Man points out woman with bindi on Scotch-Brite’s Logo, calls out 3M India for gender stereotypes
By Purvi Jain
Over the past many years, social media has helped brands and their customers engage directly with their audience and customers. The case of point in this interaction between a customer and marketing head of Scotch-Brite. This incident shows how a little understanding can make better results for many.
Karthik Srinivasan, a communication strategy consultant, looked at LinkedIn to contact Scotch Brite for this logo which stereotypes gender roles. He received a reply from Atul Mathur, head of marketing-customer business at 3M India which is the parent company of Scotch Brite. The reply of Mathur is wishing people over.
Srinivasan started his post by writing the following, “Pushpanjali Banerji recently shared with me a photo of a pack of Scotch-Brite and after I noticed what she pointed to, I couldn’t unsee it”.
He further added, “the logo has a vector image of a woman with a bindi”.
Srinivasan looked into it further to check if all the products to carry the same vector image. He said, “while a lint roller does not carry this, other products like scrub pad/sponge, sink brush, broom, bathroom wipe, stainless steel scrub, toilet brush do carry it”.
He wrote at last in his post that, “in 2020, such gender makers seem awkward and out of place. I sure hope the good folks at 3M take note of this legacy logo and update it”.
His post soon promoted a discussion where people Shared their opinions on LinkedIn. It wasn’t long before Atul Mathur replied and thanked Srinivasan for his “insightful comment”.
Mathur has written, “you have surmised That this is a legacy vector, and this is undoubtedly time to move on from regressive belief. Recognizing this, we started down the roads to drive behavioral change externally”.
He has been shared a link to an advertisement from a series by the company called “Ghar Sabka, Toh Kaam Bhi Sabhi Ka?”.
He concluded by writing, “at the same time the also began to work internally on changing D brand vector. I am pleased to inform you that you will see the logo change a few months down the line”.
Both the reply and post from Srinivasan and Mathur have received a lot of appreciative comments from the people. some people have applauded Srinivasan for bringing forth the issue and other lauded Mathur For his prompt reply with the company’s stand.
A LinkedIn user wrote, “Happily surprised at the direct communication and Spread of response. social media used in the best most productive way”. “Respect for such candid response Atul Mathur. It is rare to see a leader accept opinions openly”, another user expressed.