Many elderly Bangladeshi TV viewers may be having a feeling of déjà vu of sorts watching an unusual advertisement on the screens of private channels. It has been on telecast for quite some time. The advert is promoting a contraceptive pill for young women.
There is a twist. As the promotional short film's message puts it, the pill is meant for preventing 'accidental pregnancy'. Unlike the advertisements of traditional contraceptive pills or methods, the present one seems to have adopted an aggressive marketing
strategy.
Apart from the highly suggestive shots and the expression on the female model's face, the ad film exudes the ambience of an intimate scene involving a young woman and a young man. However, the film is well made on a nicely written script.
But there is something about it that galls many viewers. Despite being accustomed to watching these TV adverts on Indian channels these days, many in Bangladesh feel uncomfortable whenever the said ad suddenly appears on the screen.
The adult and adolescent viewers in a family are often found avoiding eye contact with each other as long as the film is on screen. People not much aware of the conservative nature of Bangladesh culture in general may find themselves in a quandary.
They may not be aware of the fact that topics like contraceptives, or even family planning, are taboo subjects here when they come out of the confines of privacy.
Besides, the advertisement in discussion gives the impression that it might be targeting young males and females, no matter whether they are married or not. This is what that gives many a feeling of unease; to the prudish segment of the society it might amount to a virtual morally-deviated market promotion.
A lot of others might interpret it as a temptation to sexual radicalism targeting unwed male and female youths.
Although advertisements on birth control methods or pills had once been a common feature in the media, those eventually
fizzled out due to unexplained reasons.
Twenty to twenty-five years ago, our TV or print media adverts on female contraceptive methods and birth control pills and preventive methods for males were a common sight.
Few would feel embarrassed or shocked at the frequency of those or raise uproars over their feared abuse. The print media ads or those meant for the TV or roadside hoardings were discreet and tasteful, yet poignant in spreading their messages.
Not that the ads of that time crossed their limits of decency overnight. Surprisingly, and to the horror of many sociological experts, the ads were cleverly taken out of the public view. It was also not that the people of Bangladesh had stopped feeling the need for birth control, as though the country's population had stabilised at a satisfactory level.
The stark reality was that the country's population had been galloping fast like in the previous years. Its pressure was felt acutely on the limited resources of the country.
Things veritably came to such a pass that over time, the mere mention of family planning in the media, especially those run by the government, became a sacrilegious act.
Beginning awkwardly in the early sixties, the campaigns and advocacy programmes centring on family planning gained full speed after the country's independence.
The tempo remained undiminished through the decades of the seventies, eighties and the nineties. In the meantime, the non-profit private limited entity Social Marketing Company (SMC) and some large pharmaceutical enterprises emerged in the scenario.
Amid all these family-planning advocacies in the country and their wide social acceptance, the adverts were able to keep their decency intact.
The government's campaign did not waver on its goal of making people aware of the benefits of family planning.
The abrupt break in the family planning campaign, to speak without mincing words, has impacted badly on our efforts to contain population boom. The trend of rise in the country's population continues unabated.
Against this dismal backdrop, the reappearance of advertisements on birth control points to a shift in government policy on this vital issue.
But there lurks a caveat. The authorities ought to be mindful of any deliberate distortion in the ads' message which profit-focused businesses may resort to. It will only lead to an unwarran-ted outcry over a nationally
critical issue.
shihabskr@ymail.com
