Mumbai: Bombae, the trailblazing brand known for its audacious approach to social norms, is once again challenging conventions with its latest campaign: “Breaking the Hairarchy, One Hairy Ad at a Time.” In a world where traditional beauty standards have dictated unrealistic expectations for far too long, Bombae is on a mission to disrupt the status quo. With their latest initiative, they aim to spark a much-needed conversation about the portrayal of women’s body hair in media and advertising.
Remember those mischievous days of childhood; giggling as we scribbled moustaches on magazine models? Little did we know our silly doodles stemmed from something deeper – a world obsessed with defining beauty within a narrow box. Today, as adults, we understand that judging someone based on a strand of hair or lack thereof is, well, a bit like judging a book by its cover (and a pretty boring cover at that!). But the truth is, those beauty standards we mocked as kids still linger. Body hair on women?
Parlour didis. Movies and ads. The patriarchy. Everyone’s got one thing to say:
Whisper it quietly->Body hair is gross -> Women shouldn’t have any -> Conform to this norm.
Bombae’s campaign challenges the pervasive notion that body hair on women is taboo or undesirable. By reimagining popular advertisements to feature women with visible body hair, Bombae aims to celebrate the natural beauty of all individuals and break down outdated stereotypes.
Bombae chief business officer Siddha Jain said, “Yeah, we’re not a fan of the current situation. So, we want to change this conversation by changing the game. For many forms of representation around us, the portrayal of women’s body hair still remains hidden, creating a disconnect between reality and what we see splashed across billboards. And so we want to show ads in a way that haven’t been shown before in an effort to stay true to the promise of being bold, honest and irreverent in everything we do. We invite brands to come recreate their ads with us! Because when we see women in their natural selves, unafraid and empowered, that’s a message worth amplifying. Let’s recreate ads together with a fuzz of moustache and touch of hair arms, to showcase the world they are as beautiful and as sexy. Break the mold with us. DM us on Instagram, and we beautifully retouch it with hair, and we put it up as a collab post!”
The idea of this initiative is to recreate some ads by adding body hair to them – to show the world that a leg fuzz or an underarm with a touch of shade is just as powerful, just as sexy, just as worthy of being showcased. This is where Bombae breaks the ice and all the stereotypes around women’s hair and hair removal.
