Wednesday 2 November 2016

The hilarious ordeal of advertising alcohol in India

Connoisseurs of alcoholic drinks may call liquor as the seductress among all beverages, and rightly so for the impact it has upon anyone who gets familiar with a drop of it. However, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act of 2000 decided to put some restrictions upon those responsible for brewing up this rich ale.
The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act of 2000 came down as a whiplash to all those who thrived on advertising alcoholic drinks in the country. The Act banned advertising of any alcoholic drink in the country with sanctioned penalties for those who would be found guilty of any such marketing.  Advertisers however found a very subtle means of continuing with their advertising campaigns for whiskey or beer brands, and have surprisingly been active on the television till date. What they did was to advertise a product other than an alcoholic drink, but under the original brand’s name. For instance, Haywards came up with their club soda advertisements while the brand recall factor was helpful in selling the brand’s beer too. The commercial focuses on giving hope by running along the lines of “Hausla Ho Buland”.



Nowhere in the commercial was the word beer mentioned, but the wise know the best….
Kingfisher is yet another example of innovative advertising of beer with their commercial promoting either their airlines or their packaged drinking water. In this ad for instance, Kingfishers chose the most influential faces to promote their “packaged drinking water”: players of the most popular sport in the country. Add to that a catchy jingle that one can hum even at work!



Fosters had a pretty chilled down method of promoting their alcohol with their “Daaaaaaamn Cold Refreshment” Ad, which like Kingfishers promoted packaged drinking water through three friends who gulp down packaged water and are immediately transferred to some snow-covered Himalayan region where they dance lethargically (but happily) among a troupe of pretty ladies.



Another brand that knew where it was going with its advertising was Seagram’s who came up with the “Men will be Men” advertising campaign to promote their “superhit music CD’s”. Their commercials have a hilarious take on how men will always have a soft corner for beautiful women. Watch the compilation here:




So, despite a legal act refraining beer and whiskey companies to advertise within the country, the television is still bustling with the surrogate advertising these brands have come up with. One might also be amused to know that some companies even faced legal action for advertising products that do not even exist! Others have however outlived any such jurisdiction and continue coming up with wild, innovative and hilarious ideas to promote their brand’s name time and again.

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