60 Years of Indian Advertising

Most of you know what happened on August 15, 1947.


And what happened on Jan 31, 1948. You would therefore, naturally expect these events to have got front page prominence and made front page headlines in newspapers, across the country. But do you know that hardly any newspaper carried this news on their front page. These news items were tucked away on the inside pages. And the front page was used to carry - would you believe it - ads.

I know this sounds shocking but in the 1940s that was how it was. The front and last pages were used for advertising, and the inside pages carried all the news.This was not because there was an overflow of advertising. It was the editorial style of those days .The size of the advertising industry was then just a mere 5 crores. Today, it has crossed 10,000 crores.In those days, press advertising accounted for a major chunk - almost 75 %. Cinema and outdoors accounted for the rest.In the late 40s, industrialisation was hardly existent. Even in the fifties, industry meant basic infrastructure - steel, coal and power. Advertising was hardly needed. The manufacturing sector was in its infancy. Most products were being imported. And were perennially in short supply. With demand always outstripping supply, there was hardly any need to advertise. In the fifties companies didn’t market their products, they rationed them.It’s therefore, not surprising that advertising then was a minuscule industry. Only large industrial houses and multinationals would advertise, and that too once in a way. Since the consumer segment was dominated by imports, advertising was consignment oriented. That is advertisers would wait till a consignment of products arrived, imported from the UK, before releasing ads. Very often, the advertising material came along with the products and then the local agencies would arrange for their release. These releases were mostly done by a handful of multinational advertising agencies.

Prominent among the agencies of those days were J Walter Thompson, which set up an office in India in 1926, and Ogilvy, Benson and Mather, which started operations in 1928. Others included D J Keymer, L A Stronachs and Grant Advertising.

In 1939, the advertising department of Lever Brothers was spun off as a separate entity - Lintas, a short form for Lever International Advertising Service. In the initial stages, the scope of these agencies was very limited. Since most products were being imported, so was the advertising. The concepts, the layouts, the designs were all imported. If an Indian language was required, the local agency would merely translate the whole ad - literally, without the slightest adaptation. As regards non-consumer products, most of the advertising was corporate in nature, with a sprinkling of public interest advertising.The size of the advertising industry thus continued to be very limited through most of the forties. This also had much to do with the socialist philosophy of those days.

Nehru frowned upon conspicuous consumption and advertising was thought to promote unhealthy consumerism. In fact in many public fora, Nehru denounced advertising and all that it stood for because of his rigid view that advertising encouraged consumption.Further, through the initial 2 decades, the industry’s growth was hampered even further because it was largely confined to the press medium. Because of the Nehru Government’s aversion to commercialization, radio, as a medium remained untapped. The then Information and Broadcasting Minister, B V Keskar. thoroughly disapproved of film music and radio then was not the Vividh Bharati we know of to day. In those days, advertisers had no option but to use Radio Ceylon or Radio Goa - then under Portuguese control. Radio Ceylon was in those days extremely popular, just because it aired film music. Binaca Geet Mala was a rage, all because AIR banned film music. Thus, during the forties and the fifties, the advertising industry struggled, against heavy odds.
A turning point came when India started manufacturing products, in the country. Imports were slashed. New companies were set up. Cotton mills that until then just exported the raw cotton started manufacturing cloth. Tatas launched Hamam. Indian medical products started flooding the market. The multinationals started manufacturing their brands in the country.All this augured well for the advertising Industry.


The disappearance of foreign goods from the market and the availability of Indian options triggered two types of advertising: One, to explain the absence and the other to reassure the consumer that the Indian alternative was just as good. All the new brands needed advertising and new Indian agencies needed to be set up.The Sarabhais set up Shilpi. The Birlas set up ASP. The Mahindras set up Press Syndicate, etc. Then in 1966, Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister. She understood the power of radio and devoted her attention to its mass media potential. Radio went commercial in 1967. Advertising over Radio was permitted. And several memorable radio jingles were heard for the first time. Some, which we still hum today.The late sixties and the early 70s was when the concept of brand building took root. Advertising converted plain products into powerful emotional brands. Ordinary butter was converted into a powerful brand with the creative use of humor. And thus was born Amul.


Another example was the ‘Made for Each Other’ campaign which created the largest selling filter cigarette brand.And then there was that memorable campaign, which was truly breakthrough - it took an ordinary soap and made it stand for freshness personified, with one of the most outstanding commercials of its time – Liril.The seventies saw the economy getting healthier and healthier. New products were launched. New campaigns created. And several new agencies were set up Agencies like Rediffusion, Trikaya Grey, Chaitra and R K Swamy Advertising Associates.Advertising boomed and this growth ushered in a more rational approach to media planning. In 1970 the country’s first All India Readership Survey was conducted. Arguably, it is the world’s largest study of its kind. It threw a lot of data on readership habits of consumers. And this data helped to channel the advertising rupee more judiciously. These studies have now become a regular feature and aid considerably in drawing up scientific media plans.The seventies also saw an acute shortage of newsprint. Advertising rates went up. Surcharges were levied in 1971 and again in 1972 / 73. Rates went up by more than 40 % during this period. That’s when media planners began looking for cost efficient buys and explored alternative media. Hoardings which till then were all hand painted now began to sport 24 piece posters.In 1976, Television started accepting advertising. Initially only in Delhi and Bombay. Those days all TV sets were black and white. And much of the early advertising was in static slides with voice-overs. That, however, marked the beginning of a media turn around.The very next year there was a publishing boom as Press began to clean up its act. New magazines were launched. New styles of journalism came forth. Racy. Hard-hitting. Personalized.


Towards the end of the 70s, the second readership survey was conducted. There was now an abundance of data. And this marked the entry of computers into the advertising industry.The 80s were a period of hectic activity. Industry was growing. Media boomed. Newspapers started coming out with colour supplements. And in 1982, came the Asian Games and Colour Television. More importantly, came India’s first TV Serial - Hum Log.


Suddenly, there were so many options, so many opportunities for advertisers and agencies. Rates were low when compared to the viewership delivered. Everyone, including small advertisers could afford to advertise. Doordarshan even had special reduced rates for the small-scale sector. TV played a big role in helping lesser-known brands become household names. One example: Nirma. It advertised extensively. And because of TV it became a brand to reckon with. It compared its price with the blue coloured Surf and showed how the yellow coloured Nirma was more economical. It was TV again that helped Surf fight back. The Surf commercial featuring the now famous Lalitaji established how it made more sense to buy Surf than the cheap Nirma. The Lalitaji commercials are one of the more memorable campaigns of Indian advertising. Hum Log’s success led to the launch of a number of more serials. And with the launch of satellite Insat 1A, Doordarshan could be seen all over the country. So when Ramayan was telecast and then Mahabharat, almost all of India stayed indoors. Streets were deserted. And those who didn’t own a TV set went across to those who did. Advertising worked, like never before.Then came the nineties. Technology continued to propel advertising. It was the start of the channel proliferation era. The MTV generation. Scores of soaps. Magazines multiplied. Liberalization ushered in scores of Multinationals. The best brands throughout the world were now here. Advertising kept pace. It became sleeker and slicker as it attempted to cut through the clutter did. Cable was in. The Internet beckoned. FM tuned in. Hoardings got more colourful and life like. Some brands thrived. Some fell.Today in 2006, it’s marketing and advertising warfare. It’s full of action. It’s the place to be. The 30 sec TVC, they say is on the way out. Integrated marketing communications is the way to go. Keep tuned in to this blog site. It will keep you posted…

Siva