What’s a powerful tool that catches the interest of the customers, informs them about the product and builds brand trust? Advertising? Yes, spot on!
You might already know about the basic methods of advertising which include Paid search advertising, social media advertising, display advertising, native advertising, print advertising and broadcast advertising but what about the products that cannot be marketed directly?
Let’s learn a little about prohibited and controlled advertising in India. Advertising for alcohol, tobacco products and gambling is forbidden under ASCI Code article 6. Sometimes, marketing for these products are disguised as indirect advertisements for other products. That’s where surrogate advertising comes into the picture. Ever heard of it? No?
Let’s start off with what is a surrogate to understand it better. A surrogate is one that serves as a substitute. Likewise, a form of advertisement that promotes the brand image of a product to promote another product which is not allowed to be advertised of the same brand, is known as surrogate advertising.
For you to have a clear and complete idea of it, here are few industry examples that employ surrogate advertising to advertise their products –
Tobacco Industry : In recent years, numerous organisations have subtly targeted consumers by marketing tobacco-based products disguised as pan masala. One such example is Ajay Devgan and Shah Rukh Khan endorsing saffron in an ad for the brand, Vimal. Akshay Kumar too was a part of it.
Liquor Industry : Many businesses sell alcoholic drinks that are passed off as mixers for cocktails, soda, and fruit juice. A notable example would be Imperial Blue’s series of advertisements on their music CDs.
Let’s talk a little about its pros and cons as well. Surrogate advertisements help businesses to leverage up their brand awareness and keep it alive in their minds but at the same time, since very few people are aware of surrogate marketing, it defeats the purpose of the government’s restriction on advertising hazardous products.
Throwing some light into surrogate advertising in the recent times, surrogate is banned by The Central Consumer Protection Authority that came up with the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 and prescribed monetary penalties and imprisonment of up to two years.
Although it has substantial sway over the sector, adhering to the GOI’s directives is unavoidable. There are several reasons for companies to use surrogate advertising, keeping the brand alive in people’s mind being the most prominent reason. Many brands benefit from surrogate advertising which aids in reaching and luring potential clients. A smart technique, ain’t it? Want to make use of the smart technique effectively? Head over to Think Tree!
