Sanjeev Aga, former CEO of Idea Cellular, observes that just as the famous inventor Michael Faraday quipped, ‘What is the use of a newborn baby?’ when asked, ‘What is the possible use of the new electric motor?’, the power of telephony has just been unleashed in India and he believes that telephony is merely the first newborn application of an underlying technology which is far deeper and even more game-changing7.
As mobile service providers and application providers develop newer and newer services, Indian advertising agencies will be called to woo the consumer and spread the message. Chances are they will not be flying anyone in from their New York office for expert advice. Or maybe they will.
The Rasna girl’s ‘I love you Rasna’ was heard all over the country in the early days of television, creating a new drinking habit across India. [Courtesy: DDB Mudra]
The Liril girl cavorting under a waterfall was a welcome relief in the hot, humid cinema halls of India, making her an all-time favourite. [Courtesy: MullenLowe Lintas]
This award-winning ‘Thanda matlab Coca-Cola’ poster and outdoor design saw the beverage giant appropriating the Hindi word for ‘cool’, even roping in superstar Aamir Khan for the television commercials. [Courtesy: McCann © The Coca-Cola Company]
Pepsi’s ‘Nothing official about it’ campaign cocked a snook at Coca-Cola’s designation as the official sponsor for the 1996 Cricket World Cup, redefining the way the religion of cricket was practised in the country. [Courtesy: JWT]
‘Ab mein bilkul boodha hoon’ but I am still up to mischief: The endearing story of an old man remembering his childhood captured the hearts of the entire nation. [Courtesy: Bajaj Electricals]
Since 1982, Maggi 2-Minutes Noodles, ‘fast-to-cook, good-to-eat’, has been an all-time family favourite. [For reference purpose only. Courtesy: Copyright holder and JWT]
The new voice of middle-class Indian women was never articulated better than with the Surf ‘Lalita ji’ campaign. [Courtesy: MullenLowe Lintas]
The first time Amul hoardings became ‘topicals’ was to celebrate the Bombay Derby Races many decades ago; hundreds of ‘topicals’ have followed this one. [Courtesy: DaCunha Advertising]
As girls started riding more and more scooters, Hero launched its women-only Pleasure with the tag line: ‘Why should boys have all the fun?’ [Courtesy: FCB Ulka]
The Fevicol campaign was proof that scintillating creative advertising can happen for even a humble adhesive. [Courtesy: Ogilvy & Mather]
The Asian Paints campaign made paints a social talking point and ‘Mera wala blue’ a household phrase. [Courtesy: Ogilvy & Mather]
Jenson & Nicholson’s outdoor campaign was an iconic first in corporate brand-building. [Courtesy: Rediffusion Advertising]
Indian tourism soared new heights with their Incredible India campaign, releasing some terrific advertising in the international markets. [Courtesy: Amitabh Kant and Ogilvy & Mather]
The Air India Maharaja is one of the most widely recognized advertising icons for many decades, taking Indians to exotic destinations around the world. [Courtesy: JWT]
‘Hitler. Arrogant. Rascal. Idiot…’The name-calling of an obnoxious boss in the Naukri ad set a new boss-subordinate relationship trend in the country. [Courtesy: FCB Ulka]
Cadbury’s beloved Dairy Milk dancing girl–cricket ad continues to tempt millions of adults to bite into a chocolate bar. [Courtesy: Ogilvy & Mather]
NDDB’s Operation Flood was the world’s biggest dairy development programme.
The signature campaign used ‘doodh’ musically to make milk sound cool and aspirational. [Courtesy: FCB Ulka]
Kamasutra (or KS) made condom-wearing appealing and attractive. [Courtesy: MullenLowe Lintas]
The ads featuring two nude models ended up creating history as one of the longest-running advertising cases in Mumbai law courts. [Courtesy: Ashok Kurien]
SECTION THREE
SERVICES
Baraatiyon Ka Swagat
WEDDING CELEBRATIONS HAVE always had a unique place in Indian advertising. For those of us brought up on a steady diet of Doordarshan, one ad stands out as a stellar example of how social norms relating to weddings were presented in the advertising of the ’70s and ’80s.
The home is all decked up for a wedding. The father and the mother of the bride welcome the bridegroom’s parents. The father of the bride, played by the thespian Bollywood actor Ashok Kumar, is at his cloying best. The father of the bridegroom, played by Shammi Kapoor, another superstar of his time, says in a somewhat authoritative voice, ‘The baraat will reach at 8 p.m. sharp’, and as the music builds up, he adds ‘But we forgot one thing.’ The music becomes foreboding. ‘Don’t worry, we don’t want anything. We only wish that aap baraatiyon ka swagat, Pan Parag se kijiye’ (the bridegroom’s party should be welcomed with Pan Parag – the pan masala brand). The bride’s side is always worried about last-minute demands from the groom’s side in all Indian weddings, it could be the latest car, a tola of gold or more; but on hearing the brand name Pan Parag, old man Ashok Kumar’s face lights up. He pulls out the distinctive blue Pan Parag tin from his kurta pocket and says, ‘Hume kya malum aap bhi Pan Parag ke shaukeen hai!’ (We did not know you too are a fan of Pan Parag). The tension is fully diffused and the two old men enjoy their Pan Parag. This was yet another hit ad produced by Everest Advertising, Delhi, for their Kanpur-based client Pan Parag. This particular ad aired in 1982 and it is reported that during the period 1983 to 1987, Pan Parag was the single biggest brand on Indian television.
Those were the days when pan masalas were allowed to be advertised on government-owned television channels. This story narrated to a teenager of the 2010s will sound like fiction and reminiscent of the Mad Men television serial on American television where a cigarette brand’s advertising was the topic of one episode.
Numerous brands used the wedding theme to sell themselves. And if we were to dissect the ad narrative, we can see how brands managed to delve into age-old customs and practices. If the Pan Parag ad subtly played up the dowry menace and the usual last-minute demand from the groom’s side for extra dowry or other such favours, we can observe many such rituals played out in numerous ads across the years. Some of them may sound anathema in the 2010s.
One of the memorable ads made by FCB Ulka during the mid-’80s was for Godrej Storwel, showing a new bride entering her new home. Here the brand played on the fact how a Godrej Storwel was practically a part of the trousseau. The same could be said of the next two examples: the Samsonite ad which showed a bride packing her clothes in her new suitcase; the Titan watch ad which had the father of the bride gifting his daughter a lovely watch on her wedding day.
It is not just the wedding, but also the other smaller symbols of marriage that have been used successfully in advertising. For example, in a 2015 ad for Tata Docomo, we see a young man admiring a young woman driving the car next to him at the traffic signal. The girl too smiles when she realizes that she has attracted yet another fan. Then to break the young man’s heart, she raises her hand to move a lock of hair behind her ears. On her hennaed hand, she also sports the choora, the special red and white bangles worn by a Punjabi bride when she is married. Nothing more is needed to explain the story. Interestingly, the concept of the choora is typically North Indian, though today the ad may work across India, since Hindi television and cinema have used chooras often enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if choora becomes a national phenomenon in the coming years.
If traditional weddings have been a part of Indian ads for many decades, we are seeing new interpretations of weddings in the 2010s.
A solemn Hindu wedding is in progress. The bride and the bridegroom are walking around the holy fire as prescribed by the scriptures. The bride is dark-complexioned and beautiful in all her wedding finery. An elderly couple, obviously her parents, look on smiling. On the bride’s mother’s lap is a little girl, who smiles at the bride signalling, ‘Me too’. The bride is surprised and happy as her partner stoop
s to pick up the little girl and they complete the circumambulation ritual. The penny drops for the audience as they realize that the little girl is the daughter of the bride. Obviously, it is not just another Hindu wedding. The brand Tanishq and its ad agency, Lowe, got a lot of positive buzz for this ad, for the boldness with which they depicted the new marriages of our times. Interestingly, they did not depict a court wedding, but a typical Hindu wedding. They did not resort to dialogues or tearful farewells. Without using any words, they managed to communicate what Tanishq is all about – joyful celebrations. Arun Iyer of Lowe Lintas is full of praise for the senior client at Tanishq, who took the bold decision to run the ad though many in the room had their doubts.
Jewellers and weddings are inseparable in India to the extent that Malabar Jewellers of Kerala – now found across India and the Gulf – has come out with a coffee-table book called Brides of India featuring typical wedding jewellery of each community of India.
Let us now switch to yet another wedding.
This looks like a destination Christian wedding in Goa. The setting is just as it is in any Hollywood film.The suited gentry are waiting for the bridegroom and his party to arrive. Just when we wonder what is going to happen, typical Indian bhangra music breaks out and the bridegroom arrives with his gang of friends, all dressed in Indian attire, colourful sherwanis and bejewelled kurtas. The gang starts dancing and the assembled crowd joins in, but the father of the bride is not amused. It was supposed to be a solemn wedding and the bridegroom was late. But then he too breaks into a dance move, to the delight of the bride and her groom.
Manyawar, the brand that made this ad has been a sensation of sorts. It has managed to build a business in excess of ₹500 crores in double quick time by riding the growing boom for Indian formals for weddings. The ad is typical in many ways. You would have expected the groom and his friends to arrive dressed in formal western suits for the Christian wedding depicted in the ad. Instead, they appear in Manyawar sherwanis. The wedding is also an indication of the growing inter-religious weddings we are seeing.
For many decades, Indian brands have used numerous religious celebrations to connect with consumers. Diwali is a top festival when it comes to advertising. From Indian brands like Amul to global brands like Cadbury, Diwali is a constant favourite. Cadbury has even tried to convert Indian consumers from traditional Indian sweets to chocolates by targeting Diwali gifting.
SOAP OPERA: How did soap operas get their name? Well the original radio plays in the US were sponsored by soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble. These then moved to the television medium and the name stayed.
We don’t need to feel guilty that we are alone in making a religious festival a festival of consumption. Michael Schudson says that in the USA too, Christmas is a ‘festival of consumption’ – but it is equally a festival of reunion, of restating and renewing ties of kinship and friendship. During the Christmas season, department stores in the US sell more than 40 per cent of their toys, 28 per cent of their candy, 25 per cent or more of cosmetics, books and art1.
Nothing brings alive this marriage of Christmas and commerce than the story of Coca-Cola and Santa Claus. In the 1920s, Coca-Cola was having difficulty selling its soft drinks in the winter. They hit pay dirt when they started showing Santa Claus enjoying a Coke after a long day of delivering gifts. They also showed Santa dressed in a ‘Coke red’ outfit, which was the first time Santa was shown in a red dress. And as they say, the rest is history2.
As India becomes more and more prosperous, we have seen brands unearthing old festivals to sell new products.
For example, the American car major Chevrolet used Karva Chauth to communicate how their cars can play a role in helping marriages blossom. Karva Chauth is the day when North Indian wives observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. In this particular film, the husband drives home where his wife is waiting, but the moon is not out yet. He takes her out in his car to the moonlit beach where they use the sunroof feature of the car to complete the ritual. Again, Karva Chauth is not a well-known festival in South India, but the brand did run this film nationally.
Valentine’s Day too has become a big festival for marketers, irrespective of the protests from hardcore right wingers. I am told restaurants are also full of couples in their ’40s and ’50s on that day, not just teenaged love birds.
Even festivals specific to individual states are being showcased in national advertising. Asian Paints used the Tamil festival ‘Pongal’ to sell paints. Philips has used Durga Puja to sell television in the years gone by. Numerous brands, including mobile players, have used the Ganpati festival of Maharashtra to connect with consumers.
Is this obsession with festivals and celebrations a new affliction?
Not really, if you look at the old advertisements. From soaps to cycles, brands in India have used religious calendars to sell their wares. These mass produced, colour-saturated images of gods and national figures have been used very successfully in Indian advertising for decades3. Interestingly, the calendars live on, well after their utility, as wall hangings. While the god picture was probably inspired by the works of famous painters of yore like Raja Ravi Verma, the brand logo often finds itself at the foot of the god. Even if the date section is eliminated when the picture gets framed, the brand can continue to live on as a part of the wall hanging. These calendar art forms, printed in lithographic style, are today collector’s items sold for thousands of rupees.
Overt use of religious symbols in advertising did take a back seat soon after Independence, thanks to the socialist-leaning Nehru government and the growth of atheistic Dravidian parties and Communists in some states of India. But the late ’80s has taken all these restrictions off. Though calendar art has virtually died, thanks to the decline of wall-hanging calendars, we are seeing new avatars of these in the form of desk-top calendars.
The growing affluence of Indians has led to an increasing desire to celebrate all possible occasions. In fact, Big Bazaar, India’s most aggressive organized retail player, has started mining local insights to create new occasions to celebrate and obviously shop at Big Bazaar. Each Big Bazaar outlet has been encouraged to engage with the local population to find out the typical festivals of that state, district, postal code, and create new offers to celebrate these. It is interesting that in a way Walmart too does this in the US; each Walmart store in the US has its own Facebook page and they use this device to engage with their regular shoppers. But I suppose as against Big Bazaar, Walmart has no-religious themed celebrations.
Festivals give the upwardly-mobile Indian consumer a legitimate reason to celebrate and consume. Nothing comes close to the gold-buying frenzy that has been unleashed by Akshaya Tritya. In 2015, Akshya Tritya fell on 21 April. Kalyan Jewellers of Kerala created the biggest advertising blitz ever to usher in Akshya Tritya in Chennai. The jeweller took over all the available outdoor advertising sites for a month. They occupied every page of all the newspapers: Hindu, Times of India, Daily Tanthi etc. On that day, they flew down all the big star brand ambassadors to open the biggest ever jewellery store in Chennai. The city took a full week to recover from the gold fever unleashed by Kalyan Jewellers. If the famous villain in the James Bond film, Goldfinger, painted women in gold, Kalyan Jewellers almost painted the city of Chennai in gold.
The rise of festival shopping has also managed to get new converts. Even the big e-commerce brands like Flipkart and Amazon are ‘shaukeen’ of festival shopping. For Diwali 2014, both brands went wild with full-page ads in all the leading dailies. Snapdeal, yet another e-commerce brand decided to create a series of thirty ads featuring television personalities and stars, each explaining their plans to do Diwali shopping on Snapdeal. com. I wouldn’t be surprised if all these players decide to outdo Kalyan next year for Akshaya Tritya.
Is it just increasing affluence that is driving this festival shopping bonanza?
I suspect there are several other social phenomena h
elping the trend. In urban households, with husband and wife working, there is a paucity of time to sit back and relax. Fortunately, there are numerous festivals for the typical urban couple to celebrate through consumption; to get out and shop, and show that they care for each other and their kids.
Sunil Khilnani, an eminent academic researcher, has observed that rising consumerism and the extension of the market during the 1980s did not fuel an individualistic hedonism nor breed liberal individuals. Rather, it was experienced as an opportunity to sample the pleasures of modernity within collective units like the family. The author quite aptly describes the Bollywood hit film released in the mid 1990s, Hum Aap Ke Hain Koun, as a four-hour celebration of singing, dining and wedding festivities4.
Celebration and spending on celebrations is taking on new dimensions as India becomes more and more affluent. For example, weddings were the single biggest occasion for any family to splurge on clothes, jewels, sweets etc. Now you can add many other occasions to that, such as engagement parties, often held a few months or a year before the real wedding. Then after the wedding is the Indian version of baby shower or godh bharai. Then the first birthday of the child. We get invited to at least one silver wedding anniversary party every month; add to this the fortieth birthday, fiftieth birthday, sixtieth birthday celebrations.
Increasing affluence has also encouraged consumers to use other occasions to shop. As if there is a shortage of festivals in India, we are now seeing the growing popularity of Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
In addition to celebrating their own festivals, we are seeing communities and religious groups crossing the boundary and celebrating the festivals of others. For example, there are Ganpati pandals put up by Muslim communities in many cities of India. Christmas has been celebrated by clubs where most of the members are Hindus.
Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles Page 14