Study of surrogate advertising with an Indian perspective

Surrogate advertising is the kind of promotional activities which brands use to advertise
items which are banned for advertising. Companies use similar or disguised form of
products to establish the brand name without actually naming or using the banned
products.
Surrogate advertising came to India because of the Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act 1995 read with Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, which banned
direct promotion of production, sale or consumption of cigarettes, tobacco products,
wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants.
With a ban on directly promoting their products, brands sought out another way to reach
out to consumers and started advertising surrogate products under the same brand
name as their prohibited items. This is when music CDs, bottled water and award
ceremonies started making an appearance.
In the competitive globalized economy today, surrogate advertising of products has
become an increasingly popular trend in the fields of advertising. According to a study
conducted in India by NIMHANS, kids as young as 19 are today taking to alcohol which
the study warns will be 15 in the next few years. Taking note of the seriousness of the
matter and consequent ill effects of cigarette, alcohol and other intoxicants on
consumers, the Indian government has banned advertisements of these products in the
media. But the wise marketers have come out with alternatives, the companies use
surrogate advertising in order to reach out with the message to the target group. These
advertisements violate the statutory provisions and defeat the very purpose of the ban
which has been imposed.
Changing times and technological advancements have opened many avenues for
brands, allowing them to come up with innovations and effective communication tools
even with the restrictions in place. Recently, Kingfisher launched their branded virtual
reality campaign ‘Kingfisher 360 cities’. As a part of the campaign, people will be able to
view online videos and experience what it would be like to visit popular places in a
particular city. The videos can be viewed using simple Google cardboard, Oculus Rift,
PlayStation VR, Samsung Gear VR or the HTC Vive.
Budweiser recently partnered with Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest electronic
dance music festivals, to bring exclusive music experiences leading up to and during
the festival’s Belgian edition. Royal Stag put a new spin to surrogate advertising when
they launched a platform to showcase short films by celebrated directors. The Royal
Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films has already showcased popular short films like
‘Ahalya’, ‘Nayantara’s necklace’ and ‘Interior Café’.
While established brands may have it easier than new entrants, even the big players
have their fair share of troubles, one of which is cost escalation. Brands not only have to
manufacture the product they actually want to sell but also the surrogate products they
advertise, resulting in added production cost. Many brands have in fact legitimised their
surrogate products. Wills Lifestyle is an established fashion line and today a McDowell’s
No.1 packaged drinking water can be found in most stores.
Surrogate advertising was challenged in Supreme Court but A bench headed by Chief
Justice J S Khehar dismissed the plea filed by a law student who had also sought a
direction to the Centre to frame guidelines to ban such advertisements.
"Do you think that these soda advertisements make people drink alcohol more? We
don't think so...Sorry," the bench that also comprised Justices D Y Chandrachud and S
K Kaul said.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by a Rajasthan resident Kartikey Bhatt who
claimed that the Cable Television Networks Rules state that no advertisement shall be
permitted which directly or indirectly promotes production, sale or consumption of liquor
or other intoxicants.
However, the government has failed to discharge their legal duty and surrogate
advertisements were being illegally broadcast on cable services without seeking any
prior permission, the plea said. Noting that surrogate advertisements for alcohol was
illegal, the plea said it was the government and its agencies' failure to ensure
implementation of the law.
Today, surrogate advertising is so much more than a soda bottle. Companies now have
technology at their disposal and are toying with virtual reality, short films and big music
events to bring attention to their brands. But who could be considered a pioneer in this
subtle art of advertising?

“I think Bagpiper was probably one of the first brands to do surrogate advertising, by
creating Bagpiper Soda. Many other brands did try to ape them but not all of them
succeeded in creating the magic. Among other brands Officers Choice, McDowell’s
No.1, were also successful in creating a buzz. Among beer brands it was Kingfisher that
managed to build traction. I was involved with the launch of Kingfisher Strong some
decade or so ago. The first ad used sports imagery, signing off as a soda. It was around
that time UB (United Breweries) managed to build a Caribbean imagery around their
brand. That coupled with the music and use of sports / cricket stars worked wonderfully
for them. Bacardi came later and tried taking away the Caribbean theme from
Kingfisher, not sure what was the final result,” said MG Parameswaran, Brand
Strategist, Founder, Brand-Building.com.
The alcohol market form is that of an oligopoly, characterized by few large firms selling
differentiated products. The selective firms constantly vie for market share and the level
of interdependence and competition among them are exceptionally high.
A great deal of money is spent on promotion through media advertisements, billboards,
event sponsorships and online and offline campaigns. The cutthroat competition
incentivizes each firm to make their alcohol better than the other.
Alcohol companies are left with no incentives to innovate, refurbish and better their
products and brand strategies regularly. The ‘spirit’ of improvisation dies a sad death. In
this gloomy situation, surrogate advertising acts like a ray of hope, inspiring alcohol
companies to keep bettering themselves, by offering them an avenue to present
themselves in new innovative ways and expand their customer base.
Maintenance of quality standards is more than important in the alcohol industry because
even small discrepancies in the mere composition of the mixtures can prove to be fatal.
Some brands of alcohol are known to contain alarmingly high amounts of ethanol, which
can prove to be poisonous and has been responsible for the deaths of uncountable
farmers and rickshaw pullers.
Samuel Adams, a famous American company, known for its beer, is a sponsor for The
Music Run, ‘​the only timed 5k and 10k running series pumping the ultimate running
playlist every step of the way’​ . The Music Run is the combination of a run and an
authentic music festival in LA.
Samuel Adams also presents the Starved Rock Country Marathon and Half Marathon in
Canada, thus fueling a beautiful culture of community running.
Companies like Carlsberg and Officer’s Choice provide employment to small and
medium enterprises who manufacture their drinking glasses and playing cards for them
respectively. These smaller units make substantial profits by capitalizing on the
popularity and premium customer base of large alcohol companies.
These are just a few examples of the culture that is promoted by ​surrogate advertising.​
Many more surrogate ads are using beautiful themes that help in the creation of a
community that is more and more global; a community that stays fit, enjoys music and
appreciates art and culture.
In India, celebrities are often treated as demi-gods. An example of this is the movie on
cricketer MS Dhoni, which did superbly well at the box office. One way he has used his
enormous popularity is to endorse a brand of liquor. Though the advertisement featuring
him mentions soda water, it is clearly surrogate advertising for the company’s more
popular alcohol line.
We also have Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan asking us to "make it large" with a
music CD that bears the same name as a brand of alcohol. A pan masala company
sponsors many prime-time movies and has Ajay Devgn as its brand ambassador.
Everyone, including children, knows what products these companies are most famous
for.
Tobacco, areca nut or supari, and alcohol are all proven carcinogens. By advertising for
such companies, celebrities are encouraging the use of carcinogenic products. The
advertisements tend to gain the attention of the youth by attaching fashion, glamour and
sexual attraction to the products. Endorsements by celebrities add to the general
acceptance of these products.
The 2009-'10 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the World Health
Organisation among schools with children between 13 years and 15 years, illustrates
the impact of such advertising.
The survey​ ​found that 14.6% of youth currently use tobacco – 21%-24% of boys said
that they thought smoking would get them more friends and make them look more
attractive. At least three-fourths of those who participated in the survey remembered
seeing pro-cigarette advertisements in the preceding month.
A systematic review published in 2003 concluded that tobacco advertising and
promotion increase the likelihood of adolescents picking up smoking. Surveys in the
United States have shown that most adolescents remember advertisements of tobacco
and their logos. The ability of children to recall such information was also correlated with
intent to smoke, initiation and level of consumption. Such endorsements earn celebrities
exorbitant amounts of money. Though it is often claimed by the companies that they are
not advertising the products they cannot legally promote, the fact remains that surrogate
advertising increases their brand recognition and sales as well.
There have been celebrities who have thought with their conscience and refused to do
such advertisements. These include cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, badminton champion P
Gopichand, pop singer Shaan and actors Ranbir Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi. They have
valued the health and well-being of the general public over endorsing carcinogenic
products for monetary gains. It is high time others do so too.