Heels at the Wheel

Hyundai’s latest small car, the Eon, launched in October, drew immediate attention with its curves as well as its attractive mileage and competitive pricing. What was also significant, however, was its launch advertisement, which showed four young women enjoying a ride in it. There were no men around. Traditionally, auto ads have featured men at the wheel, since drivers were believed to be predominantly male, and men were the primary targets of auto ads. But clearly, the times are a-changing.

Quite a few ads in India have lately featured women in the driver’s seat. The trend started with the ads for Hyundai’s Next Gen i10. In one of them, actor Shah Rukh Khan is shown being tricked by his woman companion into giving her his driver’s seat. Ford India’s ad for its all-new Fiesta also shows two young ladies enjoy- ing the drive. “Women were earlier shown only as decorative pieces in skimpy clothes. Now, there are a lot of financially-independent women and they are decision makers. The ad makers know this,” says ad film maker Prahlad Kakkar.

The change in perception may be a reflection of the socio-economic and demographic changes in the country. Industry estimates suggest eight to nine per cent of all car owners in the country are women. Says Arvind Saxena, Director, Marketing and Sales, at Hyundai Motor India: “The basic idea is to communicate style and youthful energy in our commercials. Our strategy is to consolidate our position in the subcompact and compact segments and also drive preference for our products.”

Maruti Suzuki has seen women buyers of its models grow by two to three per cent every year.“Women are influencing the decisionmaking process of buying a car,” says Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager, Marketing.

Anurag Mehrotra, Vice-President, Marketing, Ford India, says his company focuses on consumer personality, not on gender. “Today, there is a mix of men and women with similar traits of ambition, of wanting to make a mark,” he adds. Thus, the Fiesta ad shows real people driving the car, rather than models.

The shift has been a gradual one.“Banks are led by women, the leader of the ruling political party is a woman,” says Josy Paul, Chairman and National Creative Director of BBDO India, a leading ad agency.“There is a social context. The real thing is happening around us, not only in ads. What is the big news?”