Vicks Tugs on Your Heart Strings for Trans Rights in India

Who out there remembers that burning-cooling-gooey salve that provided a bit of comfort from a bad childhood chest cold—especially when lovingly applied by a doting mummy, naani, daado, or auntie? Procter and Gamble, the makers of Vicks VapoRub, teamed up with creative agency Publicis Singapore to launch a groundbreaking ad that celebrates desi motherly love with a queer twist.

Steeped in Indian cinematic nostalgia, the ad is inspired by the true story of Gayatri and her adoptive mother Gauri Sawant. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan for production house SeeOn, Mumbai, the flashback narrative adroitly weaves through childhood memories reinforcing South Asian maternal tropes and then sweetly reveals that Gayatri’s mother is trans. It closes with a challenge to viewers from Gayatri “My Civics book says that everyone is entitled to basic rights. Then why is my mom denied them?”