Indian advertising has come along way since the Independence days when the industry was unrushed and relaxed and the focus was on instilling Indianness and pride among consumers. Jump to now - Indian brands are going global and making attractive campaigns. With growth of media choices, Indian advertising also started developing boldness to change from the 'hyper-ritualisation' of gender stereotypes and make socially responsible arguments while selling to a consumer.
But where is this evolution heading??
Judging from recent campaigns, Indian brands increasingly seem to be aping (if not seeking to be) the west. More often than not, they are poised as foreign brands, roping in white and light brown-skinned foreign models to adorn countless print campaigns, depicting Indian consumers. And these are just Print. TVCs are a whole different shebang.
Sure, in some cases, casting a foreign model serves a specific purpose. But this trend has been prevalent in all categories from shampoos, apparel to auto-mobiles and the use of foreign models seems to reflect our colonial hangover, that “the best is still in the west”.
So, what is it about Indian ads and foreign models? Why do they seem to be clinging onto each other a lot more these days? More importantly, why does the common insight seem to be "White skin = Good, Brown skin = Bad"?
It goes without saying that one of the key elements of building a brand-customer relationship is that the customer must relate to the communication. But the real question is: Are these brands ashamed to be Indian?
Here are some recent print campaigns to take a look at:
1. Wadhwa Group (Mumbai)
The Wadhwa Group is a Real estate development and construction company located in the city of Mumbai, India. established in the early 1970s, it is one of India's leading construction company. The Economic Times described the company as instrumental in building of world-class structures.
Established in 1973, Nahar Group is a premier real estate developer headquartered in Mumbai. The Group has developed 15 million sq. ft. of prime real estate projects, making it one of the names to reckon with in Mumbai.
3. Crusoe Men's Innerwear (Coimbatore)
Crusoe was started in 2009 by the Jagannath Textiles group, Coimbatore. The brand creates fashion for the adventurous and free-spirited man, for whom every day brings forth a new adventure. All of its designs have the essence of outdoor fun printed all over it.
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