Shame on VirginMobile - We Need To Raise Voice

Hi,
I am writing this post to bring something to your notice. I'm sure you must have seen the latest Virgin Mobile advertisement.
The advertisement is about two guys admitted in a hospital who are exploiting a major profession - 'Nursing'.
If you haven't seen the TV Commercial, its time for you to switch on your TV and you will see the advertisement.
Nursing profession is a respectful profession and nurses play a major role in saving our lives. When people are severely injured or sick and are brought to hospitals, the first person who takes care of these patients is a nurse. Since Florence Nightingale times, nursing profession got much respect and today, we all need to recognize the sacrifices nurses do to cure people.
As a responsible adult, I fully understand and I'm sure a lot of my country men/women also understand the 'need' of such professionals which are life-savers. The increasing trends of migration to commonwealth countries is a little scary. Soon there will be no nurses left to help sick people struggling with their lives because we will loose our precious nurses to commonwealth countries. Why? Because nurses get recognition in commonwealth countries and our government badly lacks on giving recognition.
The only reason, we don't care to hold them back, recognize them for what they do and motivate them to serve our nation. Instead, companies like Virgin Mobile exploits them. What are the youngsters learning out of watching such offending and immoral TV commercials? They will do exactly the same when they are hospitalized. If not the injured one, their friends will be lured to exploit nurses when they visit an injured friend at hospital.
There are thousand other ways to create good commercials which do not infringe someone's morale but Virgin Media took the cheapest and ethic-less way out to promote their product.
Is there a way to stop these people from exploiting a respectful profession?
Their commercial is an insult to not only nursing profession but to Indian Women over all. Its a real shame that companies at this level are exploiting women openly in the form of TV commercials.
Probably you can imagine a teenager (male) who has never been hospitalized, what goes across his mind about nursing professionals? And vice versa, what would go across a female teenager's mind - "That this profession is not good and as a nurse I would be exploited".
I don't belong to 'Writing & Editing" profession, I'm a computer engineer. I completed my studies in Australia and returned back to serve my country with the acquired skills. So, I can't really put my thoughts into words very well. However, I hope you understand my pain. I simply can't accept the way our women are treated, specially, on professional levels. Companies like Virgin Mobile are creating insecurity for nursing professionals and women 'at work'.
We all need to step out and stop such TV commercials which exploit Indian women.
Thanks for reading.
I hope to see the Virgin Mobile advertisement pulled off the TV channels soon which displays 'women' as a piece of entertainment among our youth and some law should be created to ban such commercials, the offenders should be prosecuted.

Regards,
A Responsible Indian Citizen.

Well,
As a matter of fact, as I was writing my post, I saw some advertisements on left and below my post.
It is funny, as well as, disgusting that once again, I see VIRGIN MOBILE advertisements.
What a shame!!


SHAME ON YOU VIRGINMOBILE !!

Thanks for the support. I'm sure you enjoyed the advertisement more than anyone else.
They are actually running a contest through that commercial. Just keep watching, I WILL PULL that commercial down, even if it goes to giving my life for that matter.
It is obvious that you are not married OR if you are married, you are a male who thinks that it is just a commercial and all of us should enjoy it. But I'm sure, you would have thought a little different if your mother or your sister were a Nursing Professional. Then I would probably see if you can still say 'uh...........'

Regards,
Adarsh.

I agree. They could have used some other way to advertise their company. I didnt like the commercial at all.

I am a nurse and have been one for a long time. I love it. It is a great profession to be in. Well coming to the point , I would like to see the commercial befor making any decisions. How we see it??? 😕

Originally posted by: Shubh_Aastha

uh............................................................

The advertisement can be seen at this link ..

http://www. virginmobile.in/contest/yoyo.html?gclid=CJCEopyn4pUCFQH4egod60ZKeg

(you will have to remove the space after www.)
Since I'm new to these forums, I'm not yet allowed to post links, so I put a space in between www. and virginmobile.in

I contacted NGO Akshara and Ms. Nandita Gandhi (Co-director of Aksharacentre.org) is taking up the matter against companies involved.

Once again, people I'm only 28 years old. I completed my education in Australia. I have lived in our culture and have lived in a far more 'modern' culture. I'm not a narrow minded person and I can make the difference between good, bad and fair. But there has to be a limit to everything. VirginMobile JUST started their business in India yesterday and they think it is just ok whatever they do. Why don't they leave their nonsense back in US? Come on, such things look good on xxx websites. Not on National TV Channels. And look at the contest they are running. They want youth to get involved thinking and fantasizing how the commercial should have ended. What is youth going to say about this? Probably the nurse should have ended up in the bed with them? Goto some hospital and just look around, you won't find anything rosy about being in a hospital as a patient and saving lives of patients as a nursing professional. Look at the newspapers and TV channels, so many rapes. Ever wondered what is the reason the rapes incidents are growing each day? I am sure there are a lot of people who haven't pulled the plugs off their brain and they do care about the culture in which we live. But I question those who have replied back with 'uh' and 'lol' what makes you 'lol' ? What is really funny? Look I can't change your thinking and I don't want to. But leave all that crap for adult websites, don't include kids and youth into thinking that at professional level, women can be taken for-granted and asking a professional to touch your private body parts is just fine.

Akshara's petition against the VirginMobile Commercial:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To,
19/09/08

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)

and The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

Cc: Censor Board of India, National Commission for Women

Dear Madam/Sir,

This is to bring to your notice our strong objection to the 40-sec
Television Commercial promoting Virgin Mobile€™s €˜YoYo€™ Offer, telecast
on various television channels since around 09/10/08 and also viewable on:

http://www. virginmobile.in/contest/yoyo.html?gclid=CJCEopyn4pUCFQH4egod60ZKeg

At a time when the European Union is set to make sexist television ads
history, we find it puzzling that the India €™s chief regulatory bodies
are seemingly unaware of or indifferent to this indecent, degrading
and sexist portrayal of women in a professional and caring industry.
Given the rigorous conditions that nurses (both female and male) work
under, it is exploitative and perverted for a service provider to
normalize sexual harassment in the workplace. This ad may well
encourage patients in similar medically intimate situations to view
nurses and other ancillary staff in terms of their body parts rather
than as professionals worthy of their respect and gratitude.

In particular, see

- the top-angle shot of the model€™s low cleavage where the eye is
drawn to the model€™s breasts as the man waits €˜expectantly€™ (time
count 00:06); note the composition of the frame as the camera lovingly
gives the viewer the enhanced curve of a breast in the foreground in
close-up and the male patient€™s expression in the background.

- Another, similarly composed top-angle shot is with the model€™s right
breast in sharp focus at time count 00:08 .

- Another, similarly composed, part close-up, cleavage shot at time
count 00:12 .

- At time count 00:18 the camera then shifts its point of view to the
patient only to draw our attention to the woman€™s skimpily clad lower
body. The mini-skirt, with a slit to boot, barely reaches the model€™s
upper-thigh and the camera now focuses on the model€™s exposed legs.
Note that the patient€™s head, now in the foreground, is again blurred
and out of focus.

- the ad ends with a (mincing) male nurse entering the second male
patient€™s room much to the second patient€™s disappointment at not
having this €˜sexy€™ female nurse attend him too. €˜Humour€™ in this
instance is achieved by targeting the male nurse€™s €˜effeminate€™
behaviour, again an extremely tasteless presentation.

This ad invites the (presumably) male viewer to partake, vicariously,
in the patient€™s lewd behaviour and to derive sexual pleasure and
€˜humour€™ from the patient€™s exploitation of a nurse€™s duties, her
caring functions and expected helpful nature. Portraying the sexuality
of the nurse as a gimmick to sell their product is not only a highly
irresponsible and juvenile act on the part of both the company (Virgin
Mobile) and the ad agency (Bates 141, Mumbai), but also contrary to
the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India. It shows
a distinct lack of creativity and great insensitivity on the part of
the production house (Nirvana Films, Mumbai) and the ad agency if all
they can possibly come up with to communicate an innovative tariff
plan is an infantile and perverse take on what so many women have to
endure routinely.

To be targeted for your sexuality and be presented in terms of sexual
€˜availability€™ can have a highly negative effect on the
self-confidence of women in general, and of nurses in this case. In
their search for eyeballs and consumer count, such film makers not
only demean highly skilled, dedicated and qualified members of the
medical fraternity, but also disregard the very real and vulnerable
circumstances that working women face in our patriarchal society.

We would request that

a) the ad be withdrawn immediately, both from television and the
Virgin website.

b) the makers (Virgin Mobile, Bates 141 & Nirvana Films) be
penalised and reprimanded individually and immediately by both CBFC
and ASCI.

c) both CBFC and ASCI inform the signatory organisations below of
the steps being taken in the current case with an assurance of a
tighter regulation of TVCs vis- -vis the sexist portrayal of women.

Failing a satisfactory and timely response, we shall be forced to
formally refer this ambivalence on the part of the regulatory bodies
CBFC and the ASCI to the National Commission for Women.

Thanking you,
Akshara Team.

You are doing something good. I just hope you succeed in doing so. All the very best !!