Diwali is the season when the consumerist blitzkrieg babbles newer narratives that mirror growing aspirations for gold, told and untold.
Nothing quite resonates new relationship realities or changing domestic dynamics better than the season’s Diwali marketing mega-messaging.
Famous faces carry more weight when driving home contemporary scenarios. Sample the Shraddha Kapoor ad for Dhanteras jewellery buying. First, it takes potshots at the over-syrupy jewellery ads that try to depict the Barjatya brand of “Hum Saath-Saath Hain” family bonhomie or the “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” kind of saas-bahu shifting relationship. Shraddha is sarcasm personified when she says, “Itni happy family....Itni meethi saas...sirf Diwali ki ads mein hoti hai.”
The newer narrative which draws attention is that even the ‘bai’, the house helper, is shown showering a Diwali or Dhanteras gift of gold on the lady of the house i.e. Shraddha.
Now, this newer narrative is, of course, meant to underscore the affordability of low-carat jewellery in these times of soaring gold rates. But at a different level it also drives home the aspirational template of the lower middle class constituting the ‘bais’, domestic helpers and the ilk.
It actually mirrors the changing economic reality of this strata. Our own ‘bai’ embodies this economic empowerment. Some months back, she dropped the dialogue that she needed a hike, for now she too has to pay home loan EMIs for the new flat she just bought.
{{/usCountry}}It actually mirrors the changing economic reality of this strata. Our own ‘bai’ embodies this economic empowerment. Some months back, she dropped the dialogue that she needed a hike, for now she too has to pay home loan EMIs for the new flat she just bought.
{{/usCountry}}Any wonder then that the Diwali ad shows the ‘bai’ gifting a gold bracelet to her employer. So much for the new economic empowerment and equality.
There was a time our naani-daadis would start saving for that customary gold coin for Dhanteras. What the ‘bais’ or house helps got at best was a silver ‘paajeb’, ‘baali’, bangle or steel ‘bartan’. In the changing consumerist templates, the ‘bais’ expect nothing short of gold, be it ‘baalis’ or a coin.
The ad also scoffs at the saas-bahu syrupy sentimentality driving much of Diwali commercials. When the saas alludes to her as ‘bahu’, Shraddha is quick to retort, “Kaun bahu....yahan co-founder hoon main.”
When Diwali dhamakas come, can Gen Z be far behind. Another jewellery ad for the festive season factors in new generation perspectives. Through the mother-daughter duo of Raveena Tandon and Rasha Thadani, this new-age template toasts the confluence of continuity and changing beliefs. Reaffirmation meets reinterpretation.
Gen Z & gifting
Passing down jewellery on festivals is a piece of the past. But the ad shows tradition through the lens of Gen Z modernism. It takes a lighter look at Gen Z’s newer definitions of praying,’ paer chhoona’ (feet touching) or showing care. The tagline best mirrors Gen Z’s approach to festival gemstones and gifting , “Khud ke traditions banaiye”.
For the naani-daadi generation still stuck with old gold, another famous face features to drive home that old-fashioned needn’t mean outdated.
Mahurats & many apps
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar comes riding the “India jeetega” sentiment to offer a win-win situation of recycling old gold for trendier designs. Mouthing ‘melting’ mumbo-jumbo for a leading jewellery brand, he extends the “win-win” credo from cricket to consumerism.
Move over the naani-daadi era of gold ‘baalis’ coming wrapped in those pink tissue papers. It’s the age of solitaires in sleek designer bags. Move over the customary steel ‘kadai’ or ‘karchhi’ on Dhanteras. The consumerist sensory overload is now selling Tweeple entire steel modular kitchens.
That Gen Z is factored prominently into Diwali dhamaka narratives makes the marketing blitzkrieg a bridge between past and present.
Modern minimalism over the naani-daadi maximalism.
The digital ecosystem is driving a new twist to Dhanteras and Diwali dhamakas. No more twiddling your thumbs in endless Dhanteras queues. Pre-orders on quick-commerce platforms are the order of the day. Thanks to many an app, you can pre-book your gold jewellery or coins to be delivered bang in the time window of the shubh mahurat.
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chetnakeer@yahoo.com