Recently, an advertisement of a global brand of personal care products got viral for its strong message against patriarchal ideology of masculinity, and its impact on the behaviour of men with women around them. The brand known for its tagline, ‘the best a man can get’, surprised many when it came up with such strong critique of societal norms with the ad. It ended up generating debate on many social media platforms. Many commentators got hurt from the message, taking it as an attack on men in general. Far from that, the ad was a critique of patriarchal social and economic structures that sustain hyper-masculine behaviour. Corporations have generally been quite complicit in using the dominant patriarchal ideology to push forward their economic interests – the profit motive. Considering how profitable it has been for Gillette to sell products that make men the best of themselves in a patriarchal setting that socialises humans into different gender roles, it must have been significant decision on part of the corporation to opt for a progressive tagline, and that must be commended. The role of #Metoo movement that has spread far and wide and is enabling many victims of harassment and abuse to speak up in pushing these boundaries cannot be stressed enough here. The advertisement industry in Pakistan, including local as well as multinational brands, has been sustaining itself on patriarchal social norms. From diapers, to detergent powders and from cooking oils, the industry casts women into the roles of homemakers, and confines them to patriarchal and nationalist tropes of daughters, wives, and sisters in its advertisements. Men are shown to be the heads of the households in our ads. Take a look at ads run by banks marketing their customer products like loans, mortgages, or of car manufacturers who show men on the steering wheel and women on the passenger seats, reaffirming existing stereotypes and doing the work of patriarchy. For a change, a recent ad on diapers showed the husband dressing the child. However, the audio message playing in the background ended up reaffirming the stereotype the ad could have subverted. It said use of the new product was so easy that now even dads could change a diaper, implying that in routine it is supposed to be a task for mothers only. The problem with these ads isn’t just that these are regressive, and that they reaffirm dominant gender tropes and sustain patriarchy. They are also problematic insofar as they aren’t realistic either. Like all other societies, Pakistani society have undergone considerable social and economic changes in the last two decades. More Pakistani women are participating in the labour force than at any point in the past. Many of these women are single mothers, or are taking up careers that have traditionally been unavailable to women. Women are playing sports and they are working in the military and police force. In rural areas, women’s labour continue to be central to farm work. In short, these socio-economic realities are far from the dominant urban middle class gender ideology of women as homemakers, and men as heads of households. By refusing to acknowledge these socio-economic realities, the advertisement industry is doing a great disservice to the everyday struggles of Pakistani women. It is time that the industry wakes up to these realities, and incorporate them into its advertisements. * Published in Daily Times, January 23rd 2019.