Lesson 06 : Indian trends

Indian Advertising Trends.

TOPICS COVERED
Changes in the advertising today as compared to the earlier days specially in
Television, the use of humor, the dotcom advertising.

OBJECTIVES
1. To view the changes in advertising today as compared to the earlier days.
2. To examine the different areas where this impact is felt like humor.

Ask any advertising professional who has been around long enough, and he’ll tell you
Indian advertising – advertising on television, especially – has undergone a significant
transformation over the past eight to 10 years. The execution has definitely got better,
we’re told. (Which is partly a function of the technologies available today.) And we’ve
gained yards in the ideas department too, they insist. Like how? Well, our commercials
are more engaging and clutter-breaking nowadays… and a lot funnier.

Yes, everyone agrees that we’re making more funny commercials today than we were a
decade ago. But does this across-the-board humour work, or does it only generate more
clutter? And even if one were not to debate the merits of humourous advertising, is this
the only change Indian television commercials have witnessed? What about a change in
communication formats, in and across product categories? What about changes in the
manner in which Indian brands tell product stories? Or changes in the use of mnemonics,
the use of ‘product windows’ and, say, the portrayal of women in Indian commercials?

Although perhaps less obvious, there have been changes in most of these components of
advertising, as revealed by a recent study – ‘The Non-fiction of Indian Advertising, 1993-
2001’ – conducted by FCB-Ulka Advertising. Sharing some of the findings of the study
with agencyfaqs! Richa Arora, vice-president – strategic planning, FCB-Ulka, says, “The
purpose behind the study was to see how exactly the content in Indian television
advertising has evolved from the early 90s. We all know there have been changes, but
little of that was quantifiable. This study shows that advertising seems to be acquiring a
certain sameness, and it also shows a startling scale of opportunity to do things
differently.”

As a starting point, the agency made a compilation of over 1,000 television commercials
from 1993 to 2001. These commercials were classified under eight category heads – Food
& Beverages, Personal Care, Household Durables, Lifestyle/Apparel/Fashion,
Automotive, Household Products, Pharmaceutical and Services. Each commercial was
then mapped onto various relevant dimensions of advertising where possible changes
could have occurred. These included the nature of storylines, the use of ‘Hinglish’ and
mnemonics, product windows, the use of humour, the type of protagonist, the nature of
payoffs (rational or emotional) and the portrayal of women.

“The agency did not use any criteria for selecting the advertised brands, nor did we do
any sort of filtering,” Arora informs, “We just took all the ads from TV Ad Indx’s
quarterly tapes from 1993 onwards. All we wanted was a single credible source, and I
believe these tapes are a broad representation of spends, as the ads in these tapes cover
70-to-80 per cent of spends in this country.”

The findings of the study are a mixture of the expected and the unexpected. Let’s first
take pure product-centric advertising… that is, commercials that tend to pan on the
product, 30 seconds on 30. In 1993, this kind of advertising constituted 24 per cent of all
commercials aired. However, by 2001, the figure had fallen to 11 per cent (which is 11
per cent too much, many creatives would groan). The study also shows that with a
decline in product-centric advertising, there was a fall in the number of ads with no
narrative storyline (from 51 per cent in ’93 to 29 per cent in 2000). The reading could be
that product-centric ads make less of a narrative, which, perhaps, affects their recall.

The drop in this approach to advertising, however, is counter-balanced by other forms of

product focus. Product windows (those distinct visual capsules where the product fills
every pixel on the television screen) increased from 10 per cent in 1993 to 26 per cent in
2001. While ‘product stories’ (with an emphasis on a specific product ingredient/feature)
went up from 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the same period. “So today, if it can’t be just
product-centric, it seems the ad needs to have a product window,” says the study. “Better
still, support it with a ingredient-based product story like ‘calcium in Maaza’, ‘carbon-
busters in Castrol’ or, perhaps, even Zap ‘Em With Science (ZEWS), a la ‘ZPTO Clinic
All Clear’ or ‘SAF in Ponds Magic Talc’ or Herbasol in Chlor-mint.”

Another interesting finding related to product stories is that currently, in ‘considered

purchase categories’ such as Automotive and Durables, a mere 5-to-10 per cent of all ads
have product stories to tell. In contrast, in categories such as Food & Beverages and
Personal Care, 22-to-33 per cent of commercials had product stories/rational cues.
Reasons for this can be traced to the nature and evolution-levels of the respective
categories. “Considered purchases like Automotive and Durables are now being sold
more on product experience/lifestyle parameters than on rational sell,” observes the
study, citing the examples of Mahindra Bolero’s ‘breaking free’ idea or the ‘Mummy’s
magic’ theme for Whirlpool White Magic. The study, however, makes an allowance that
in these categories, press advertising could be providing the rational cues.

“In contrast, categories like Foods and Personal Care are using more and more rational
cues as support, be it Cadbury chocolates with ‘doodh ki shakti’ or the fruit vitamin-
based Poppins,” says the study. Explaining this, Arora says, “Automotive and Durables
have a status connotation, so the communication tends to become emotional. However,
one crème or one moisturizer is almost as good as another, so you need a rational
argument to push your case.”

Interestingly, the study notes that commercials having a ‘purely functional payoff’ (which
could range from product displays to commercials with a promise rooted in problem-
solution) have only marginally declined from 62 per cent in 1993 to 53 per cent in 2001.
“This is because, typically, communication for utility products, business products and
dotcoms has been, by and large, based on a functional payoff,” the study concludes.
“Examples of a pure functional payoff are more common than we think, be it the
Pepsodent ‘matka’ ad symbolizing ‘long-lasting germ fighting strength’, or Epson
printers offering ‘clarity’.” But what is most surprising is that today, ads with ‘testimonial
formats’ constitute just 4 per cent of all commercials. “It is more the lavish media spends
of the Vims, the Ariels and the Doves of the world that make testimonials seem more
common than they really are,” the study proffers an explanation.

Vis-à-vis the portrayal of women, the study reveals that, “While the rise in the portrayal
of women sans ‘typically traditional values’ was up from 55 per cent in 1993 to 79 per
cent in 2001, the change in their appearance was more marginal. The ‘modern look’ was
up from 48 per cent to 56 per cent.” The study also notes that, “The relatively more
conservative depiction of women is what typifies the F&B category. In 2001, F&B ads
portraying women with traditional values were 20 per cent, versus only 13 per cent across
other categories (a similar trend was apparent in 1993). It seems as if women in F&B ads
find greater favour in their ‘Annapurna’ roles even in modern times.”

Speaking about this facet of the study, Arora reveals that other studies done by FCB-Ulka
suggest that there is more outward (appearance-wise) change among Indian women and
less change in their traditional values. “What our studies have shown is that the package
has changed, but the core has not,” she says. “However, advertising seems to reflect the
opposite. The ‘look’ is one area where quite a change has happened, so it is surprising
that advertisers choose to keep the relatively conservative look, even today. There seems
to be, so to say, a gap between advertising and reality.”

During the time the Indian consumer was making a switchover from an auditory medium
(radio) to a visual one (television), radio jingles used to double to form the backbone of
commercials too. Remember ‘Washing powder Nirma’ and ‘Videocon washing
machine’? Well, nothing’s changed. Jingle-based ads were as high as 45 per cent in 1993.
In 2001, the figure is still at 43 per cent – when internationally, jingle-based ads
constitute around 2 per cent of the total. Adds weight to one professional theory that ours
is a culture tuned to the oral-auditory tradition.

One ‘common knowledge’ that the study corroborates pertains to the increase of humour
in Indian advertising. In 1993, only 28 per cent of all commercials were humour-based.
Today (2001), almost every second ad tries to tickle the funny bone – 46 per cent of all
ads are (or at least try to be) funny. “It’s almost a ‘humour herd’ out there,” says the
study. Of course, the idea is not to say ‘No’ to humour, especially if humour sells. “The
trick may lie in creating a distinct brand of humour within the genre, so that that humour
becomes a kind of a signature for the brand,” Arora points out. The way The Economist
uses ‘intellectual humour’, or the way Fox Sports uses exaggerated, absurd humour.

Arora admits that this is a “first-cut analysis” of the findings. “This was more to take a
macro look at the industry and the advertising we are doing,” she says. “Based on this,
we are now planning to study the more interesting constituents in greater detail… things
like ZEWS, testimonials, mnemonics. We will also now look at things at a category level,
and I am sure there will be valuable information we can unearth for our clients.”

Alaque Padamsee
The ad guru on what Indian advertising will be like in the new millennium

Is stagnation in the industry likely to go on?

The industry will have to cope with low operating costs and lower budgets. The days of
highly inflated growth rates of 40 to 45 per cent are over.

Ad guru Martin Sorrell once said the days are over for small and medium agencies
in India.
Everyone's selling out because survival's becoming tough. Smaller agencies do not count
any more.

Do mergers always help the smaller agency?

Merger is essentially a sellout and works only if it is between two strong agencies.

Creativity seems to be on wane in Indian advertising.

Both yes and no. There have been some classy ones recently but nothing exceptional.
There was Lalitaji. Then came Pepsi and of late, Ericsson and Maruti-especially the one
on service centres which has become a case study globally for Suzuki.

Do independent media buying shops help growth in a nation where television

audience rating is still in its nascent stage?
In a huge country like India, media research will have to be dependent on trends till all
agencies have the necessary paraphernalia.

Will research organisations be key to future advertising and marketing?

That's the best way to understand the market pulse. Research organisations are analysing
on the basis of their data that's painstakingly collected from across the country.

All agencies have one standard complaint: Clients today ask for the moon.
I tend to agree. But there's also a continuous shakeout process.

Social advertising seems to have died a premature death.

Not many care about others today. The advertising industry needs issues to start such
campaigns. Kargil was one. We should (regretfully) wait for the next. It's sad.

One campaign you feel has set standards in Indian advertising...

Undoubtedly, Lalitaji. It was role-modelled after my mother and her spending habits.
What will be the focus of Indian advertising in the next millennium?
More on visuals because television will enter more homes. The agencies should keep this
in mind, advise their clients and plan creatives accordingly.

Section for Discussion

Read the two articles below and prepare for a class room discussion. You may form
groups for this activity.(Source: media4exchange.com)

TV personalities - good option for

Indian advertisers
While speaking at the Advertising Club Bombay's Value Creation seminar on marketing
entertainment and their growing inter-dependence, creative consultant Rekha Nigam
urged that advertising agencies must leverage TV personalities in a better way to sell
products and services. She also added that the late 1990s marked a revolution in TV
programming where Indian-ness came out of the closet. TV serials depicted the "Garv se
kaho ham Bharatvasi hain" theme and India found its own voice on TV.
The following are the excerpts of Nigam's presentation:

Where TV personalities score over film personalities:

TV personalities score because their characters are more identifiable, trustworthy and
viewers share an intimate bond with them on a weekly basis. Viewers connect to TV
personalities easily because they see them more frequently. TV personalities get a
consistent exposure and their characters become household names. However, viewers
don't know the real person (Amarr Upadhyay or Aman Varma) behind the character
(Mihir) and often don't even wish to know. TV personalities can sustain the interest of
women viewers who identify strongly with them. TV characters don't reinvent
themselves as much as film personalities do. TV characters are aspirational in terms of
the values they project on screen.
TV personalities are readily available and accessible to advertising agencies at cheaper
and cost-effective rates. Viewers don't have to pay much in order to view TV
personalities as compared to film personalities.
Some of the TV personalities who were not leveraged were Lala Lahori Nath (Alok Nath
in Hum Log); Karamchand (Pankaj Kapoor) and Shri Krishna (Nitish Bharadwaj in
Mahabharata).
Advertisers need to use TV personalities intelligently and match the synergies between a
brand's personalities and the TV characters. The advertisers need to understand the
strengths and weaknesses of the TV characters - for instance Parvathi Babhi or Tulsi.
Unlike film stars, it would not make sense to use the real person who portrays the
character as viewers identify more with the on-screen characters. Advertisers could create
little soap commercials. Advertisers must leveraging a TV character the moment the
character is no longer part of the serial's storyline and regular track the progress of the
twists and turns of the story. Advertisers must look at short-term bursts rather than long-
term usage.

India finds its voice in TV programming:

The success of wedding video film called Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in August 1994
propelled a wave of Indian-ness in both TV, advertising and cinema. It was hip to say
"We are like this only" tom-tommed by a music channel. Zee TV also gave a place of
pride to the game of Antakshari, that was never publicly played.
The biggest revolution for TV programming came in 2000 when both KBC (Kaun
Banega Crorepati) and KSBKBT (Kyuunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) were launched.
Although KBC created a major hype and hoopla, KSBKBT's silent advent ushered in a
era that could determine the future course of TV programming. The serial put family to
the centre-stage and capitalised on the fact that family bonding is the core of Indian-ness.
The world of Indians revolves around the family irrespective of the part of the world in
which Indians live.
As soon as the trend of family sit-coms started, movies and events started losing their
sheen on the TRP charts. Asha Bhosale's debut show on TV got the same TRPs as the
afternoon repeat show of a popular family sitcom. The recent episodes of KSBKBT that
showed a 'bahu' getting married to another son was more revolutionary than Yash
Chopra's film Lamhe that showed a girl getting attracted to a en elderly man.
TV is not a step-child for filmstars who have become spent forces but an opportunity for
them to reinvent themselves. TV took on Amitabh Bachchan and returned him back to
the film industry in a different avatar.

The not so fair face of advertising!

Fairness products may have just lost shade or two of that promised glow.
Star India claims that 10 days ago it pulled out the offensive HLL ad that had some leftist
women's organizations in the country seeing red, prompting the I&B ministry to issue a
directive to channels to pull the blinds on the commercial.
Fulcrum head Vikram Sakhuja however, maintains the campaign had already run its
course and was anyway not being shown on any channel by the time the I&B order came
through. Sony ad sales Rohit Gupta however, says no fairness product ad has been pulled
out from the Sony channels in the last few days. The network has replied to some
directives received from the ministry, he says, but prefers not to comment on the issue as
Sony has not received any directives on the issue and 'there are many issues involved.'
Star, which has a sizeable chunk of HLL product inventory, is now reviewing the issue to
check whether Lever plans to replace the offending ad with any other. Sakhuja, who says
the particular campaign was a success as it struck a chord with viewers, adds that while
the I&B order thought the ad derided women, it is still a matter of interpretation. While
the Advertising Standards Council of India's (ASCI) regulations are quite clear, says
Sakhuja, "the jury is still out on this one," he believes.
All's fair in ads and war!
Sakhuja for one believes the ad, created
by Lowe Lintas, sent out a positive
message in that it advocates that the girl
is induced to get out of the confines of
her life and build her own identity,
helped along by a fairness product.
Advertising Agencies' Association of
The product that has raised the hackles of a India president Sam Balsara opines that
section of the population while the AAAI has not taken a stance
on this issue, the ads merely reflect current societal mores. "While I am not going into the
specific emotional route taken, fairness creams as a product are an important category
which meet the genuine requirements of young people," he says. It would not be correct
to say that marketers exploit all opportunities available to them, says Balsara, as every
product has a physical and an emotional attribute that will be highlighted.
The ASCI on the other hand says it has never upheld any complaint received by it against
fairness creams on the basis of social discrimination. ASCI secretariat officials spoken to
by indiantelevision.com admitted that though the council has received several complaints
about such products till date, most were concerned about the claims made by the
products. None of the complaints thus far have been upheld as the manufacturers and
advertisers were able to prove that the products pass the technical tests. The level of
fairness achievable by the use of these products however becomes a matter of personal
judgment and since there is no way of measuring it, none of the complaints have been
able to nail either the advertiser or the manufacturer of these products.
ASCI officials however, say that by adding a storyline and putting a roundabout form of
presentation, some of the ads have availed of the 'license' that can be exploited by the
advertising fraternity."Although it can be disagreeable, if it is a convincing story, we
don't come into the picture," the ASCI says.

The issue of `objectionable' ads on the telly has however once again pitchforked into the
limelight the need to have a separate body to monitor content on television channels on
the lines of the content bureau as envisaged in the still-pending Communication
Convergence Bill.
"We cannot always get involved in such things and the need for an outside body
monitoring content has again been made," a senior official of India's information and
broadcasting ministry told indiantelevision.com earlier today, emphasising that the notice
from the ministry to TV channels and also the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) on
ads of fairness cream and soaps is a stop-gap measure.

Not quite fair, says government

According to the government official, the need for a monitoring body is amplified from
the fact that the government has received several complaints regarding programmes and
advertisements on television channels and the government cannot always be active in the
activity of policing.
"The relevant files (on bringing in a legislative act to form a monitoring body) have been
put up before the minister and it is for him to take a studied decision," the official said.
Fair Weather Friends
Three prominent companies - HLL, Emami and Cavin Kare are currently aggressively
pushing their fairness creams on television, even as Godrej markets its fairness soap with
equal gusto. The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) was the one
which woke up the sleeping critics with its protest to the government that the ad be pulled
off air.
However, I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, during his recent interactions with
journalists, has not been too bullish on having a monitoring body on the lines of the
content bureau, something that was dear to his predecessor's heart. Sushma Swaraj had
said it was to be part of her agenda for the first quarter of 2003 to have the broadcasting
council legislation okayed by Parliament.

Three days ago, several TV channels got notices from the I&B ministry to take off the air
ads relating to products which claimed to lighten the colour of the skin after usage. The
move came after the All India Democratic Women's Association had petitioned the
government, a Left party dominated organisation, that such ads were biased against the
dark-skinned girl child.

Is this fair?
One such `objectionable' ad features two girl friends bantering amongst themselves how
the usage of two bars of soap of a particular brand for a period of eight weeks would
make one of them (dark skinned compared to her friend who is very fair) fair and lovely.
The dark-skinned girl takes up the offer, turns into a fair-skinned Cinderella and loses the
bet of Rs 20 (cost of soaps). The friend now, of course, does not want her boyfriend to
see her `lovely' friend closely.
There's more. In another ad, a girl is unable to land a handsome groom due to her dark
complexion, but her use of a fairness cream helps her hook a good looking guy. Another
has a girl who lands a job as an airhostess after using a fairness product and is able to
make up for her father's regret of not having a son to look after him

Fair enough?
"It is ads like these which can upset anybody. Are the companies trying to say that it is a
sin to be dark-skinned in a country like India (where a majority of the population are
various shades of brown)? Especially when even educated people pray for fair daughters
and daughters-in-law," the government official said, pointing out that in recent times
cases of girl infanticide too has increased alarmingly.

The government official also said that the TV channels have been given 14 days time to
take the necessary steps on the notice, including petitioning the government on it too.
"We understand that channels have business policies and taking off the air ads cannot be
done overnight. The IBF too has been asked to look into the matter and take steps to
expedite the matter," the official added. Fair enough?
VISA's joyride with Mr. Bond
West meets East seemed to be theme of VISA's much appreciated television commercial
starring the suave Pierce "Bond" Brosnan and Zhang
Ziyi, the svelte actress who portrayed the rebellious
martial arts exponent in the blockbuster Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon with aplomb. The memorable
TV commercial for the Asia Pacific region was
created by VISA's ad agency BBDO.
The charming and enigmatic Brosnan seemed to be a
perfect foil to the the "wild" Zhang in the 60-second
nail-biting, action packed commercial. Of course, the
typical Bond brand of humour and the famed facial expressions which have become a
hallmark of Brosnan's Bond character are all there in this roller-coaster drive of an
advertisement. However, two things stand out and threaten to overshadow the superstars -
the 'tuk tuk' and its driver!
Advertising folklore has it that the TVC was shot
with over 200 crew, 100 extras and more than 100
cars and trucks to reconstruct a Chinatown setting
with markets and traffic jams. Realism at its best in
order to reflect the ethos and culture of the Oriental!
The commercial opens to the setting of a typical
street in the crowded city of Bangkok with Brosnan
caught in Bangkok's famous traffic jam. Brosnan is
racing against time to make it to his latest heartthrob
Zhang. He abandons his sleek limousine and hitches a ride with a tuk tuk driver. The
driver, who is an avid film watcher and a typical Bond fan, gets carried away with Bond's
on-screen persona. He embarks upon the "ride of his life" and the sophisticated Mr. Bond
has to tag along. Brosnan empathises with his bravado and decides to humour him by
joining in.
What follows is a nerve-wrecking journey along the
streets of Bangkok as the obsessed driver crashes
through billboards, restaurants and crowded markets.
The "duo" - should we include the tuk tuk and say
"trio" - leave a trail of destruction in their wake as
they traverse through the lanes, bylanes and streets -
not a trace of cemented avenues or four-lane
concretised roads. Mercifully, the journey comes to
an end and the debonair Brosnan is delivered to the
doorstep of his beloved - at least for the time being.
It is then that tragedy strikes! The tuk tuk falls apart
even as the driver and the urbane, refined and
polished Brosnan escape without a scratch - or
should we say "shaken but not stirred". The thorough
gentleman that he is, a grateful Brosnan whips out his
VISA card and offers to pay for the damages!
 The commercial ends on a humourous note as
Brosnan discovers the tuk tuk driver waiting and
wooing him for another ride on his brand new turbo-
powered vehicle. The unbeatable gusto and charming
smile of the tuk tuk driver will remain etched in
memory for years. The punch line "All it takes" is
VISA!
The TVC conveys that life is full of
possibilities and the power to make
things happen lies in the hands of the consumer - with VISA to assist
the consumer. The advertisement highlights the versatility and power of
VISA and is in line with the global "All it takes" brand advertising
campaign. The advertisement exudes energy and confidence with bold
and distinctive images - representing the vitality of VISA.
VISA International's South Asia country manager Santanu Mukherjee
says: "We believe this advertisement will reinforce VISA's brand image
as a leader in India. By combining our international association with the James Bond
movie Die Another Day and bringing together international celebrities like Pierce
Brosnan and Zhang Ziyi, who have a strong appeal across Asia and India, we hope to
provide memorable and entertaining advertising. The advertisement aims at providing
extraordinary surprises to ordinary everyday situations like a traffic jam!"
An excellent script laced with humour, the
unmistakable charm of Brosnan and the rustic
simplicity of an "ordinary" human being being
elevated to sublime heights in the presence of an icon
has delivered another winner for the global brand!

Summary
In this short lesson we have tried to take a quick glance at : changes that are visible in the
advertising today as compared to the earlier days specially in Television, the increasing use
of humor in commercials and the dotcom advertising.

Assignments
1. What do you think are the Indian advertising trends today? How does it differ from the
earlier times? Write a note with examples.