From the nationalistic “Hum Do, Hamare Do” (we two, our two) family planning advertising campaign, to the tantalising consumer-focused Kama Sutra condom advertisements, Indian media images have been instrumental in understanding the nation’s anxieties around sex, gender, population control measures and citizens’ reproductive lives. Drawing on this critically rich site of analysis, the tensions made visible in the advertising campaign for one particular emergency contraceptive—i-pill—are analysed by looking at three key elements: the photographic image, the tag line, and the health-related information text. It is posited that messages in contraceptive pharmaceutical advertisements are contradictory in their avowed message and intended aim.
