CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

CAPSTONE PROJECT (PART –II) MGT 738 REPORT

“Consumer Perception Towards Surrogate Advertisement”
(Project Term February-April, 2013)

Submitted by:
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

SUMMARY

The literal meaning of ‘Surrogate advertising' is duplicating the brand image of one product
extensively to promote another product of the same brand. Advertisement, as a popular medium
of paid communication has drawn public ire time and again for moving away from the truth
and the consumers ‘right to know' to providing false images. The masked creative leave it to
the consumers to read between the lines.

Surrogate advertising is done when the original product is not allowed to advertise itself on
mass media. In India, alcohol brands are not allowed to give advertisements on television, so
alcohol marketing firms use surrogate products like mineral water, soda, juice to hit consumers
with the brand name. The brand name of the alcohol product is the same as the surrogate
product.

Indian laws do not allow alcohol and alcohol companies to advertise, but a few of these
advertisers have extended their brands to other categories purely in an attempt to advertise.
Surrogate advertising happens when the brand extension is seen as a guide for a product that
is almost non-existent in commercial terms.

Product advertising for liquor and cigarette companies is banned in the country since 1995 by
Cable Television Network (regulation) act. This ban is now likely to be extended to advertising
of extended brands. The very purpose of banning liquor advertisement is defeated by
surrogated advertising.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

In India, the trend of surrogated advertisement gathered momentum with the Cable TV
Network Regulation Act, which prohibits alcohol and liquor advertisement on TV channels.

Due to the ban, liquor companies focused more on promotions for brand building. The ban on
advertising of alcohol beverage products has severely handicapped communication with
consumers.

Companies with liquor brand are not advertising liquor product; instead they have extended
the equity of their brand into other fields. However as the TV was the most effective medium
of advertising, surrogated advertising on TV became popular.

In the mean time, some producers entered new segments under the liquor brand or
advertised these products under liquor brand.

The surrogated advertisement from liquor companies intensified further through sponsorship
advertisements from liquor companies intensified further attracting youth. In late 2001, the
broadcasters began arising socially responsible advertisement sponsored by liquor
companies. By early 2002, surrogated advertisement of liquor brands had intensified like
never before on satellite TV channels.

Keeping this thing in mind I decided to conduct a research to find out whether really this
surrogated ad helps to recall the original brand. Survey was done comprising of 103
respondents of different age group, different educational level and different class of society.
From the research we come to know that most influenced factor to consume alcohol is peer
pressure and advertisement. People whose income is below Rs 10000 spend more on
consuming alcohol. There are other factor which influence the consumption that are occasion,
work pressure, liquidation of contract, discounts and marketing factors.

Questionnaire was asked to fill by them, and data analysis was done with the help of SPSS
package, finding has been giving in the report.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Introduction

Introduction
Advertisements have a strong influence in our life. We like them because they provide
information and create awareness about the market. Our decisions whether to buy a product or
not, is often completely influenced by the promotional activities of the companies concerned.
Therefore, due to the widespread adverse impact that advertisements of unhealthy products like
alcohol, liquor can cause, Indian government has always endeavored to curb or at least restrict
rampant advertisements of such products by appropriate legislations, orders and directives.

Product advertising for liquor and cigarette companies is banned in the country since 1995 by
Cable Television Network (regulation) Act. According to rule 7(2) of the act, no broadcaster is
permission to show advertisement which promotes directly and indirectly promotion, sale or
consumption of cigarettes, alcohol products, wine, alcohol and liquor or other intoxicants,
infant milk substitution, feeding bottle or infant food. This ban is now likely to be extended to
advertising of extended brands.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

In June 2002, the Indian Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry served notices to
leading television broadcasters to ban the telecast of two surrogate’s ads of liquor brands
McDowell No. 1 and Gilbey’s Green Label. The Ministry also put some other brands --
Smirnoff Vodka, Hayward’s 5000, Royal Challenge Whiskey and kingfisher beer on a
“watch list.” The surrogates used by these advertisements ranged from audiocassettes, CDs,
perfumes to golf accessories and mineral water.

A market survey in 2001 revealed that advertising has a direct influence on the consumption
habits of 431 million people in India and an indirect impact on 275 million ‘aspirants’ from the
lower income group. Considering this and realizing that nearly 50 percent of the television
owners have access to cable channels, there is no doubt that the hidden call for alcohol
consumption behind the surrogates advertisements is not escaping the eyes of viewers in the
world’s fourth highest liquor-consuming country. The very purpose of banning liquor
advertisements is defeated by surrogate advertising.

1.1 Surrogate Advertisements:

A surrogate advertisement is one in which a different product is promoted using an already
established brand name. Such advertisements or sponsorships help in contribute to brand recall.
The different product shown in the advertisement is called the “Surrogate.” It could either
resemble the original product or could be different product altogether, but using the established
brand of the original product. The sponsoring of sports/ cultural/ leisure events and activities
also falls under the purview of surrogate advertising.

Surrogate advertising is advertising which embeds a brand or product message inside an

advertisement which is ostensibly for another brand or product. Surrogate advertising is
prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law.
Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited
by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other
products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

or beer bottles of the same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher beer
brands, which are often seen to promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising.

Brands perhaps are the most valuable assets an Organization can have. Brands create an image
for themselves through the constant attention and nurture given to them by the organization.
Over a period of time some of the brands become the bread winners for the organizations. In
case of profit organizations to call them bread winners is not enough; they need to be called
gold winners. Any damage to the reputation of these brands can really change the scenario for
the organization.

If the brand is a Corporate brand assuming the role of an umbrella brand the dependence of the
organization is hundred percent on the brand as the organization is itself the brand. Since the
brands are associated with tangible and intangible benefits, the logo and the trademark, they
require a legal watch as well, and need to always stay within the frame work of business
regulations and law in many areas like safety to consumer, consumer’s interest, making claims,
any side reactions and information regarding the impact the brand consumption can have.
Corporations spend huge sums on the promotion of brands in many ways. One popular and
widely practiced method is advertising which is very expensive as it reaches huge numbers.
Even when an organization spends about five percent of the sales revenue on advertising a
brand the amount in absolute terms is substantial. Having nurtured the brand for years if any
regulation bans advertising the brand in public interest it can be a serious problem for the brand
owner. How to keep the brand in the minds of the consumer becomes a major issue.

It is to be expected that the brand owner will not just surrender but will need to find a creative
alternate way to keep reminding the consumer. One such way is to create another product that
can be advertised legally and name the product with the same name of the brand that cannot be
advertised. These brands have been called surrogate brands because they are growing in the
womb of another mother.

We find in the market several such brands, for example mineral waters and sodas carrying the
banned alcoholic drink names. Retail outlets are being given the names of cigarette and alcohol
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

products. This is done by the owners of the brands to make sure that the consumer recollects
the brand that could not be advertised and develops an urge to consume the brand. Governments
are worried about this practice as there is a possibility that the very mention of the name may
raise the urge with in an individual to consume an alcoholic product or a alcohol product which
is not in the interest of the public health policy. So, often Governments get into a dilemma on
how to deal with such products.

Companies following surrogated advertisement:

Legitimate business Surrogated advertisement

Mc Dowell’s Walt whisky Mc Dowell’s soda/water

RadicoKhaitan’s 8pm whisky Radicokhaitan’s water

Hayward’s 500 beer Hayward’s soda/water

Derby special Derby special soda

Bacardi liquor Bacardi blast cds and cassettes

Bagpiper liquor Bagpiper soda and cassettes

Four square cigarettes Four square white water rafting

Kingfishers beer Kingfisher bottled drinking water

Smirnoff vodka Smirnoff cds and cassettes

Table 1.1: Companies following surrogated advertisement.

1.2 Surrogated advertisement promoted by liquor companies:

The liquor industry is a prominent player in this game. Few surrogate advertisements shown in
print, electronic and outdoor media are - Bagpiper soda and cassettes & CDs, Hayward’s soda,
Derby special soda, Gilbey’s green aqua, Royal Challenge golf accessories and mineral water,
Kingfisher mineral water, White Mischief holidays, Smirnoff cassettes & CDs, Imperial Blue
cassettes & CDs, Teacher's achievement awards etc. These products bear exactly the same
name and logo, which we had seen earlier in liquor advertisements. It was little surprising to
know that liquor giants like McDowell's and Seagram's have entered into new segments like
cassettes &CDs, mineral water, sports accessories etc. Later it was found that the basic aim of
these surrogate advertisements was to promote their liquor brands like beer, wine, vodka etc.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

This brand extension is an act of bypassing the advertisement ban. A similar trend is followed
by companies making Cigarettes, Pan Masala and Gutkha. Few examples of surrogate
advertisements in this category are - Red & White bravery awards, Wills lifestyle, Four Square
white water rafting, Manikchand awards etc. Though a ban has been imposed on advertisements
endorsing alcohol products, this industry has resorted to surrogate advertising a few years ago.
The Health Ministry has recently implemented the alcohol control legislation which will imply
a complete ban on advertisements and all direct & indirect promotional campaigns for alcohol
products. In 2001, Indian Alcohol Company (ITC) had voluntary withdrawn the Wills Sports
sponsorship of the Indian cricket team when the Government had first proposed a ban on
advertising through legislation.

1.3 The Corporate Standpoint:

The industry segment has its own standpoint in defense. The liquor lobby claims that
everything is in accordance to the Government regulations. "If a brand has equity, why
shouldn't it be allowed to advertise? Also, brand extension is an industry practice adopted by
different product categories, "comments Alok Gupta of UB group.”When we advertise our
products, we follow all the guidelines," declares president, sales & marketing, Radico Khaitan.
They clarify that they have stopped showing liquor advertisements and they are free to use the
brand name for any other products. Even the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Companies (CIABC) advertising code maintains that advertisement of products (real brand
extensions) by the liquor industry must be allowed. From a layman's point of view, their claims
seem to be justified. But this is a clear example of taking advantage of the loopholes. There is
a point to ponder. When they have stopped showing liquor advertisements, why the same brand
name and logo is used to promote products like cassettes& CDs or mineral water? They could
have assigned different brand names. It seems they have a hidden agenda of highlighting the
liquor or alcohol brand. A similar tussle over the issue of surrogate advertisements in politics
was raised in April 2004 on the eve of Lok Sabha elections. Complaints of slanderous and
offensive advertisements were raised by two major political parties - BJP and Congress against
each other. The issue became so serious that the Supreme Court had to interfere in this affair.
Finally on 13 April 2004, the Court gave a verdict to curb smear advertisements on electronic
media. By appointing Election Commission as referee, the court has tried to put an end to
surrogate advertising in politics. According to the Cable Act under the ministry of information
and broadcasting,- "no broadcaster is permitted to show an advertisement which promotes
directly or indirectly, sale or consumption of cigarettes, alcohol products, wine, alcohol, liquor
or other intoxicants…" Now a new clause has been added under the act stating that "any
advertisement for a product that uses a brand name which is also used for cigarette, alcohol
product, wine, alcohol, liquor or any other intoxicant will not be permitted". Finally, in April
2005, the ministry resorted to a ban on surrogate advertisements of liquor and alcohol products
on television. After this directive, the surrogate advertisements are seldom shown on television.
Now the companies will have to reframe their policies. But who will take care of print and
outdoor media is not certain.
According to ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India), surrogate advertisements are
harmful. Now it will be up to the ASCI to take up the matter with the respective companies.

1.4 Surrogate Advertising: Emerging Trend

A recent series of hoardings led me to delve into a very unique trend specific to Indian
advertising – Surrogate advertising a trend which is fast catching up and has suddenly attracted
a lot of innovative and creative brains around the country. Reason, on one hand, the govt cannot
allow public advertising of liquor companies. But ironically, liquor and cigarette sales are the
biggest revenue generators in terms of taxes and duties on the so items. That’s why an overt
acceptance of the marketing in these sectors is not legally acceptable. This has led to one of the
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

biggest ironies of the country – Sales of these items are not banned, yet advertising on the same
has strictly been prohibited! Talking about the market size and the different segments would
not be pertinent to the discussion (for the records, it is more than 100 million cases in India!).
But what is the significance of this trend vis-à-vis the entry points for new players and
sustainability of existing ones? Multinationals which would like to explore the Indian markets
find the double-faced attitude of the government as an impediment to their ventures. Since no
policy has been formalized in this regard, foreign companies continue to be sceptical about
their entry.

Domestically, it has led to innovative ways and methods of spending on different media for
Advertising from the companies, where companies do more of a brand building exercise than
direct advertising. Be it promotions for brand building, or sponsoring events that can be mapped
with the “showbiz” and “glamour” of the brand, advertisers don’t leave many avenues to
enhance their visibility. The rule says “Advertisements which lead to sale, consumption and
promotion of liquor should not be allowed.” So, in Surrogate Marketing, a product which is
different from the main product is advertised, and has the same brand name as the main product.
The product is called as “surrogate” and advertising through this channel is called “Surrogate
Advertising”!

It may include CDs, water, clothing, Apple juice, fashion accessories, sports goods or even
events sponsoring! These gimmicks, in turn, help the consumers build a strong equity of the
parent brand, and with the enhanced visibility, the equity of the brand would definitely become
higher! Liquor companies were forced to look at innovative ways of building their brands. With
an objective of enhancing brand recall, companies either engage into “surrogate advertising”
or displaying “socially responsible messages”. Again, out of the two viable options for
Advertising, Surrogate Advertising has been surrounded by controversies and legalities for a
long time. There is no clear policy from the government for obvious reasons and companies do
not want to risk their investments on Ads, which might not be screened after a while. So, a safer
choice available where companies can exercise their grey cells is advertising “socially
responsible” messages. Take a look at these billboards which I noticed on a private flyover a
few days back. There is also another print ad in continuation with the Johnnie Walker billboard.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Figure 1.4: Surrogated ads. :Print advertisements

Must say, this is one of the best elements of innovation that I have seen so far. Though it would
be too premature to attribute this to the industry per se, it has become imperative for the
companies to change their line of thought completely, to work around the system. What are the
other practices companies are looking at?

(a) Companies are getting involved in Sponsorships of events and have launched theirown
awards for bravery or lifetime achievements.

(b) Internet advertising has become a lucrative area which has so far not been delved into.
The medium holds a lot of potential to enhance visibility, and companies have lately realized
that.

(c) Catchy jingles have become the norm of the day to ensure that their brands have a high
brand recall.

(d) With restrictions in other marketing elements – in terms of pricing and distribution,
companies have ventured into another important element – Packaging. Innovative packaging
makes their brands stand out of the clutter, and most of the Multinationals are revisiting this
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

element in their brand portfolio. Though the industry is not healthy for the young consumers,
some processes and laws need to be formalized and established in the system. Else, innovative
workarounds and arm-twisting of laws would be the norm of the day for the entire liquor
industry.

1.5 Impact of surrogated advertisement on children

Each day 55,000 children in India start using alcohol, Gutkha the chewable alcohol is aimed at
the younger generation of the country. But you may wonder how these companies manage to
reach the minds of these children when they are not allowed to advertise these products. After
the ban the companies opened their doors to surrogate advertisement, an advertisement has the
logo or brand of another company advertised within it. Let’s take a look at this report done by
a French channel on surrogate advertisements done in India. One of the biggest surrogate
advertisement market is the film Industry Bollywood, in 2004 and2005, 89% of all the released
movies had smoking scenes in them. Below is a small documentary on smoking in movies,
with interesting statistics on the current scenario in India with regards to smoking. According
to research done by the Salaam Bombay Foundation, 3260 children between the age of 12 to
17 years from municipal and private schools were asked to fill out a selfadministered
questionnaire.

Players in liquor industry – Kingfisher beer, airlines and mineral water, Royal Challenge golf
accessories and mineral water, Bagpiper soda and cassettes & CDs, Hayward’s soda,, White
Mischief holidays, Smirnoff cassettes & CDs, Teacher's achievement awards, Imperial Blue
cassettes & CDs etc. Legislative Measures: The Cigarettes & Other Alcohol Products
(Prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and
distribution) Act, 2003:This Act was enacted to implement measures to ensure that effective
protection is provided to non-smokers from involuntary exposure to alcohol smoke and to
protect children and young people from being addicted to the use of alcohol; It was also
considered expedient to prohibit the consumption of cigarettes and other alcohol products
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

which are injurious to health with a view to achieving improvement of public health in general
as enjoined by article 47 of the Constitution; Section 3(a) of the said act defines
‘advertisement’ as including: ‘any visible representation by way of notice, circular, label,
wrapper or other document and also includes any announcement made orally or by any means
of producing or transmitting light, sound, smoke or gas.

Interpretation: Surrogate advertisements clearly come under the definition as it involves

making the alcohol labels clearly visible to people through other products by the same name.
Moreover the public is always reminded orally of the alcohol’s brand name through the
advertisements of such other products. So such advertisements are liable to be a subject matter
of this Act and therefore subject to its restrictions. Section 5(1) of the Act states: ‘No person
engaged in, or purported to be engaged in the production, supply or distribution of cigarettes
or any other alcohol products shall advertise and no person having control over a medium shall
cause to be advertised cigarettes or any other alcohol products through that medium and no
person shall take part in any advertisement which directly or indirectly suggests or promotes
the use or consumption of cigarettes or any other alcohol products.
Section 5(3) of the Act states: ‘No person, shall, under a contract or otherwise promote or agree
to promote the use or consumption of— (a) Cigarettes or any other alcohol product; or (b) Any
trade mark or brand name of cigarettes or any other alcohol product in exchange for a
sponsorship, gift, prize or scholarship given or agreed to be given by another person. Demerit:
This section restricts advertisement, promotion of alcohol products for direct/ indirect
pecuniary benefit. It is narrow since it doesn’t take within its ambit the scope of promoting
alcohol through brand extension and sponsorships.

1.7 Issues for concern:

In a significant policy shift, the government has in principle decided to permit non-liquor and
non-alcohol advertisements of Kingfisher and Wills brands on TV channels. This is despite the
fact that the Cable TV Network Rules, 1994 Rule 7(2) (viii) prohibits direct or indirect
consumption, sale or production of cigarettes, alcohol products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other
intoxicants. Recently, the Information and broadcasting ministry has assured the people that all
surrogate advertisements would soon be barred from appearing in any form of media and
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

stricter measures of surveillance to identify such advertisements would be put in place.

Manufacturers further reduce the chances of young people failing to get the message by
sponsorship of sports teams and events and music concerts having particular appeal to the
young.

1.8 Consumer reaction toward surrogated advertisement:

For the Corporation that owns such brands, the worry is not limited to how the regulatory bodies
react but how the public, the consumer would react. Any serious ethical protest from consumer
side can damage the brand more than what the Government could do as the consumer would
dismiss the brand and the related products from his mind set and perhaps develop a negative
attitude towards the Organization itself. This can have a domino effect on the other products
that come from the same organization.

Figure 1.8: Consumer attraction created by surrogated advertisement

The strategy of using the brands name on other products that can be advertised seems to be
working. It appears that the consumer is liberal and ignores that the name can be given to other
products without causing any damage or the consumer is unaware of the history of the brand's
name. The products that can be advertised but named after the products considered injurious
and harmful to health and banned from advertisements in some countries seem to assume a
"transformational" role. That is, they are peace ambassadors and subconsciously mitigate the
public hostility towards the other product.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

There is no conclusive evidence with empirical data that proves that the strategy serves the
purpose of reminding the aware consumer of the banned alcoholic or alcohol or similar
products and motivates them to consume it. But common sense tells us that it possibly does.

Chapter 2
Legislative Measures
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

2.1 Legislative Measures:

The Cigarettes & Other Alcohol Products (Prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade
and commerce, production, supply and distribution) Act, 2003: This Act was enacted to
implement measures to ensure that effective protection is provided to non-smokers from
involuntary exposure to alcohol smoke and to protect children and young people from being
addicted to the use of alcohol;

It was also considered expedient to prohibit the consumption of cigarettes and other alcohol
products which are injurious to health with a view to achieving improvement of public health
in general as enjoined by article 47 of the Constitution;

Section 3(a) of the said act defines ‘advertisement’ as including: ‘any visible representation by
way of notice, circular, label, wrapper or other document and also includes any announcement
made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light, sound, smoke or gas’
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Interpretation: Surrogate advertisements clearly come under the definition as it involves

making the alcohol labels clearly visible to people through other products by the same name.
Moreover the public is always reminded orally of the alcohol’s brand name through the
advertisements of such other products. So such advertisements are liable to be a subject matter
of this Act and therefore subject to its restrictions.

Section 5(1) of the Act states: ‘No person engaged in, or purported to be engaged in the
production, supply or distribution of cigarettes or any other alcohol products shall advertise
and no person having control over a medium shall cause to be advertised cigarettes or any other
alcohol products through that medium and no person shall take part in any advertisement which
directly or indirectly suggests or promotes the use or consumption of cigarettes or any other
alcohol products.’

Section 5(3) of the Act states: ‘No person, shall, under a contract or otherwise promote or agree
to promote the use or consumption of— (a) Cigarettes or any other alcohol product; or (b) Any
trade mark or brand name of cigarettes or any other alcohol product in exchange for a
sponsorship, gift, prize or scholarship given or agreed to be given by another person.’

Demerit: This section restricts advertisement, promotion of alcohol products for direct/ indirect
pecuniary benefit. It is narrow since it doesn’t take within its ambit the scope of promoting
alcohol through brand extension and sponsorships.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare made certain amendments to the above act in

2005, stating that the word ‘indirect advertisement’ mentioned in Section 5(1) would mean:
• The use of a name or brand of alcohol products for marketing, promotion or advertising
other goods, services and events;
• The marketing of alcohol products with the aid of a brand name or trademark which is
known as, or in use as, a name or brand for other goods and service;
• The use of particular colors and layout and/or presentation those are associated with
particular alcohol products; and
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

• The use of alcohol products and smoking situations when advertising other goods and
services.

Merit: It’s a comprehensive definition and the amendment has taken care of the legal lacuna
pointed out above.

2.2 Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) code:

ASCI are a voluntary self-regulation council, registered as a not-for-profit Company under
section 25 of the Indian Company Act. It’s formed to safeguard against the indiscriminate use
of advertising for the promotion of products which are regarded as hazardous to society or to
individuals to a degree or of a type which is unacceptable to society at large.

Section 6 of the said code states: ‘Advertisements for products whose advertising is prohibited
or restricted by law or by this code must not circumvent such restrictions by purporting to be
advertisements for other products the advertising of which is not prohibited or restricted by law
or by this code. In judging whether or not any particular advertisement is an indirect
advertisement for product whose advertising is restricted or prohibited, due attention shall be
paid to the following:
(a) Visual content of the advertisement must depict only the product being advertised and
not the prohibited or restricted product in any form or manner.
(b) The advertisement must not make any direct or indirect reference to the prohibited or
restricted products.
(c) The advertisement must not create any nuances or phrases promoting prohibited
products.’

Interpretation: It specifically prohibits surrogate advertising and lays down guidelines which
qualifies it to be so, namely
• Whether the legal product under a alcohol brand, sought to be advertised, has been
produced in reasonable quantities or not.
• Whether in the disputed advertisement, there are any direct/indirect clues to the
promotion of the restricted product i.e. alcohol or not.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

The Prohibition of Publication or Telecast of Vulgar, Obscene and Surrogate Advertisements

and Re-mix songs by Print and Electronic Media Bill, 2004:
Though the bill hasn’t yet seen the light of the day, the broad framework has been laid down
by the legislature and given to the executive to frame the details under delegated legislation.
It was initiated to provide for ‘total ban on the publication of surrogate advertisements showing
substitutes of products, particularly of liquor and alcohol products by magazines, newspapers,
etc. and telecasting of surrogate advertisements so as to protect the Indian culture and values.

For the first time, a legal definition of ‘surrogate advertisements’ has been attempted through
Section 2(d), which states: ‘an advertisement which shows a substitute product in the guise of
the real one which otherwise cannot be legally advertised through the print and electronic
media.’
Section 3 prohibits the publication by print media and telecasting of surrogate advertisements
and provides that violators of the said provisions shall be punished accordingly.

Issues for concern:

• In a significant policy shift, the government has in principle decided to permit non-liquor
and non-alcohol advertisements of Kingfisher and Wills brands on TV channels. This is despite
the fact that the Cable TV Network Rules, 1994 Rule 7(2) (viii) prohibits direct or indirect
consumption, sale or production of cigarettes, alcohol products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other
intoxicants.
Recently, the Information and broadcasting ministry has assured the people that all surrogate
advertisements would soon be barred from appearing in any form of media and stricter
measures of surveillance to identify such advertisements would be put in place.
• Manufacturers further reduce the chances of young people failing to get the message by
sponsorship of sports teams and events and music concerts having particular appeal to the
young.

EXAMPLE:
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Kingfisher is also the brand-name of an Indian alcohol (beer). Kingfisher alcohol existed long
before the Kingfisher airline came into existence. Similarly Indian Alcohol Company's (ITC)
had their flagship brand cigarette `Wills' and then opened Wills Lifestyle stores (readymade
garments) across India when Indian alcohol control Acts tightened the clamp on alcohol
advertising.

In the year 2000, the government formed a committee headed by the then additional secretary
of the Information and broadcasting ministry, which included prominent broadcasters to look
into the issue. The committee recommended that products with real production and distribution
channels cannot be called surrogate.

However alcohol and alcohol companies have been promoting their products under the garb of
non-alcohol or non-alcohol products with same brand names.

Such surrogate advertisement does have a brand recall impact since most of the viewers
associate a particular brand with the main product. For example, Royal Challenge is an alcohol
for most consumers or potential consumers and not a sport!

On the one side we had the government who wanted to make sure that there were no liquor and
alcohol advertisements on the television, and on the other side we had the liquor and alcohol
companies who wanted to continue with television as a medium of communication and to
achieve the ultimate goal of increase in sales. This battle of interest of both the sides is what
fascinates me to choose Surrogate Advertising as a topic for doing my thesis.
CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Conclusion & Suggestions

7.1 Conclusion:

In this way, from the above research, we can conducted that surrogated advertisement has
influence population to remind and recall the brand name, brand product while watching
regulated advertisement somewhat influence the consumer force to consume alcohol.

According to the data available to us, we say that pear pressure it most affecting factor that
influence the consumer to consume alcohol. 35 out of 103 respondent watches surrogated
advertisement every day because alcohol companies always want to be on the top of the mind
of consumer. 83 out of 103 male respondents strongly agree that there is no more of these
surrogated advertisements because they may impact their children or family that may
negatively effect on the mind of youth.
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

Government need to regulate the laws regarding surrogated advertisement like more imposition
of tax and reduce the number of liquor shop near campus and college because youth are the
future of the India. If youth will addict to alcohol then who will make DEVELOPING INDIA
into DEVELOPED INDIA.

7.2 Suggestions:

There should be stringent regulatory measures to curb the practice, such as:
 making transparent laws banning surrogate advertisements for different products under
a single brand names, by amending the Trade Marks Act, for instance;
 providing teeth to the Advertising Standards Council of India to enable it take action
against false and misleading advertisements, and keep a close vigil over clever evasion
of the law;
 asking the electronic and print media to adhere to the advertisement codes and not
encourage surrogate advertisements;
 calling on the ASCI address complaints received from consumers against surrogate
advertisements and take appropriate actions immediately;
 CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SURROGATE ADVERTISEMENT

 creating a consumer awareness programme to help people understand the negative

impact of surrogate advertisements;
 adopting strict laws to penalize those companies featuring surrogate advertisements
without any real existence of the product; and
 Requiring advertising agencies to have full knowledge of the products under the same
brand for which they are promoting advertisements, and taking legal actions against
those agencies which design surrogate advertisements.
 Health warnings A single health warning (“Cigarette smoking is injurious to health” or
“Drinking liquor is injurious to health”) is mandatory on packets and any
advertisements.