~A campaign against colour bias~
June 8 2016, 12.24 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Chennai, June 8, 2016: The Indian obsession with fair skin dates back to several centuries. The innate implication was that if you have fair skin, you are somewhat superior to others. The quest for fair skin and the negative bias to dark skin happens right from birth and reaches its peak during the marriageable age. Girls are told that they will not get good husband if they are dark or asked to try for various remedies to make their skin fair.
Taking a stance against the perception “fair skin is only beautiful”, Banjara’s; a natural cosmetic brand conceptualized and supports a social movement #Proud of My Color. The campaign aims to change the perception that fair skin does not mean beauty and that the focus of skin products should be on healthy skin and not skin lightening. Along with the launch of the campaign Banjara also highlighted the benefits of their newly launched skin wellness range ‘Skin Positive’.
As a cursor to Proud of My Color, a short film was created that focused on how most often the pressure to be “fairer” began at home. The film captured the concerns and apprehensions that older family members have about skin colour, especially when it comes to their daughter’s marriage. The film till date has garnered 3 million views and continues to attract attention.
Taking the movement forward, a sequel to the film was launched today by acclaimed actors Lakshmi Priya and Revati Shankaran that captures the affinity of advertisers both large and small to represent “fair girls” in their advertising. The film focuses on the need to look beyond skin colour on talent and achievement.
Commenting on the communication objective, Ramesh Vishwanathan, Managing Director, Banjara’s said, “We wanted to change the perception that beauty is beyond fair skin. A woman should feel gorgeous in her natural skin color. The focus of skin products should be on making the skin quality and making it healthy and not skin lightening. The highlight of these short films is to educate people to get over their unhealthy obsession about fairness.”
Adding further, Krishna Mohan, Founder of #proud of my color and advertising professional, INDIA/2 said “The response to the film and the movement has been overwhelming. Lot of people have come back and said that the advertisement reflects their life story and how society has to look at beauty beyond the narrow lens of skin color”.
The music composed by Dr. Divakar Subramaniam and voiced by popular singer Srinivas is built around the theme; you can’t judge beauty by colour, and specially created to enhance the desired message. The film has been shot by Mr.Prabhkar Sundaraman of INDIA/2 Productions and will play on prominent online mediums and cinemas as part of its outreach plans. The strategic online promotion of the film has been crafted by Arvind Jha and Manish Sinha of Pariksha Labs.
Proud of My Color, has built a Facebook community of over 2 lakhs and has received support by celebrities like Padma Lakshmi, Actor & Writer; Renuka Shahane, Actor; Radhika Nair, Model; Nidhi Sunil, Model; Jane De Suza, Author to name a few.
Links to the Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/proudofmycolor
About Banjara’s
Banjara’s brings a touch of nature in people’s life to make them look and feel beautiful with the best effective hair and skin care products. Banjara’s products are available across 60000 outlets all over south India and prominent modern trade chains as well as e-commerce sites. From a humble beginning of just 6 different herbal beauty powders the portfolio is now 60 products strong. Banjara’s is a sponsor of ‘Proud of my colour’ movement and endeavors to launch products and campaigns with focus on healthy skin and not skin lightening.
About Proud of my Colour
Proud of My Colour is a crowd-sourced, volunteer led movement that provides a platform to celebrate the inspirational stories of people who have not allowed the colour of their skin or existing bias against it to affect their lives.. Proud of My Colour, has built a community of about 2 lakhs+ supporters and has received support by celebrities like Padma Lakshmi, Actor & Writer; Renuka Shahane, Actor; Radhika Nair, Model; Nidhi Sunil, Model; Jane De Suza, Author etc.