too seriously, " company ka sara bojh to tumhare kandhon par hi hai.".

     Why cannot a man be shown packing a tiffin for his wife and daughter as they dash off to work? Why can't the two women unabashedly drink milk or eat almonds for their own health, for themselves? Why is the mother so self-effacing? Why can't a woman find a little time for herself?. The tagline, "Amul raises a glass to woman power" is thus only partially effective.

     In conclusion, I feel that all three advertisements do try to shake us out of our preconceived notions about the role of each gender in society, but they still have a long way to go before they portray gender equality.