There are now more than 2 million Indians living in America, making it the second-largest country of origin among new permanent residents in the US. Americans who are of Indian descent have been breaking through in the arts and business in record-breaking numbers in the past few years. Mindy Kaling is one of the hottest comedy writers and actors right now. Priyanka Chopra is now a bona fide movie star in both Bollywood and Hollywood, and has lit up the red carpet of every major awards show this year. World-class Indian executives are at the helm of tech giants Google and Microsoft, in the form of Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella resepctively. So why, despite the significant rise of Indians across a number of industries, are the cultural stereotypes of Indians living and working in the US so cliched? All too often they are derided in pop culture as grocery store owners. Or socially awkward losers. Or they burst into Bollywood-style song and dance while waiting for the train. These cliches are unhelpful in depicting the true dimension of Indians living in the US in 2016, and - left unchecked - can perpetuate prejudice and ignorance.
Enter Rebtel, the Stockholm-based international calling app. Rebtel, which offers free international calls without the need for data or an internet connection, has become hugely popular with Indians living in the US who call home to family and friends. This week, they are rolling out a witty new advertising campaign which directly challenges the media’s short-sighted portrayal of Indians. In one spot, a Sikh man lampoons an airport security official for being stopped and frisked while other passengers are left to sail straight through the scanner. In another spot, yet to be aired, an Indian woman satirizes an ignorant American woman who asks her where she learnt to speak English so well. The Indian woman pithily jokes that it is a result of Indians and Americans sharing the same colonial overlords once upon at time, which completely flummoxes the American woman. While both spots are comedic in tone, they also home in on some hot button issues facing America right now, namely immigration and racial profiling. Just last month, Shah Rukh Khan, arguably Bollywood’s biggest star, was detained when he flew to LA from India. He was detained by US authorities for the third time in 7 years. He was also detained at White Plains airport in 2012 and Newark airport in 2009. Three times in seven years can’t be a coincidence, surely?
Rebtel’s marketing manager, Varun Atrey, believes there is a big opportunity for brands to connect more intelligently with Indians in the US. “The sheer size of the market means the the growth potential for Rebtel is enormous. It is the perfect app for the young, tech savvy Indian who is fed up of being compared to Apu from the Simpsons”. Atrey also notes the difference between established Indian communities on the East Coast and the newer, booming Indian population on the West Coast. “Indian immigration in California is very recent and primarily driven by tech workers. They behave differently from Indians in New Jersey and New York, who have been in the US for longer. Indians in California are young, affluent, smart, and are not afraid to express themselves; and, according to a 2014 study, 15% of all tech start-ups in Silicon Valley were founded by Indians”.
Atrey continues, “Rebtel always want to entertain and spark conversations rather than offend anyone and our Indian campaign is a perfect example of our flipped approach to marketing. As a society, India is going through a lot of change and this throws up many questions about how the rest of the world views Indians, as well as how Indians view themselves. We thought this was a great opportunity to craft humorous yet thought provoking communication.”
So, if companies and brands like Rebtel are able to wrap their heads around how to communicate smartly with Indians, why is American pop culture so far behind? “Media representation matters”, says Maulik Pancholy, star of Weeds and 30 Rock, “but lazy writing and under-representation have been influencing the American perception the wrong way. The increase in diversification on television and in tech is a positive and necessary development. Indian representation is shifting, but at a snail’s pace”.