The world we live in today is engulfed with social-centric problems - prevalent like never before. What’s more lethal is the existence of these problems in not just one strata of the society but across borders. The issues like racism, hateism, genderism, casteism, nepotism, anti-gayism have reached a peak and, though belated, the time has come. Citizens of the world need to be veracious and fight for their own rights - unapologetically and unabashedly. In bringing these issues to the spotlight and raising awareness, brands across the world have been giving their voice to these causes for long. But one brand, whose voice has been loud and lucid against these discriminations is Absolut India.

Absolut as a brand, has always stood for equality and inclusivity across the world. It has never shied away from taking a stand. It brought the message of Born Colourless to life in 2019, which played tribute to diversity and inclusivity. With belief in Global Unity, Absolut has effectively championed the art of connecting with people by addressing global issues. Absolut started the colourless message by releasing a manifesto film on World Anti-Racism Day 2019, which talked about how being a shade apart can mean being worlds apart and how colour has inherited these illegitimate powers.

In 2020, with everything that happened, Absolut focused on bringing people together than on dividing further - shedding the shackles that divide us if only way to move forward. In this video, an extension to the ‘Born Colourless’ campaign, takes up a broader perspective on the problems of the world. This time the focus being on the ‘the isms of the world.’ Ideally defining, ISMs are an oppressive and especially discriminatory attitude or belief which denotes action/process, philosophies, principles, ideologies, syndromes etc. A concept that has often haunted the world in innumerable ways. The video went live at the same time as the Black Lives Matter moment was at its pinnacle globally.

The video features Swara Bhaskar - an Indian actress & activist, Sushant Divgikr an LGBTQ influencer, Anjali Lama – an unconventional model, Varshita Thatavarthi – another stereotype-defying model, Shivani Boruah - a street style blogger from north-east India, Angira Dhar - a talented actress, Abhishek Paatni - a bold designer, Nirmika Singh - a journalist and song writer. The video displays a strong portrayal of people taking a stand against these common issues which are otherwise not talked about and often frowned upon. With the idea to “Uncolour the isms of the world,” the message that they wish to put out is delivered in an impactful manner through their attitude and body language that symbolizes defiance. Much like taking a step into the beginning of a new world, the video confronts the audience with a seemingly endless barrage of these negative ‘isms’ that have been holding us back. It attempts to act like an eye-opener to these concepts of systemic injustice that exist right before us, without us bothering ourselves with them.

Absolut - ISMs

CREDITS

Joyna Mukherjee

Shomik Basuray

Saurabh Anand

Anurag Prasad

Joy Mohanty

Abhishek Deshwal

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