You need to be awake and dominating the streets during the night to prove your manhood, according to Bajaj.

A still from the Bajaj Dominar 400 ad

Bajaj Auto Limited recently released their latest ad demonstrating their new bike Dominar 400.

Inspection: The ad starts with a man heading towards his Bajaj Dominar 400 quite late during the night when the surroundings are silent and empty. The “Hush little baby” lullaby in a female voice is the background music throughout the duration of the ad. A gang of bikers riding the Dominar 400 are shown speeding away on the dark and lonely streets late into the night when the rest of the world is fast asleep. In the end, a grown man having the expressions of a sleeping baby is shown on his bed with the caption ‘Only Babies Sleep at Night’. The ad ends with the bikers speeding in a tunnel with the caption ‘Dominate the night’.

Analysis: “Because only big boys play at night” is the caption put up by Bajaj on Youtube. The ad is highly irresponsible and stereotypical in many ways. When one of the biker is speeding away during the night, his speedometer reveals to have crossed the 110 kmph mark. We are already dealing with the problem of harsh and reckless driving and bike-riding where reckless youngsters endanger not only theirs but also lives of other innocent people on the streets. Some reckless youngsters perform dangerous stunts and race away during the night and this ad will make them feel good about it. Apart from sending a wrong message, this ad stereotypes other men by comparing a grown up man who is sleeping during the night with a baby stating that only babies sleep at night. Not all men have to be adventurous and daring to prove their manhood. In a time where the fight against stereotyping has just begun, this ad is downright misleading, irresponsible and ill-advised.

The Ad Inspector’s Rating: 1/5