“There is a new kind of dushman in our lives and we have to unite once again to fight it,” says Sanjay Dutt in an all-serious tone at the start of a Haywards 5000 soda ad, only to follow it up with one of the most ignorant, crass, and stupid rants one might have ever heard in their lives. Hayward's is a soda brand (surrogate for strong beer) and “Mardangiri” was the title of their campaign, and if you are already cringing, fear not, it gets worse.
Check it out here:
In the two-minute long video, Sanjay Dutt is talking about how men have become more “feminine” and have started going to the parlour to get their chest and legs shaved, started growing out their hair and getting perms which is very shameful. Baba is really disturbed that men are now choosing to drink “sissy beers” and “pink cocktails” and acting like “behenjis”.
Who's the Real Enemy?
This Haywards 5000 ad has a lot of issues, and it being made in 2008 is no defence. It was still very much a breeding ground of hate against some of the most basic things men like to do, fuelling the culture of toxic masculinity that we see to this day. To say that drinking pink cocktails, wearing pink and mauve shirts, and having a poodle instead of a German shepherd is something “real men” don’t do proves exactly how fragile the definition of a real man is for people like these.
If doing such basic and irrelevant things threatens your masculinity, maybe that’s the real “dushman” you need to defeat.
One might say that Dutt was just narrating this off a memorised script, but even agreeing to do something like this for money is appalling nonetheless. If Dutt had taken a moment to stop and think about the many young boys he would be adversely affected with his so-called campaign to bring manliness back, he could have made a different decision.
The Irony is Unreal
What’s more dismal about this is that an actual group of creatives-- full of copywriters and creative directors thought, “Hey, let’s behave like fourth grade bullies by trolling men for doing things they actually like”. Slapping Sanjay Dutt’s face on the campaign sends a message in itself, considering how Dutt is famous for being the poster boy of “macho” in the industry at the time. But his going at other men with all this aggression is anything but macho.
This ad, reportedly conceptualised by Ogilvy and Mather, didn't just take a page from the toxic masculinity book, they copied the whole thing word for word, and added more. Imagine how insecure you have to be for patronising others for caring for the way they look and taking care of themselves.
Thanking the World for Not Following in Hayward's Footsteps
Personally, I don’t think I would care enough to be offended by this ad. Yes, it saddens me, but I just see this as a sexist, bigoted man ranting out of his insecurities about other men embracing their choices. And the latter is what I am happiest about. So, instead of choosing to get upset about Dutt’s rant, I’d like to take this chance to show the many men in the online space today who have gone above and beyond the narrow standards of manliness set by Haywards.
So many people have chosen to do what pleases them without any inhibitions of toxic masculinity clouding their minds. So, instead of obsessing over these bigoted ads, let’s celebrate the good, shall we?
Siddharth Batra is an influencer who has always experimented with clothing from all genders, and doesn’t shy away from accessorising too, all the while, rocking every outfit he wears!
Ankush Bahuguna, another influencer, enjoys doing makeup-- on himself and others, and is often promoting content around it. And can I say, how edgy and fabulous!
Writer and lyricist Varun Grover has often taken to Instagram to share his fascination with nail paint and said that it makes his hand look beautiful with minimum effort. "Long hair, ear studs, sensitivity-- all have been accepted by men as unisex but nail paint is still crossing a line," he said in one of his Instagram stories.
And honestly, Baba, I don’t know why you said this; you yourself can rock a great pink shirt, long locks of hair, and a shaved chest!
Not only that, personally knowing cishet men who care about their appearance, don't shy from indulging in some self-care from time to time and enjoy beers with their friends has been an absolute pleasure. Who would ever want to be a man like the one described by Haywards?
And all of this, just to sell soda is perhaps the worst thing. Only in the last 15-20 seconds of the ad does Dutt reveal what the ad is actually for, and it’s the most facepalm moment of all time.
If you think women are hysterical, you should watch Sanjay Dutt’s rant and think again.
You might wonder, why bring this up now? Because frankly, the ad didn't get the backlash it deserved back in 2008, so now seems like a good time to call out such toxic content, and the internet agrees.
The ad was never going to age well, especially in today’s times when online spaces celebrate non-binary and non-conforming folk and individuals like Dutt are only the subject of trolls. By and large, non-binary folk still face discrimination online at the hands of individuals like these, but rarely has a brand ever supported a cause so crass and narrow-minded. It’s pride month and perhaps there’s no better time to discuss this, but misogynist and toxic ads like these need to be taken down, not because of the criticism they are facing (that is only part of the reason); but also because of how they are negating all the good work other queer and gender positive communities in India are doing.
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