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Once upon a time, the government of India in its wisdom, imposed a ban on all direct advertising of alcohol and

cigarettes. Manufacturers, marketers and agencies put their heads together and came up with the brilliant concept of

surrogate advertising.

What pray, you might ask, is surrogate advertising? As professionals in advertising, surely you would know about the

advertising that promotes golf clubs, glass and decanter sets, or simply, nothing as the King of Good Times ad seen

often enough during the ICC and the IPL did.

Surrogate advertising, a way to get around the ban on direct advertising of alcohol and cigarette products was in

turn banned by the government which led brands find newer, more innovative ways to promote their products and

make them visible to the aam junta, because, yes, obviously they do have to reach out to the masses since they

have a product to sell.

From sponsoring events, to holding special page 3 parties for high end brands to going the digital route, cigarette

and alcohol brands are pulling out the stops in ensuring their visibility doesnt flag.

For those who ask, the law is very clear, and this is what the ASCI website has to say about the law governing this

category:

Prohibition ads (AP prohibition of Smoking & Health Protection Act 2002)

No person or agency shall advertise in any place and any public service vehicle which may promote smoking, or the

sale of cigarettes, cigar or beedies or other such smoking substances.

In other words, NO ADVERTISEMENTS OF CIGARETTES, CIGAR OR BEEDIES SHOULD BE CARRIED IN OUR

PUBLICATIONS.

There is a ban on Tobacco products advertisements namely Cigarettes, Pan Masala, Chewed Tobacco, Gutka and

beedi directly or indirectly.

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Surrogate Ads: A Surrogate advertisement is one in which a different product is promoted using an already

established brand name such ads helping in contribution to brand recall.

b) Products advertising for liquor, cigarette is banned in the country since 1995. Ads promoting directly or indirectly

for sale, consumption of cigarette, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants, infant milk substitutes,

feeding bottles, infant food and their extended brands are banned from advertising.

c) As there is a ban on liquor/Tobacco products, Companies manufacturing liquor/cigarettes etc., are finding ways by

bringing out brands extensions with names similar to the Liquor/Cigarette brands.

Ex: Royal Challenge, King Fisher Mineral Water etc.

According to the ASCI, as per the State Government code, using the brand name of the restricted product, is not

objectionable provided the advertising itself is not objectionable.

Recently, Pernod Ricard created a 90 minute film for their blended whiskey brand Seagrams Imperial Blue titled with

the brand's tagline 'Men Will Be Men'.

This was the next step in a communication strategy which had used Music CDs to promote their brand.

Brands which have to deal with so much restriction need to look at new and innovative ways to reach out to their

audiences, and this includes creating a buzz around the brand. Some brands do it insidiously by judicious or non

judicious as the case may be, product placements in movies.

The brand Smirnoff has created associations with music events like the War of The DJs. A long international

campaign by Johnny Walker, uses celebrity achievers with their campaign thought of Keep Walking therefore

associating the brand with successful achievers. Haywards 5000 ads which have been doing the rounds of the

airwaves dont promote the beer, but the soda. Brands like Bacardi have created a cocktail mixer appl for iPhone. Not

advertising per se, but a promotional effort no doubt. The company which is making the most effective use of

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promotional events and advertising despite the ban on surrogate advertising and primary advertising of liquor brands

would have to be the UB group which has taken the Kingfisher brand to a new level altogether by branding their

airlines Kingfisher after the beer brand, and creating a Kingfisher calendar property which they have converted into a

television show, as well as incorporating the tag line The King of Good Times into their cobranded lifestyle channel,

NDTV Good Times. Unfortunately the brand Royal Challenge has only recently started getting some visibility with the

Royal Challengers IPL team.

As for cigarettes, there seems to be not much visibility apart from store kiosk signage, and outdoor advertising like

hoardings or wall painting in smaller cities. Point of sale visibility seems to be the primary mode of promotion, and

some brands do associate themselves with certain events in order to gain visibility amongst their target audiences.

Cigarettes did try with product placements in movies, but with some high octane protesting from the anti-tobacco

lobby this too has dwindle down.

As long as these brands have a presence and are allowed to retail, they will surely seek ways to promote their

products to the masses, and to the classes (if they are a brand aimed at the classes). Whether surrogate or

otherwise!