The Housewife

The housewife is one of the most often repeated stereotypes in advertisements. The housewife represents a woman who believes in value for money. She usually buys goods which are useful for the entire family. Given a choice, she usually gives more importance to the price of the good. At the same time however, the housewives are extremely intelligent and make the right choice for their families.

Housewives are shown in the ads of mostly FMCG goods. Most often the ads sell products like detergents, cleaners which are commonly used by them. However the housewives are also present in ads of other goods which are primarily used by them like fridge, washing machines etc. They can also be in ads like moov, which provide relief from pain indicating the amount of work housewives do in the house
The housewife character is often portrayed to be paranoid about cleanliness. They require all parts of their house including toilets to be extremely clean. Not only should their clothes, but also of their husbands and children be sparkling white.
But the character of housewives often portrays the idea that women are supposed to do all the household work. Often they are shown doing some household work like washing clothes, cleaning house etc. Thus often give a negative image of women and do not show them being capable of doing other work.
One of the most memorable characters of housewife create is Lalitaji in surf excel ads