Which of the following advertisements is not an example of a gender stereotype?

A gender stereotype is a fixed, generalised belief that assigns a particular role, activity, or trait to a person only because of their gender, rather than because of their individual interest or ability. In advertisements this usually shows up as repeated gender-linked casting: activities such as sport or driving shown mainly with men, and activities such as cooking, personal grooming, or being driven around shown mainly with women.

Checking each advertisement against this idea:

• A girl playing football in a sports-shoe advertisement casts a girl in a competitive team sport that Indian media has conventionally reserved for boys, so this casting works against the usual gender pattern rather than repeating it.

• A mother making tea in a tea-brand advertisement casts a woman in a routine kitchen task, the conventional "woman's job" pattern, so this casting repeats the usual gender pattern.

• A woman applying makeup in a lipstick advertisement casts a woman in an appearance-focused role, the conventional "a woman's looks matter most" pattern, so this casting repeats the usual gender pattern.

• A woman being driven to office by her husband in a car advertisement casts the woman as a passenger dependent on a male driver, the conventional "men drive, women are driven" pattern, so this casting repeats the usual gender pattern.

Three of the four advertisements (tea, makeup, husband-driven car) repeat familiar gender-linked casting, while only the football advertisement breaks it. So the football advertisement is the one that is not an example of a gender stereotype.

Correct answer: A girl playing football in an advertisement for a sports shoe.