The emotional storyline is moving, but its closing message revives outdated ideas of masculinity.
The age of the metrosexual man seems long gone – at least if Wild Stone’s latest commercial is anything to go by. The new ad for the brand’s men’s soap positions itself as a celebration of masculinity, but its message has sparked debate.
The film opens with Ashutosh greeting his relatives, including a dozing grandfather. As the boy bends down for blessings, the grandfather stirs, sniffing the fragrance on Ashutosh’s arms. The scent reminds him of his late wife. When his daughter-in-law insists it’s just her son’s soap, the grandfather brushes her off, convinced he knows the fragrance of his wife better than anyone. He hugs his grandson, visibly moved.
Then comes the voiceover: “Lady’s soap suits only the ladies. You use a men’s soap. Wild Stone.”
While the narrative is touching, the final line feels discordant. The suggestion that men must avoid “women’s soap” reinforces a dated notion of masculinity – one that insists men keep their grooming products distinct from women’s as a way of asserting identity. There is, after all, nothing wrong with a man using a product marketed to women.
This is not new territory. More than a decade ago, Emami’s Fair and Handsome campaign – fronted by Shah Rukh Khan – encouraged men to stop using women’s fairness creams. Wild Stone’s effort feels like a modern replay of that idea, framed through nostalgia.
The ad comes from Moonshot, an independent agency known for bold, attention-grabbing campaigns. Its past work includes persuading Bollywood stars to “audition” for CRED commercials and casting Johnny Sins, the American adult film actor, in a soap-opera-style ad for Boldcare, a sexual wellness brand. But this time, the agency’s attempt to blend sentiment with gender commentary feels overreaching.
Earlier this year, Moonshot faced criticism when its campaign for luggage brand Mokobara drew comparisons to a decade-old Carlton ad. Wild Stone’s latest work risks a similar fate – a moving story undercut by a message that seems outdated and unnecessarily prescriptive.
