MUMBAI: It’s 2020 – a new decade and a new beginning towards creating an equitable society, devoid of any indiscrimination. As United Nations celebrates Women’s Day with this year’s theme of ‘Each for Equal’, which upholds that an equal world is an enabled one, it is unfortunate that women are still judged and constantly made to feel awkward for something as frivolous and insignificant as a ‘peeking bra strap’. This Women’s Day, MTV takes strap shaming head on with its unique initiative – Baar Bra Dekho. Co-conceptualised in association with Dentsu Webchutney, MTV Baar Bra Dekho aims to normalise conversations around bra straps and slam the judgemental eye rolls on a woman’s peeking strap.
Speaking on the initiative, Viacom18 Youth, Music, and English Entertainment marketing head Navin Shenoy said, “Women are leaping ahead in every field. But instead of talking about their laurels, they are still being judged and questioned about what they wear. Criticising their peeking bra straps in 2020 is shameful and not even worth a consideration. Taking this issue head on, we are proud to present MTV Baar Bra Dekho, a thought provoking initiative that distinctively questions the regressive stereotypes women are subjected to. It's imperative to change the narrative. Starting this Women’s Day, we urge the youth of this country to celebrate the spirit of freedom and womanhood, the MTV way.”
The tongue-in-cheek initiative gives a shout-out to women to be themselves in bold bra straps that ask creepy on-lookers to stay away and mind their own business. The ever-gorgeous and feisty Radhika Madan held the baton high to lead this initiative and give out an important message on Women’s Day that is intended to smash stereotypes. Through its fun yet hard-hitting promo, MTV strongly advocates the idea of women being unafraid of subjugations and wearing their opinions on their sleeves… straps!
Actor Radhika Madan said, “It is 2020 and women are being hailed in every aspect of life. But it’s disappointing to know that the same society which celebrates them, also judges them for something as normal as their bra strap showing. Gone are the days of shaming women for what they wear. One must respect individuals and let us feel comfortable in our own skin. White, black, pink or blue, peek-a-boo is not taboo. And that’s what Baar Bra Dekho aims to achieve. I am really excited to be a part of this initiative by MTV and redefine freedom for women, this Women’s Day.”
MTV Baar Bra Dekho kickstarted with a series of engaging content on social media and grabbed the attention of the viewers, asking them to talk it out and share their stories of strap shaming. It also went out into the crowd to understand the perception of uncles, aunties and youngsters alike on peeking bra straps. Post that, #BrasofBharat piqued the viewers’ interest that highlighted the perspective of a bra being publicly shamed almost every day. These eye-catching communication pieces and different reactions threw light on how the disparaging onlookers in the society create a hullabaloo around the non-issue and blow it out of proportion. Within a day of its launch, an overwhelming response poured in on social media, garnering a reach of 40 milliom, with #MTVBaarBraDekho trending on twitter.
Culminating the initiative, MTV organised an ‘eye-popping’ event, on 3 March at Khar Social, Mumbai where the most popular funny ladies- Sejal Bhat and Prashasti Singh tickled the funny bones of the roaring crowd and talked about the perception around bras and onlookers, with a perfect tinge of humour and sarcasm.
A customised range of limited edition bra straps started intriguing conversations amongst the youth. With some hard-hitting and comic comebacks on the straps like “Karle Judge”, “This is Neon of your Business”, “Ghoorna Mana Hai” etc., the bold and sassy range received a huge shout-out in no time from celebrity influencers and fans alike.
