I noticed this tweet by Zoiro (The Zoiro?) asking men to show respect to women "like never before" by uploading a vector image of a man with facial hair (or their own face) with a bindi because Men Wearing Bindis Y Not.
Show your respect for women like never before on the 8th of March. #MenWearingBindisYnot pic.twitter.com/NchRdf2DSH
— Zoiro (@TheZoiro) March 7, 2016
I found that amusing to say the least. So I asked Twitterverse to point me to all such campaigns that were presumably intended to be witty or creative. Here are some gems:
Women shop because... ever heard of ReTaIL THeRaPY
Motto - Shop anytime, anywhere! Here's celebrating women's favorite shopping excuse! WomenOnShopping #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/sfgykgtVik
— HyperCity (@HyperCITYindia) March 7, 2016
Every woman is uniquely beautiful. But also only white.
Here's wishing every uniquely beautiful woman a #HappyWomensDay! pic.twitter.com/9fiOb3WjKs
— Yardley of London (@MyYardley) March 8, 2016
No. I get that you are MTR and you want do something, but doing the exact opposite of this (associating women to domesticity alone) is what International Women's Day is about. Yes, it's the reality in India, which is why it needs to be broken. Getting a man to cook for a woman might have made it better, don't you think?
This #WomensDay, @MTR_Dishcovery bows down to your awesome cooking skills! Share, get featured & WIN*. #MyDishcovery https://t.co/rCjf7IvzD6
— MTR Foods (@MTRFoodsIN) March 7, 2016
Women holding signs with adjectives. Cuz that's super new and never seen before.
#ContestAlert: Watch our #IAmFree video & tell us what does being free mean to you? Start tweeting to win!https://t.co/SNF5sIuIeP
— FreeCharge (@FreeCharge) March 8, 2016
More sign-holding with badly photoshopped text.
A burning desire to prove people wrong took her places. She let her actions do the talking. More #PowerToWomen pic.twitter.com/AN0abdMjJj
— Tata Housing (@tata_housing) March 7, 2016
Enough with the sign slactivism!
This International Women’s Day, tell us your story and show the world your #IAmShatterproof spirit! pic.twitter.com/7af9lSptKk
— Moto India (@Moto_IND) March 6, 2016
And there are some stumpers too. Like this Amul one.
This Women’s Day, Amul raises a glass to woman power. #AmulWomanPowerhttps://t.co/wVa7hsJ2fB
— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) March 7, 2016
And this one.
#SadaSexy Rehne ki kasam li hai Ranveer ne. Take the kasam too this Women’s Day! Watch the video & share your kasam.https://t.co/VhG3y8B5DH
— Set Wet (@SetWetIndia) March 8, 2016
And this. Why would you ruin that video with that tweet?
Forget Dolls, Ask for Diamonds https://t.co/US3V5venkY #ORRA #whatwomenwant
— ORRA Jewellery (@ORRAJewellery) March 8, 2016
??!?!?!
Making Men Look better since a long time #HappyWomensDay pic.twitter.com/EhTBy3a2DY
— Pavitra Paapi (@pavitrapaapi_in) March 8, 2016
No, success is not measured in numbers. And the only numbers your images show are the ages of the women.
#WomensDay #InternationalWomensDay
— Hats & Beards (@hatsnbeards) March 8, 2016
SUCCESS IS MEASURED NUMBERS....THESE #WOMEN PROVE THEM! pic.twitter.com/blhtTzhTEe
Hey Myntra, you missed a ;) smiley. What is this? Are the shapes supposed to mean something now or is pink still the bestest colour ever – oh-em-gee-barbies?
#MyntraBreaksStereotypes today, and what better way to do that than play around with our logo :-) Happy Women's Day! pic.twitter.com/9UKo2HNlUr
— Myntra (@myntra) March 8, 2016
Guinness record for most people painting their fingernails simultaneously. What an aspiration for women and little girls (because it's Women's Day, assuming men shouldn't be involved in this, yeah Inglot?).
Join me on the 8th of march ladies at palladium mall, And this womens day lets set a world record shall we 😊 https://t.co/UHuSbj23bo
— Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) March 3, 2016
Offering close competition to the Worst Campaign Ever is the "It's your day, but make sure you remember #NotAllMen. #SorryNotSorry but here's Kohli's face we think women like it." (Friendly advice: listen to the copywriter who says, "That does not sound right," guys.)
All we can say this #InternationalWomensDay, is #sorry. pic.twitter.com/F4oZQK6pqz
— Wrogn (@StayWrogn) March 8, 2016
SMS campaigns are not far behind either. Because shoes...
@sandygrains pic.twitter.com/NRuvGysC7m
— Surekha Pillai (@surekhapillai) March 8, 2016
... and phrasing...
Ladies' bottoms up for grabs. Line up, darlings. cc @sandygrains pic.twitter.com/QLdmCCrAHS
— WolfMomma (@wolfmiaow) March 8, 2016
... and all things twinkly sparkling lights and goddesses and WhatsApp forwards.
Why is my neighbourhood grocery store sending me messages like this? pic.twitter.com/TFu3plPRks
— Deepanjana Pal (@dpanjana) March 8, 2016
I'm off to go try pampering my womanhood for a while now. See ya, womens.
Unsure whether gym membership or happy ending. cc @sandygrains pic.twitter.com/852TCh7hpf
— Tipsy Gypsy (@yootifool) March 8, 2016
Oh, before I go, here are some campaigns that were done right.
General women's health queries answered:
This Women's Day, get your health concerns answered by experts. #WhatWomenWant #WomensDay https://t.co/BIljPjPx59 pic.twitter.com/ADC0LrMKeH
— Practo (@Practo) March 7, 2016
Awareness about women's bone health
Choose to be #StrongToTheBone today! Watch this video and take the bone health test now: https://t.co/zWbg4T4bfT pic.twitter.com/r1OVMxB4Ts
— Womens Horlicks (@Womens_Horlicks) March 7, 2016
Women in sport, daily fitness, girl child education:
Here's our humble tribute to all the #WomenOfSteel of #JSWGroup. Happy #InternationalWomensDay!
— JSW Group (@TheJSWGroup) March 8, 2016
Watch: https://t.co/gkSG6b2jcR
They could have done this anyway, but love how they picked out an opportune moment to fund a team that most people wouldn't even know existed! Hope there's a follow up.
You tweet & we'll fund India's Women Frisbee team's trip to London for the WorldCup. The goal?1000 RTs #MoveOurWomenhttps://t.co/zgjSu8MfsP
— Ola (@Olacabs) March 8, 2016
Ariel probably won the day. It's refreshing to see the narrative shift from "a superwoman who has it all – house, family, career, kids, money, yada yada" to equal contribution – the actual need of the day.
Laundry is not just a mother's job. Starting this #WomansDay, dads #ShareTheLoad! Here's what I'm talking about - https://t.co/2AMc2QbClK
— Radhika Apte (@radhika_apte) March 8, 2016
Remember, if you can't decide whether what you're doing is right or offensive, just be irrelevant and safe.
Love yourself...Love your skin!
— Vaseline (@VaselineIndia) March 8, 2016
Which of these do you feel, describe you best?#InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/QjkiV320x4