A mannequin is a silent salesperson who neither argues nor throws tantrums. Garments displayed on mannequins sell faster. There are more mannequins in retail today than in the past. There is a 30 per cent growth in demand every year. The Spanish fashion brand Zara’s mannequins were eye – catching and stylish and found its way into India. These are imported in bulk or copied here and are called Zara mannequins. Mannequins were formerly voluptuous, but are now tall and chic. The faces are oval – shaped or sometimes they are headless. They used to come in various sizes, but have now been standardised – 5 feet 10 inch height with 34 – 24 – 36. vital stats for a female dummy and 6 feet with 38 – 32—38 for a male. Indian-made mannequins cost RS. 2500 – RS. 10,000 while imported ones cost anywhere between RS. 8000 – RS. 50,000. A modern full- bordered mannequin weighs around 10 kgs without a stand and 15 kgs with a stand. Domestic companies sell handmade fibre mannequins. Plastic dummies are imported from China. There are imports from Germany, Japan , Vietnam and France. Shop floor employees nick name the mannequins after their bosses, and ill-treat them to vent out their stress. Visual merchandisers expect the floor staff to respect the dignity of the mannequins while draping them.
Category: Advertising
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Public Service Advertising (PSA)
Advertising can be used to promote community and social causes and is called public service advertising. Public service advertising touches upon people’s deepest fears anxieties and values. An egg being dropped from a height into the frying pan is equated to ‘ human brain on drugs’. Cocaine is compared to a barrel of a revolver pointed up the nose of a teenager. We can promote causes like family planning. Lintas made the slogan ‘ one or two, that is enough ‘ or in Hindi ‘ ek ya do, bus’ very popular. Sometimes public service ads lack impact. One reason is human nature. We may be appalled by images of starving children but very few of us are willing to part with our own food to do something about it. Noble thoughts are not necessarily followed by noble deeds. Public service advertising, however, creates awareness. It is difficult to change the mindset of people. Public service advertising should answer the following questions:
Are there any alternatives? Maybe public relations or other kinds of communication may do a better job than advertising.
How to solicit media support? Media has to choose amongst a host of such advertisers while providing free time or space.
What are the the expectations from the viewers or readers? Sometimes, we intend to change the behaviour, say the voting pattern or the drug habit. Sometimes,we seek some munificence. Sometimes, a toll free number call is required to induce someone to action.
How to measure?
We have to measure its effect. Just emotions are not enough.
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Brand Building Advertising Campaigns
Any successful brand is generally backed up by strong advertising and promotion. Pepsi is the choice of ‘young generation’ and ‘generation next’. Maggie noodles is just ‘two-minutes’ meal. Complan is completely ‘planned food.’ Indica is ’ more car per car’. Wills Filter cigarettes are ‘made for each other’. Campaigns have the potential to build up brands and business. In a campaign, a theme or idea is advertised with consistency. This idea is integrated to all other communications. A campaign carries the same idea with different execution in future ads. A campaign gives a consistent look or feel.
Some of the elements of a campaign are as follows :
Visual Similarity
The same visual image continues in a series of ads. Maybe a spokesperson gives this link.The grandma of Ayurvedic C oncepts is such a spokesperson. A character can be created to perform this function. Animal symbols like a monkey in Bytco tooth-powder, a tiger in Goodlass Nerolac, an Appu boy in Asian Paints and a Maharajah in AirIndia ads is such a visual link. Esso with a tiger symbol changed to Exxon but though ‘it changed its name, but not its stripes’. A demonstration that appears in every ad also can hold a campaign together. Milk being poured into a glass or moisturizing cream pouring into Dove Soap are examples of how a short sequence carried from ad to ad provides visual similarity.
Verbal Similarity
Some people think that sloganising is the be-all and end-all of a campaign. It is not so . Words thrown at the end of a commercial may be just throw-always. They may not be relevant for the brand. Some slogans, however, are classic and have a long life. But this life is derived by investing in its extensive use. Just on papers they do not seem to be great and lasting campaign words. We should use a set of words which capture the essence of the product or company. A distinctive sound or music can help a campaign to register.
Similarity of Attitude
Maybe , there is no distinguishing theme line in a campaign, especially when they are initiated. But they have a consistent attitude towards the product and target audience. Some campaigns are built on quality, values, authenticity, style and so on. Attitude is on expression of brand personality.
Product Ideas, Not Just Communication Ideas
Products are positioned not just by communicating what they stand for but by incorporating the positioning idea at the design stage itself. Later these are expressed in advertising. Thus half-an-hour-delivery of Pizza is possible by scheduling each stage properly e.g. preparing, baking, packing and dispatching. This is built into the product. It is not necessary to improve products to get the ideas. They may be present in the product as it exists. They should be properly highlighted by advertising.
Evolving a Campaign
American Express is built on “don’t leave home without it”. This idea supports travel-related services, banking, and credit cards. Amex depends on its prestige position and service superiority. It thus has a consistent personality and user image based on prestige. Its built-in marketing idea is service of personalized nature around the world. Its umbrella theme is ‘don’t leave home without American Express’.
Changing the Campaigns
Even the most original campaigns need to be refreshed. The whole environment changes. ‘Neighbour’s envy and owner’s pride’ for Onida TV based on jealousy and sense of prized possession is no longer contemporary with a host of TVs which are as good-looking as Onida, or even better. A campaign thus cannot be sustained on this old theme any longer. It must evolve to keep pace with the time. Only then it remains relevant. A campaign is refreshed by using new ideas and improved products.Campaigns also show wear-out, when markets change. Campaigns must be changed before their full potential has been realised.
Integration
Other elements of promotion like direct marketing, sales promotion, public relations and an advertising campaign must be integrated. It is necessary to give unified product/brand image. The message retains its focus. A brand strategic view is taken where each element has to contribute something. Integration of communication needs a good grasp over the media and the authority to coordinate so as to create a campaign.
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Digital Advertising
A tweet from BudweiserIndia read, ‘ How are you coping with your # Monday Blues! Keep your # Buds close and watch them disappear!’ This is a tweet promoting beer consumption. As such, liquor products ads are banned, but these companies make use of the social media. Diageo, King Fisher of the UB Group, Budwiser, Tuborg, SAB Miller, Johnnie Walker are all active on Face book and Twitter. Smirnoff India, a Vodka brand tweeted, ‘ You don’t need an occasion to gift someone gold! Treat your friends to the royal taste of Smirnoff Gold toaday.’
Companies target their ads properly, for instance, a pizza company pings about them at lunch time or just before supper. Home decor companies are active in the afternoon to target the office goers. As against this, TV and print advertising is generic. Mapped browsing facilitates, the assessment of consumer behaviour by using analytics. Consumers leave a digital footprint behind as they browse. These marketing tracks are valuable for one-to-one targeting. In industry, close to 15 per cent of ad budgets are shifting towards digital advertising.
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Psychedelic Art ( Psy Art )
It is fine art characterised by vibrant and neon colours, metaphysical and surrealistic symbols, extreme depth, geometric patterns and creative typography. It started with the hippy culture of the 1960s and was created to begin with under the influence of hallucinogenic substances. Later Pop culture adopted it. It was used in underground magazines, concert posters and rock album covers. It had a profound effect on what we call modern art today.
Psy art has many branches. Celestrial-fantasy art is magical, dream-like, surreal and ethereal. It is inspired by nature. Fractal art is created on computer using an iterative numerical process. It is a visual symphony of art, maths and digital imaging. It is similar to photography. Meditative art is an expression of the meditative state of the artist. Digital psy art was initiated by the rave movement of the 1990s. It uses computer software. The visuals are mind-expanding. Neo-surrealism is a revival of surrealism mixed with pop art. It illustrates the bizarre imagery of dreams or the subconscious mind. Visionary art portrays a higher awareness and portrays clairvoyant visions. The paintings are innately timeless.
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DIGITAL ADVERTISING
In any industry , we come across disruptive events. In advertising , the first disruptive event was the advent of the TV inthe1940s . Thereafter , we had just incremental changes – print to video . It was all an era of mass advertising . Another disruptive event is the advent of digital advertising . It is a far bigger shift than the previous three shifts – print to radio to TV – put together . It is not just a change in the media – but a change from the mass media to personalised media . It is the beginning of customised ads – a different phase of creativity and distribution . The ads are tailored to user needs . Thus shaving gel ads will be shown to men only and diaper ads to new mothers . The old media will continue to co-existwith the new media but most innovations will happen in digital space . A search engine may figure out an individual’s personality and preferences and may project the relevant ads to him .
Traditionally , an Agency has the creative , production and media departments . Media buying is related to radio , TV , print or a mix of them . Digital buying is not so simple . There are display ads , search or campaigns on YouTube , Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and so on . Each has a different social graph.Creative and media will work together, along with the techies . There will be emphasis on user data. It will influence the structure of the agencies.
Nissan Mexico’s launch of the Pathfinder was done in digital space.In India, there was YouTube campaign around Lifebuoy.
The chase for the ‘holygrail for advertising’ has begun – one ad for every individual . The surface has just been scratched . The next ten years are important .
TV in the 1940s . Thereafter , we had just incremental changes – print to video
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Advertising and Society
Advertising and Society
Advertising has been assaulted by its critics who contend that apart from selling products and espousing ideas, advertising influences society in unwanted and intrusive ways. It is all–pervasive and persuasive too. This gives it the ability to shape the social attitudes. Many defend advertising on the basis of economic benefits. In addition, advertising fosters freedom of expression and supports the media. It not only provides information about the products and services, but also about the social issues. While influencing the society, advertising too is influenced by the society – it acts as a mirror which reflects the social changes. The language, idiom and illustrations in advertising conform to the socially accepted practices.
Whether advertising is good or bad to the society is to be examined on the basis of issues. Let us examine a few issues.Language and Literacy
It is charged that advertising corrupts the language. It tweaks the sentences, spellings and grammar to make a point. It uses ‘Hinglish’ in India, and plays fast and loose with the rules of language. The audience too copies the same. Such erosion can affect the literacy level.
Advertising uses the language that people it wants to reach use. There is no intention to sully the language. It just reflects what the audience uses. While reaching the youngsters, it uses a jingle like ‘har ek friend zaroori hota hai‘. Advertising language is thus less–than–perfect. It tweaks words so as to make them distinguished trade marks or brand names, i.e. Kwality instead of Quality.Manipulation and Exploitation
Does advertising lure you into buying what you do not need it all? Does it exploit people? Critics accuse advertising of powerfully swaying people to use the advertised products and services. Advertising, they say, exploits your hidden anxieties and play upon your fears. It kindles hopes and takes advantage of your inadequacies. Advertising manipulates you psychologically. Advertisers make you believe that their products give you social status, you receive love and acceptance by using them.
In defence of advertising, they say that there is nothing wrong in persuading people to identify their needs and offer them a suitable product to match those needs. What advertising does is to inform people about the products available, about the choices people can make. Advertising makes the market more efficient for both the advertisers and the consumers by passing on information.Advertising cannot create demand for a product that is not needed. Advertising stimulates you to buy but if the product that meets your needs is not available, you do not buy. No amount of advertising can make you buy a product that does not work, or does not satisfy your needs. People have been found holding against advertising by skipping them when TV commercials are being shown. They have the freedom to turn the pages of the print media of they are not interested in the product advertised. That the skepticism shown by people acts as a counterbalance against the persuasive power of advertising.Stereotyping
Advertising creates many stereotypes – the behaviour is generalised on the basics of a particular slot, class or group. This is the usual criticism of advertising. Thus we may have a daughter–in–law who is dominated by the mother–in–law, who is reprimanded. As in compressed 10 second commercial, it is difficult to build a character, some sort of visual cues are used to judge these characters. The problem with this approach is that a whole group is stereotyped – elderly people are senile, and women are housewives. Such stereotyping may strengthen the prevailing prejudices against these groups.Such stereotyping in a diverse country like India may alienate several potential customers. If women are shown in correct perspective it may open up a wider market. The situation is slowly changing. Thus a modern daughter–in–law wins the acclaim of the mother–in–law by showing her expertise in culinary skills, home management etc. In addition advertising models are all handsome young men, and fair women. They do not represent a vast hinterland population of the weak, poor and backward. However, many ads now show models drawn from real life, thus a real shopkeeper recommends a particular product. Advertisers should feature more and more people from the socially disadvantaged groups.
Influence on the media
Advertising, we know, sustains media by providing it revenues. In the process, it is so alleged, it exercises great influence on the editorial content of the media. Media faces an actual or implied threat of the pulling the ads. When media writes about business, it exercises caution.
On the other hand, media is affordable for a large number of people mainly on account of advertising. Had media been solely dependent on government funding, it would have been the worst situation. Media sells advertising to many advertisers, and therefore, not unduly influenced while disseminating news. Media supported by many advertisers is a better proposition than the wholly government supported media.
Still media avoids the controversial topics that may offend the advertising sponsors. The alternative is to have media without advertising. But such media, not subsidised by ad revenues, becomes too costly. People will have to pay for even radio and TV programmes.Bad Taste and Offensiveness
Advertising is often criticised for being in bad taste, or at times totally offensive. However, here one has to separate the product from the presentation, say a bra which is an inner garment for a woman. Maybe, it is not portrayed tastefully. It should be noted here that taste is a subjective thing. What is acceptable to some remains objectionable to others.Over a period of time, the seemingly offensive things appear less distasteful on account of social changes.In addition, certain ads appear to be offensive in other media.Advertisers have to remember that ads of questionable taste generate debates but may not achieve the ultimate aim of generating sales.Advertising and Social Responsibility
As members of the society, advertisers too owe a responsibility to it.It is going beyond your own objectives of profits, growth and survival.Agencies produce ads that promote social causes – save water, save power, do not use drugs etc. Many businesses put these ads in the media.Then there are non-profit organisations and government bodies who too promote such messages.Media too willingly donates time and space for such messages.Advertising and Ethics
The role of ethics in advertising has been debated since long.There is a call for more ethical advertising.There are some fraudulent ads which invite public criticism and at times legal action.This has led to a self-regulatory body such as ASCI : Advertising Standards Council of India, some regulatory laws, some codes such as the Doordarshan Code to define what the advertisers can do and cannot do.There are two issues here–ethical dilemmas and ethical lapses.An unresolved ethical question where both the sides have their own set of arguments is called an ethical dilemma.Whether a cigarette manufacturer be allowed to promote or not is an ethical dilemma.If allowed, it leads to harmful effects on the population.If not, the manufacturer’s right to the freedom of speech and its right to sell a legal product are violated.In all ethical dilemmas, there are conflicting rights of two or more important groups of people.
An ethical lapse is just unethical. A detergent contends that it has the power of lime, but does not contain any lime at all is an ethical lapse.
Ethical Issues in Advertising
There are wide variety of ethical issues in advertising –- marketing unhealthy products , advertising to children and using puffery .
Unhealthful Products
There are products that cause harm to human health e. g tobacco , alcohol , pan masala . Should they be allowed to advertise ? Some countries have banned such advertisements whereas some restrict such advertising . The companies feel that as long as the products are legal ,there should not be any restriction on advertising them . Critics , however , disagree .
Advertising to Children
Can we direct the commercials to children ? TV advertising to children poses an ethical dilemma . There are issues of cartoon channels and advertising . The young mind will not be able to distinguish between the programme content and advertising .
Using Puffery
Puffery is exaggerated subjective praise of the product without any substantiation . Some puffery is harmless , and cannot be proved or disproved . Puffery should not be misleading , and should not be used as a license to lie . Mostly people can understand when an advertiser is exaggerating.
