History of Advertising in India

 

Advertising in India has changed its course with the advancement of India from a poor colonised nation to one of the major economic houses of the world. Being an ethnically diverse nation, the international and national industries which deployed advertising agencies to woo the Indian mass in the past have changed their promoting techniques from a simple, straightforward and easy pattern; to an exclusive, detailed, attention-seeking manner in the present times. The emotional, cultural context in Indian advertisements have rarely left its mark and advertisements have tried breaking stereotypes and change the way an average Indian thinks and perceives, but advertisements have gone intelligent, and a whole set of industry works best to amplify a product, presently featuring with AI as its new vehicle.

The hand-painted posters and billboards of British goods like soap, sugar, and tea were used for bringing parallels of simple Indian life in the pre-independent India. These ads were in an exact sync to Indians, and the products were happily welcomed. Ads then mixed with the changing trends, cultural and religious messages of the modern India. Ads of Godrej toilet soaps which quoted the favour of Rabindranath Tagore in 1922 and the portrayal of a Goddess with a Pears soap ad "which stays as pure as a lotus" in 1929, have thus maintained a trust and memorable brand identity by resonating with consumers. The ads post-independence changed its tilt; the 1950 Gluco Cola Ad which by a story of a Raja marrying a so called unrespectable European woman and ending tragically; narrated the “right choice of tastes for Indians”. 

Shifting regionally, the poster propagandas of Shiv Sena defaming Congress in 1967 placed the position of ads in politics. India now grew industrially independent, with the rise of industrial products, ads were seen displaying social and household values, like that of a 1972 ad, where a mother coaches her young daughter a USHA sewing machine; and a 1977 Somany tiles ad which sweetened a beautiful European washroom and marooned traditional the Indian bathrooms. Indians now financially liberal, became fans of the enchanting 1980s Kashmir Tourism Ads, these posters and billboards, were slowly developing in a way that supported the well-being of the middle class, encouraging more household needs. Some of the loved, well remembered ads, include the 1966 billboard of the Amul Girl mascot, by Sylvester Da Cunha and Eustace Fernandes; the 1978 poster of a mother feeding her child of Dalda Vanaspati by Hindustan Lever; a 1979 NP 007 Bubble Gum poster ad for children, built the most successful platforms for most of the companies. With the global media influx, Indians welcomed the latest technologies, offered success prayers, as the motivating ads of Honda motorcycles and Bajaj scooters endorsed by young Salman Khan and Sachin Tendulkar urged the Indians to be more particular and subjective.

 

By the later part of 1980s it was well understood by industries like Thumps Up, Taj Mahal Tea, Bombay Dyeing, Air India, Lux, Honda, Vaseline, Cinthol that film celebrities can dazzle their products especially when the feminine touch was enchanted. In relation to such promotions, the seductiveness of Cinthol Soap Ads to the controversies of steamy Tuff shoes ads back in 1995, led to the creation of more thoughtful, humorous and sensitive ads. TV advertisements after globalization (post Doordarshan) became more creative and interactive, each ad had a victory story of its own, like a kid cherishing Action school shoes, housewives like Hema, Rekha, Jaya and Sushma using their favourite Nirma washing detergent, and a bald horned devil advocating Onida TV. What is seen on the surface is believed, and in this manner ad agencies which created more penetrating ads helped the products to be more marketable; women of all ages thus naturally believed that Lux, Niril, Cinthol were their only soaps. The message of health and nutrition, mother-child connection, free toys carried through the ads of Rasna, Complan, Maggi, Johnson & Johnson, Horlicks, Milo and Complan, glued on the psyche of every growing kid.

 

Ads in 21st century now grew to be more understanding, and sympathetic. Girls in rural India drop out of schools when their periods start; ads by Stayfree and Whisper's Ultra laid bare the pain, anxiety and cramps of a lady having periods, and helping them accomplish tougher roles. Ads boost confidence, yet evidence still holds that marketing is devised for the rising class, from detergent bars to AC coolers, from Nokia 2100 to Tata Sky TV service, transnational corporations now delivered the subliminal message "consume". The new notions of masculinity in ads of McDowell's, Royal Stag, timely checked by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, led them change their intent from a clubbing M S Dhoni; to a Virat Kohli shout out for all sportstars, to fashion events and short film competitions. Throwing light on stereotyping, an Airtel ad where a lady handling her office and juniors at work, comes back home to prepare food for her spouse who is late under his boss’s orders, portrays a relationship where a woman knows the way to juggle her work and personal life; another example be cited where a couple sitting at a registrar's office, make the registrar look dumb when the husband takes the wife's last name, owing to pleasant ‘Hawa Badlegi' tagline by Havells fans. Another ad of two elderly friends separated long by the partition of India and only to see each other by Google's networking touches an emotional string, with a socioreligious backing; on the other hand, Surf Excel’s Holi special ad where a small Hindu girl in a white t-shirt, chooses to get stained in Holi colours to protect her Muslim friend on his way to mosque, rather faced controversy as Holi colours were symbolized as stains in the ad. Ads these days are made at a cost of five to fifteen lakhs, compared to mere poster publication in the past century, and advertising production houses today take great efforts in making a brilliant ad with unpredictable and mixed messages. Ads sorted from a hunk Hrithik Roshan snatching his flying cap back from a cyclone on a ZMR, to a decrying Amir Khan with a Mahindra Stallio for mileage and safety; to billboards for Miss India pageant, to funny out of shape Vodafone ZooZoo ads. The list seems unending as huge multinational ad agencies edge each other to indelibly shape the way we understand a brand. For revenue generation, broadcasting media of all sorts, be in digital or traditional form completely leaned to hegemonic ads. As netizens disengaged from TV, the age group of 15-35 have been blessed with healthcare and tech ads, nonetheless with TikTok and YouTube content creators, the onset of Gen Z social media influencers and DM for paid promotions gained the new rave of advertisements. Ad agencies have understood the fact that celebrities are no longer the only options, and customized products can be well projected by micro and nano influencers. With search engine algorithms for aggressive marketing and the AI catapulting capitalistic surveillance, the necessity of a sheepherder vanishes. Online ads through the five great Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Twitter developed into almost every possible human desires, except anti-trust for data mining and its subsequent business development.

 

Advertisements in India have kindled emotions quite demographically and brands have now well settled with a loyal customer base. The wide array of cosmetic brands have in gentle terms exemplified light skin, strong silky hair as the beauty standards and so are the filters on Snapchat and Instagram. Looking beyond the beautiful boulevard, pimples and oily skin have become low and unmaintained status, and skinny young men are effected by anxiety, and self-disgust in their failure to be the Aryan poster boy. But unpredictable repercussions for the murder of a black man on the advertisement sector are seen, an example be of Unilever dropping the word 'Fair' from its 'Fair & Lovely' face whitening cream.

 

Stirring the commercial motif, ads do help in public awareness and nation building, like the two drops of Polio vaccination by Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign to cease tobacco consumption by Rahul Dravid, the anti-smoking television ads especially near playing kids, and the ongoing follow up of the social distancing measures in the COVID-19 pandemic. Ads for social justice need more build, just to end trafficking, miracle medicines and mob lynching among other malpractices. As ads have hitherto guised to be more personalized and user friendly, thereby branching themselves in different broadcasting forms specially in the cyberspace, the option to get an ad-fee information or product sounds legitimate at the end of the day. Thus it can be put in a nutshell that advertisements in India have gone from flat, pale infomercials to a pleasing, animated and story based craft that provides one customer centric solution to single definite issue.