Innocence Lost

A lot has been written about the tremendous influential power of children in today's purchasing decisions. Children today, have their say in everything from toys to washing machines to cooking oil to bikes and now what pain balm(Moov) and filing tax returns?

Marketers have responsibility towards the society and they should know when to draw the line. Increased use of children in ads results in overspending and blatant commercialisation. Somewhere advertsiers should pull the plug and let children enjoy childhood.

The Male Factor in Advertising

I grew up watching ads with the impression that the bathtub was the domain of women, till I saw King Khan in the recent Lux ad. What is HLL up to? Tired of marketing to women? Well its a known fact the beauty secret of film stars has been shared by Indian men too. But an ad directly addressing men....

The Indian man in advertising has transformed from being a macho to metrosexual over the past 50 years. If you go back to the ads of post-independence era, you will see the Indian man either wielding a gun or the plough.....Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Then came the 'Thandurusthi ki Raksha kartha hai Lifebuoy' ad with men in other places, like the stadium. Man started to scale the power bastions and were shown as the successful one in Digjam Suitings, Godrej Shaving Cream,etc. Then came 'the Complete man' of the Raymonds who showed the caring side of the Indian man. Today men are taking decisions about washing powder and after wash hair conditioners for their women. They are not just stopping at that, they are asking for their share of fairness creams and ........bathtub too. Wonder, what next?

I Luv Marlboro

Marlboro, one of the most popular brands in the world was first marketed as a mild cigarette for women in the 1920s. It had a market share of less than 1%. When reports were published linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, Philip Morris added a filter tip, gave a macho image to the brand and created marketing history. The ad agency, Leo Burnett is credited for making the most remarkable and memorable ad campaign by associating Marlboro to the cowboy. Overnight, from nothing to a 5000% increase in sales was reported. It was certainly a rags-to-riches story for the brand. The ad campaign is so popular, that the color red and the inverted V sign on the Marlboro pack is recognised even without the brand name being mentioned.

But then, in the 1970s, ban on cigarette advertising on TV and radio was enforced. Marlboro took to the roads.....literally....it started to adorn the billboards across the US freeways. With more stringent rules in place, and the emergence of the Internet as a worldwide point-of-sale, Marlboro adopted various methods of camoflagued advertising(subliminal). It entered pubs and bars, encouraged internet chat among Marlboro smokers, conducted contests, pampered customers with visits to Marlboro Country (ranch in Montana), redecorated pubs with red furniture and a host of other things. It went back to its retailers and charged lesser for their stock than the competitors and commanded nearly 60% of the retailer's shelf space.

In Nov 2005, Marlboro celebrated its 50th B'day bash by inviting its select customers to entertainment shows across U.S. cities. The brand continues to be the market leader and holds 40% of the US market share, way ahead of its competitors.

On the flip side, there has been many spoof ads on Marlboro and two of the models who endorsed the brand died of lung cancer. But ........I luv Marlboro!