Two girls from Banwari Tola, a backward village in India, challenged deep-rooted stereotypes by taking over their father’s barbershop, a profession solely reserved for men. Can their story inspire the next generation to rethink the gender biases they’re growing up with?

Gillette saw this as the perfect story to drive the change in mindsets that they wish to see. They told this inspiring story through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy, who witnesses gender biases around him and is conditioned to think it’s normal. That’s until he meets these two girls running a barbershop, which compels him to question everything he’s been growing up with.

This was the first time in India that a men’s brand featured women as protagonists of their film and showed the importance of having positive role models for the next generation of men.

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A First for me! You may not know this, but I have never gotten a shave from someone else before. That record has been shattered today. Such an honour to meet the #BarbershopGirls and present them the @gilletteindia Scholarship. #ShavingStereotypes #DreamsDontDiscriminate

A post shared by Sachin Tendulkar (@sachintendulkar) on May 3, 2019 at 7:47am PDT

Karthik Srivatsan, associate director and country category leader, shave care, Indian sub-continent at P&G, said Neha and Jyoti(Barbershop Girls of India) and the entire village of Banwari Tola are an example of how when we take positive actions, we create meaningful change and set the right example for the next generation. “Gillette is proud to further enable their dream through our ‘Safalta Apni Muthi Mein’ program. It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. Our actions need to inspire us all to be better every day and to help create a new standard for boys to admire and for men to achieve. Because the boys of today are the men of tomorrow,’’ he added.

Small creative inputs such as the government’s campaign ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (Save the daughter, educate the daughter) mural on one of the village walls and the background score inspired by the Sohar — a traditional folk song sung in celebration at the birth of a boy — further adds to the gender equality message. Gillette’s ad agency has added a twist in the lyrics towards the end challenging the tradition and urging people to equally celebrate the birth of a girl, for even she can change the family’s fortune.

Sandipan Bhattacharyya, chief creative officer, Grey Group said, “Gillette, as a progressive man’s brand, believes in and propagates topics that are relevant to raising and inspiring the future generation of men. And with this campaign and a powerful message like ‘Shaving Stereotypes’, Gillette drives home a point that has utmost relevance in the times we live in. The boys watching today need inspiring role models so that they grow up to be better men.”

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India, Gillette, Diversity, Advertising, Digital, Digital Advertising, Entertainment, Events, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Social Media, Creative, Brand, Gender Stereotype, #ShavingStereotypes, Gillette India, Barbershop Girls of India, Grey, Advertising Agency, Sachin Tendulkar, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao