ShaadiCares fights dowry online with #NotForSale

A country struggling, lingering between the grey and contemporary era is still hounded by the stern absence of social stigma towards dowry. A downright sin in all universes, matrimonial match-making brand Shaadi.com addresses the melancholy practice digitally.

Marrying off a woman to a socially acceptable a.k.a suitable groom comes with a price, to decipher: a house, car or jewelry for starters. Contemptible persistence of dowry in the society has twisted the holy matrimony into a glorious exchange of finances between two parties.

The price of marriage

The majestic culture we never left behind, with that dragged the social evils along with us even in 2016. Building matrimony on the floppy foundation of dowry, ShaadiCares a CSR stem of Shaadi.com takes up the responsibility to pinch the society for this concern.

#NotForSale takes over social media with a film, which happens to be a monologue of a man of a marriage-able age. Basing itself on simplicity and a tinge of sarcasm these short films with monologues have men standing-up against dowry, cursing this illegal practice with dignity and urging the society to curb. This anti-dowry monologue records men of marriage-able age refusing to accept dowry, even if it brings them luxury or love.

Commenting on the launch of this initiative, Aditya Save, CMO, Shaadi.com said, “It is heartening to see that young men no longer think dowry is acceptable. And we wanted to reflect this strong point of view through #NotForSale.” He further adds, “Its always difficult to draw attention to a problem that we all know about already. With our #NotForSale initiative, this is our effort to shake off the lethargy of knowledge and help sections of society reevaluate their actions. We would urge everyone to share their feedback. We all need to chip in if we are to see the end of these social evils.”

The brand conducted research around dowry and disparity faced by women, the survey surfaced that over 80% of the women feel dowry is the most severe form of gender disparity and ironically 71.2% single men are more sensitive towards dowry than married men.

Rebel against dowry

Dramatically debuting last year with the witty ‘Dowry Calculator’ the brand has voiced its opinion in favor of dowry demolishment. Interestingly, this calculator calculated the worth of men in the wedding market, thus, a slap on the face every individual participating in this act.

#NotForSale is the second endeavor or an extension when the brand yet again through the male gender mirrors the social shame shining upon our society with disgrace through a campaign.

Campaign calculator

Being one of the top racers in the market of online marital portals, the campaign does not focus on highlighting the brand’s presence in the social sphere, but aspires to enhance their status. Through this campaign the ShaadiCares, while staying close to its characteristic moulds a campaign around the dark spots of marriage aiming towards eradication.

Dowry, as a concern is a somber matter of the society and the campaign manages to deal delicately with it by releasing monotonous short, crisp, and hard-hitting films. The campaign uses an absolutely identical theme for all their videos, just with different faces and dialogues.

Suitable for the brand, the campaign manages to create a reflection of the brand as sensitive and concerning towards the society and new relationships, thus reaching its motive. The campaign could have been a little more interactive by initiating netizens to share their dowry stories.

Social media calculator

Shaadi.com and ShaadiCares, both their social media handles reflected the presence of the campaign #NotForSale.

The campaign received over 4.2k views on one of its videos and appreciation through comments. #NotForSale was supported by simplified and indicative illustrations portraying that no one can put a price on a man’s worth.

Using a straightforward hashtag, the campaign speaks out loud that men are #NotForSale and cannot be lured by money, thus empowering the other gender for a change.

ShaadiCares managed to extend the Dowry Calculator branding, making #NotForSale a subtle extension to the previsios campaign.

The issue of dowry is not just buried in the lower strata of the society, but a shameless practice present even amongst the elite; recognizing this factor the brand digitally reaches a large audience trying to put across some sense and building its persona in the social circle.