Consider a sample of advertising of some of the most successful brands in a number of fast-moving categories toilet soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, teas, coffees, processed food.
What's common to them besides the fact that the categories are dominated by giant western multinationals? Well, they tell linear, rational stories with lots of product facts, lots of science each trying to out-compete the other with stronger laboratory stories and scientific jargon.
They operate on slice-of-life sequences or celebrity endorsements. And on average, they are below the mean on the entertainment quotient. And most of these advertisements have passed through rigorous tests of consumer research and been given the green signal.
They must be working because many of the brands are market leaders and dominant players. So, are we Indians such rational animals who need science classes to be convinced to buy a low-price product like soap, toothpaste or cold cream? Or is it a reflection of a western, developed market view of a developing market like India?
The counterpoint to these multinational brands is the equally large and successful local brands that have successful advertisements that pose a bit of a challenge to the viewer and thus engage and excite him.
They are non-linear and work towards evoking emotions rather than simply conviction. Fevicol has over decades used Indian slice of life earthy yet endearing to create a brand that is today a benchmark in its category.
Hutch, through the new millennium, has used metaphors and analogies to tell its story. These connects have sold a myriad product attributes and yet created emotional affinity for the brand. Fevicol is a highly functional product, a glue used for business purposes by the carpenter.
Hutch/Vodafone is a technology product that has both the opportunity many technical facts to talk about and a reason it's a long-term consumer commitment and so a rational decision to do linear, fact-based advertisements. However, both have desisted and yet succeeded. Which is a truer reflection of the Indian people, society and culture?
It is a fact that we are a very knowledge-driven and value-conscious society. We want more from whatever we buy and extract even more from whatever we do. We place knowledge on a pedestal.
In the traditional caste system, the Brahmin was the most respected. However, even in modern society the clamour for degrees is maddening. Dropping out of college is frowned upon and successful people would prefer to hide this fact, if they did drop out, rather than wear it on their sleeve (unlike many successful American entrepreneurs who are not embarrassed to say so). This all points to the fact that multinational brands are up the right path.
However, when you look around Indian society, rationality seems a mirage otherwise. An average Bollywood film smacks of no logic: a village scene can suddenly cut away to faraway Switzerland for a song and dance sequence and the viewer is very comfortable suspending his disbelief to enjoy it.
The average TV serial is filled with melodrama that takes the viewer from high to low and again high and the characters become personalities in their own right. Viewers begin to mix the actor and character and often cannot separate real