Advertising

Advertising is a paid, no personal communication to various media by

business firms non profits originations and individuals in some way

identified in the ads message and who hope to inform or persuade

members of a particulars audience. Certain key words lie

 Paid

 Non Personal

 Media

 Identified

 Persuade

Distinguish advertising form of communications. This definition is

functional because it views ads primarily from the stand point of

advertisers who presumably have studied the audience and defined the

effect they hope to achieve.

Thus advertising is only of the many means of transmitting messages,

advertising is only one element in marketing but it is considered one of

the most important.

History of Advertisements

Thousands of years ago hawkers and criers in the market areas

advertised goods or services. Our own nursery rhyme books include the

foflowing, “from a vlage market place in ancient Athens”.

 “One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns”!

“One a penny two for tupence, hot cross buns”!

Many ads in early nineteenth century were classified ads in

newspaper, wives looking for lost husbands, owners looking for runaway

slaves etc.

The sudden spirit in advertisements started when U.S. government

advertisements said,” I want you for the US Army”.

Some famous person’s viewpoints on advertisements

 Sir Winston Churchill, “Advertising nourishes the consuming

power of men. It creates want for a better standard of living it set

up before a man the goal of a better home, better clothing and

better food for himself and his family.

 Franklinn, D Roosevelt, If I were start my life all over again, I am

inclined to think I would go into the advertising business in

preference to almost any other.

 Pope Paul VI: Advertisements intervenes in nearly al aspects of

economic and cultural life.

 Advertisements aims drawing attentions to a product it seeks to

create awareness about the existence in the mind of prospective

consumer about the product. Then there is a growing desire to

process the product. There are convincing argument in favour of

the product. All this leads us to a buying inclination.

Advertising as a communication tool concentrates on four problems

 What to say ? (message content)

 How to say it? (message content)

 How to say it symbolically? (message content)

 Who should say it? (message content)

Message Content

To get he desired response, advertising as communication tool

should decide what to say. Various names have been to this exercise-use

of appeals, selection of idea, or a theme, identifying a unique selling

proportion (USP). In practice, it amounts to establishing some kind of

benefits, motivation identifications or reason why the audience should

think or do something. It is worthwhile to mention here that there are

types of appeals being used in advertising, they are:

Rational Appeals

These are directed towards the thinking faculty of the audience.

Example of rational motives are high quality, long life, low life low price,

performance, ease of use, economy in operating expenses etc.

Emotional Appeals

Here the agitated or excited state of mind prompts us to purchase,

there is no deliberate process involved, emotional appeals are further

classified into two categories.

 1. Negative emotional appeals these includes emotions like

Fear.

2. Positive emotional appeals : these include emotions like

Love, Humour, pride, prestige, joy etc. This study is

basically on humorous ads which happen to falls in this

category of emotional appeals.

Moral Appeals

These are directed towards ones sense of right and wrong, these are

made use of usually in social awareness advertising.

Message structure

The important aspects of the message structure are

 Drawing Conclusions

This is to decide about whether to leave the audience with a

message to draw their own conclusions or give them the

conclusions only, the former approach is less preferable.

 Repetition

Helps give a repeated exposure to the audience and thus improve

their retention, this is an important decision to be taken by the

advertisers. One versus two sided argument this is to decide

whether the advertiser should discuss the good points of the

product only or the bad points of the product only or the both.
 Order of presentation is also an important decision, and is part of

the copy writing strategy. In one sided argument it is advisable to

put strongest point about the product first.

Message format

By format we mean the style, organization, plan or type of the ad

message, message format is the scheme by which the message content

and structure strategy are implemented.

Message Source

Message originating from credible sources are more persuasive,

hence the message, had to be delivered through the right source or sender,

e.g. doctor recommending a medicine etc.

Advertising can be classified into the following categories:

a. Product advertising

ads providing information directly related to the product are made

through such advertising’s, these are further of three types.

Pioneering advertising

Here an attempt is made to stimulate the primary demand for a

product category rather than a specific brand.

Competitive advertising

Here, selective demand of a specific product brand is stimulated.

Retentive advertising
 This is for a well established product, which requires to remind the

consumers of its presence.

b. Service advertising

Service are activities, benefits or satisfaction offered for sale. They

are intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. Advertising for

services not only tells people that these kinds of services are

available but also attach quality and credit worthiness with their

services.

C. Institutional advertising

Also called corporate advertising, as the name suggests, here the

institutions presents their own story to build up an image of itself

in the public.

d. Public relations advertising

It is part of institutional advertising, ‘which is a deliberate planned

and sustained effort to maintain mutual understanding between the

organization and its public.

e. Public service advertising

It is generally done as a part of the sccial responsibility by the

advertising agencies or business organization or government or

social service institutions. E.G. ads for promoting sex education,

drug addiction cure etc.

f. Financial advertising -
 Generally these are the ads issued to the public inviting them to

invest in a public issue of shares or debentures or bonds etc. of a

public limited company.

Advertisement Copy

In a strict copy refers to the written material which is to be set in

type for the print media or spoken by the announcers for the broadcast

commercials. The word copy is used for the simple reason because the

earlier ads contained only advertising message in words to be printed

suitably. There were hardly any pictures, and if at all pictures were

shown, those were of the products of the automobiles, the

gramophone,.the actual photo of a hotel building etc. Gradually, pictures,

photographs, visuals, symbols, sketches, illustrations and actions in

graphics presentations started getting an increasingly larger space in ads.

Now there is hardly any ad without pictures, photographs and rarely a

small headline or slogan. In fact, the term advertising message now has

the connotation of what is communicated by the entire ad rather than the

message of headlines, sub- heads and the body copy.

Copy in the present day meaning includes all the elements of the

advertising message, whether print or broadcast. The copy two main

subdivisions namely a headline and a slogan.

Headlines

Headlines is a word or a phrase which is more catchy than the other

elements of the copy, and carries message below or above it. Captions are

not headlines. It is a headlines on the basis of which the readability of the

copy is determined. The longer the copy, the more important is the

headline, sometimes there is no copy at all except the headline.

Slogans

Slogan is a catch sentence or phrase which is easy to remember. It

is used to copy writers regularly for the sake of establishing it. It creates

an impression on repetition. It gives an identity to the company and its

product slogan is a part of the advertisement copy, it is a concise but

effective way of telling an idea. Many headlines have been sloganised. A

slogan is kept in constant use for at least in campaign. Some ads change

the slogan for a new campaign. Mostly people know the Slogan by heart,

slogans are short, summarized headlines.

Media for Advertising

The media for advertising is very important. The objective of all

advertising is to inform the public about the right kind of service or ideas

at the right time through the right medium. ‘Hence the selection of right

media is crucial for the success of advertising. Through equalizing factors

are the message, the timing, the place and the target group. The list of
various media available to advertisers for getting the ads according to

their target audience are :-

a. Non Broadcast media

Video and cable/close circuit tek3vision and cinema.

b. Broad cast media

Television is one of the most out reaching media and is important for all

type of ads. The ads that have been studied in this project are also

collected from media only. Earlier it was available to us only in the form

of national network on DD-l but with the beginning of satellite TV we

have a range of broadcasting channels to chose from, Star TV, ESPEN,

MTV, Zee TV to name a few.

c. Print Media

Newspaper:- Daily, Sunday supplements and weekly newspapers.

Magazines:- (General interest, Special interest, Trade publications,

institutional publications).

Direct mail:

d. Outdoor media

Posters, Hoarding, Neon sings advertising’s, laser .projectors

e. Transit or Vehicular media

Mainline trains, sub urban trains, Buses and trams, taxis and autc

rickshaws, private vehicles.

f. Specialty media

T-shirts, caps, buttons, stickers, badges etc.

g. Point of purchase or in shop media

Banners, Hangings, Stickers, Packaging, Painted signs.

h. Miscellaneous media

Trolleys at international and domestic airports.

j. Internet-multi media options

Top 50 Indian Advertising Agencies

Adbur Pvt Ltd

Capitalisçd billings: Rs 114.72 million

Television Billings:Rs 419.97 million

Senior Executive: Rakesh Endlaw, Chief Executive officer

Major Clients: Sanat Products (Bioslim slimming agent); Dabur

Pharmaceuticals

(Lona Low-sodium salt). Dabon lntemtional Ltd (Lebon-Cheese)

Akshara Advertising

Capitalised billings: Rs 196.76 million

Senior Executive: S K Swami, Chief Executive

Major Clients: Rajasthan (University of Rajasthan); ONGC; MTNL.

Ambience D’arcy

Capitalised billings: Rs 1014.00 million Television billings: Rs 474.00

million

Senior Executive: Ashok Kurien, Chairman & Managing Director

Major clients: Times of India Group (planet M/ Music store; Emami

Group of companies (Himani sona chandi, Nirog dant power, tooth

power); Procter & Gamble(Whisper, vicks, healthcare); TVS Suzuki Ltd

(Suzuki Shaolin, motorcycle), Philips India Ltd (Domesti appliances)

Chaitra Leo Burnett Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1967.21 miLlion

Television billings: Rs 904.82 million

Senior Executive: Arvind Sharma, Managing Director

Major Clients: 10101; Bajaj Auto; Dabur India; BPL Ltd; Coca -

cola(mazaa/beverage); Toyota (Qualis); Amtrex Hitachi(Air-conditioner)

Contract Advertising (India) Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1786.88 million

Television billings: Rs 331 .59 million

Senior Executive: Colvyn J Harris, President

Major Clients: Bajaj Ltd (spirit scooterettes); Indian Express

(matrimonial);

Cadbury India Ltd (picnic, milk treatChocobix); Dabur foods

Ltd(real/fruit juice);
MTNL (corporate)

Crayons Advertising and Marketing Pvt Ltd

Capiialised billings: Rs 286.20 million

Senior Executive: Kunal Lullani, Managing Director

Major Clients: Marshal (Mahindra & Mahindra/jeep); Jindal art glass

(Jindal

Dyechem/Stained glass)

Enterprise Nexus Communications Pvt. Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1587.48 million

Television billings: Rs 404.00 million

Senior Executive. Moammed Khan, Crarman

Maor Cents. Nimbus (Nirvanazonelyouth portal); Daewoo

(MatizNexia/cars); Emami(Herbal skin & hair care range.)

Everest Integrated Communications Limited

Capitalised billings: Rs. 707.00 million

Television billings: Rs. 297.15 million

Senior Executive: Niloufer Kapadia, Chairperson

Major Clients: Ajanta Pharma Ltd (Pinkoo Cough Syrup & Gripe

Water/healthcare); Honda Motors; National Panasonic India Ltd

(Washing

Machines/Consumer goods)
Equus Advertising Co Ltd

Capitalised bilIings Rs. 240.32 million

Television billings: Rs. 34.23 million

Senior Executive: Suhel Seth, CEO

Major Clients: EL Net 3L (Computer Academy); Indian Oil Corporation

(Eastern region, Servo and other products); Sita World Travels (Travel &

Tourism); Coca- Cola India (Regional - soft drinks); Apollo Tyres

(Amazer Tyre, corporate)

FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 5215 million

Senior Executive: Anil Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO

Fountainhead Communications Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 326.20 million

Television billings: Rs 171.20 million

Senior Executives: B S Raj Narain, Director

Major Clients: CavinKare Ltd (Talcum power, face cream, branded

food);

Srinivas Celicom (Aircell cellular services Telecom); Grundig India

(Grundig TV)

Fortune Communications Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 128.13 million

Television billings: Rs 0.18 million

Senior Executive: R M Basu, President & GM -

Major Clients: Southern Railways-Chennai (Services); UTI-Mumbai

(UTI Mutual

Funds, Mutual Funds)

Graphisads Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 228.51 million

Television billings: Rs 10.53 million

Senior Executives: Mukesh Gupta, Managing Director

Major Clients: Birla Home Finance; HFCL (infotech); JMD Realtors Pvt

ltd.

Allahabad Bank (banking); Delhi Financial Corporation (diversified);

Hindustan Thompson Associates

Capitalised billings: Rs 10 777.05 million

Senior Executive: M K Khanna, Chief Executive

Major Chents: Apoio Hospita’ (pOiO Hospital & l’ealthcare, DSP Meri\l

L’’nc investment banking); Hero Honda(CBZlautomobiles); Satyam

lnfoway(Software); Indian Army; Indian Navy; News Television India

Pvt Ltd(Star news/Media); Standard Chartered (Personal Banking &

Cards); Ministry of Finance (VDIS); Ministry of Defence (Indian Army -

recruitment); Pepsi Foods (7 UP, Mirinda, soft drinks); Star TV Networc

(Star Plus, Star Movies, Star News); Omega (watches); ESPN (Channel

promo); 20th Century Fox (film releases); Godrej GE (washing

machines); Madura Garments (Van Heusen, garments); Hero Motors

(Hero Winner, automobile); Perle (Monaco, biscuit): Hughes Ispat

(telecommunication)

Hakuhodo Percept

Capitalised billings: Rs 183.36 million

Television billings:Rs 12.27 million

Senior Executive: Junki Imaki MD

IB&W

Capitalised billings: Rs 1657.66 million

Television billings: Rs 162.73 million

Senior Executive: Mukesh Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director

Major Clients: Pantaloons Retail India (Fashion Retail chain); J K

Cement (J K

White)Cement); MTNL (telecommunication); ION Exchange (water

Management

System) ONGC; Airport Authority of India; Business India (Exhibitions);

Living

Media (Music Today - music); Concern India (NGO)

Interact Vision Advertising & Marketing Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billing: Rs 262.83 million - Senior Executive: Prabir C

Purkayastha, President
Major Clients: Kirloskar Airtech Ltd (air-conditioner); Bayer India

(Dithane M-45 Potato); Reliance Telecom (only smart, hternet); Essar

Celiphones (Speed prepaid card); KirloskarAirtech (Kirloskar,

airconditioner); Reliance Industries (Reliance readymade garments);

Zanclu Pharmaceuticals Works (Trishun Rub - cold rub)

Products (gensets), Saarn Cornpuer Serv\ces Lc\ (Saar - cornpuer

software); Satyam Infoway Ltd (Satyam - internet services); Compaq

(Compaq - computers); Cadila Healthcare Ltd (Everyuth - healthcare);

Blow Plast Ltd (VIP Skybags - luggage carrier); Dabur Ayurvedic

Specialities Ltd (Nature Cure - Ayurvedic products) Henkel Spic India

Ltd (Fa - soap); Hindustan Motors Ltd (Mitsubishi Lancer - automobile)

McCann-Erickson India Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 3479.53 million

Television billings: N.A.

Senior Executive: Sorab Mistry, Chairman & CEO

M’ajor Clients: Reckitt& Colman(Cherry Blossom/shoe polish); Usha

Martin

Telecom(telecom); Coca-Cola (Kinley suda water, Diet coke, beverages,

Sprite -

Soft drink); Nestle(sunrise/coffee); BPL (Gas tables); Motorola

(Cellphones & Pagers); Khaitan (Fns); Nestle (Media buying); Stracon

(Corporate); Goodyear india (Goodyear - tyre); Travel Corporation of

India (tourism); Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd

(HSEC - credit card, personal banking & corporate); MasterCard (credit

cards)

MAA Bozell Communications Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1753.80 million

Television billings: Rs 427.10 million

Senior Executive: Bunty Peerbhoy, Chairman

Major Clients: Tata lnternationa (garments); Volvo (Trucks); tata Tetley

(tea);

Smith Kline Beecham (Zental! Pharma); MTNL (MTNL - Telephone

Services); K,Raheja Group of Companies (Club Cabana - leisure resort,

Real Estate); Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (Velocit - Healthcare); Vizag

Steel Plant (Vizag Steel - Steel); Escotel Ltd (Escotel - cellphones);

Bausch & Lomb India Ltd (Optima - contact lenses & vision care, Ray-

Ban - sunglasses, eyeware, prescription glasses)

Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 658.62 million

Television billings: Rs 1406.80 million

Senior Executive: Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director

Major Clients: Milton Plastic Ltd (Plastic/thermoware); Fasna Enterprises

Ltd(Spread Maker/Jam); Camlin Ltd (Colours, stationery); Scm

Distilleries Ltd

(Hunter Beer)

Marketing Consultants & Agencies Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 238.65 million

Television billings: Rs 1.40 million

Senior Executive: M. Rudradev, Managing Director

Major Clients: Dept. of Information Technology,Govt of India (Booklet

and film);

KS&DL (Mysore Sandal Soap, premium soap), KSIC (Karnataka Silks -

sarees &

dress materials); KSHDC (Cauvery - handicrafts)

MCS Communications Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 168.60 million

Television billings: Rs 20.29 million

Senior Executive: R Ravishankar, Managing Director

Major Clients: Modi Xerox (photocopiers); Bajaj Auto Ltd (Bajaj/motor

bikes,

Market Missionaries (India) Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 160.79 million

Senior Executive: Jagdish Patankar, Maanging Director

Major Clients: .Ee-TV(ETV Marathi/regional channel); Silicon

Mountain(Simo Telecom); JMD Marketing (JMDICar loans); Tata

Autocomp Systems (Software, consultancy sen/ices); Kinetic Motor Co

Ltd (Kinetic range, regional - two- wheelers); Maharashtra State Road

Development Corporation (MSRDC); Usha International Ltd (Usha,

regional - consumer durables)

Moulis Euro RSCG (I)Pvt Ltd

Senior Executive: R Ramesh, Managing Director

Major Clients: Global Software Ltd(Software); Central

railways(Railways);

Banking service recruitment board(recruitment); OBSI (Information

Technology);

NIFT (Fashion Design Training); ONGC (Regional); LIC (LIC -

insurance);

Konkan Railway (Konkan Railway - rail tmnsport); Smith Kline

Beecham

(Smithkline Beecham - operational advertisements, southern region)

National Advertising Agency

Capitalised billings: Rs 153.00 million

Television billings: Rs 40.00 million

Senior Executive:Gautam Sen, Partner

Major Clients: N.A

Ogilvy & Mather Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 7425.78 milLion

Television billings: 1.85273 million

Senior Executive: Ranjan Kapur, Managing Director

Major Clients: IDBI Mutual Fund (Mutual fund); SBI Mutual

Fund(Mutual Fund);

TTK Textiles (TantexiTextile); J K Tyres(Tyres); Pantaloon Fashion

India

Ltd(Garments); Levers, Cadbury, Louis Philippe (coporate); UTI

(MIP’97/Financial); TVS Suzuki (corporate): Tata Telservices

(corporate), Tata Communications Ltd (corporate); Hindustan Lever Ltd

(Brooke Bond, Lipton – tea and health); Discovery Channel Inc

(Discovery Channel - television channel); ITC Ltd (corporate); MIRC

Electronics Ltd (Onida - television); The Chase Manhattan Bank

(corporate); Birla 3M Ltd (Scotch Brite - cleaning aid); J M Morgan

Stanley (J M Morgan Stanley - investment bark); Hero Honda Motors Ltd

(bikes); United television (television media); Castro! India Ltd (Castrol -

lubricants); Hutchison Max Telecom Ltd (Max Touch - cellular operator);

TELCO (Tata Safari, Sierra, Sumo - sports utility vehicle)

Pressamn Advertising and Marketing Ltd

apitalised billings: Rs 1872.74 million

ievision billings: Rs. 47.30 million

Senior Executive: Navin Suchanti, Director

Major Clients: Delhi Govt(Government); Delhi Police(Social awareness);

Calcutta

Telephone(Telecom); Kajaria Ceramics Ltd (Kajaria - ceramic tiles);

Eastern

railways (Railways); Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (Telecom services); Tata

Mutual

Fund (Mutual fund)

Percept Advertising Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1098.76 million Television billings:.Rs 127.01

million’ Senior Executive: Harindra Singh, Managing Director

Major Clients: Coca-cola India Ltd (Coke/beverages); Sahara India

Ltd(Amby valley, (Siyaram Silk Mills (Oxemberg ready made garments);

Bank Of Baroda (BOB card credit card); Godrej Boyce (Godrej office

furniture); Mumbai Gold Club (Mumbal Gold Club - gold jewellery);

Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd (Ultima Chairs - office furniture)

Publicis Zen Communications Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 667.37 million

Television billings: Rs 342.70 million

Senior Executive: Bharat Dabhblkar, Managing Director

Major Clients: Alliance CapitalLtd(Alliance mutual fund); United

Breweries Ltd(lce

Beer, Beer); Siemens Ltd(lndustrial products); Kirloskar Airtech Ltd

(Kirloskar airconditioners); Unit Trust of lndia(Equity scheme/Mutual

funds/G-sec); Tata Tea Ltd (Agni - tea); Hewlett Packard (HP -

computers); Tata Chemicals (Tata Rakshak - detergent)

Purnima Advertising Agency

Capitalised billings: Rs 383.97 million -

Television billings: Rs 366.13 million

Senior Executive: Ashok S.Soni, Managing Director

Major Clients: N.A.

Quadrant Communications Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 486.50 million

Television billings: Rs 26.00 million

Senior Executive: Ms G.V.Kirloskar, President

Major Clients: Tata Honeywell Ltd(Security System); United

Phosphorous Ltd(PharmaCeutiCals) Bank of Muscat Ltd (banking

‘service); Duraware India Ltd (Nirlep - kitchen appliance); Bajaj Auto

India Ltd (Bajaj M80 - two wheeler); Akai India Ltd (Akai - television)

Rediffusion-DY&R

Capitalised billings: Rs 4431.69 million

Television billings: N.A.

Senior Executive: Arun Nanda, Chairman & Managing Director Malor

Clients: Godfrey Philips (Four square/cigarette); Haldia

Petrochemicals(Petrochemicals); Evian (Mineral Water)BPL (Colour

television, Refrigerator, home appliances), Ericsson Mobile (Celiphones);

SAIL (Corporate); CitiBank (Corporate); Cannon (printers, calculators);

Bharti BT Ltd (Internet service); BPL Mobile Communications Ltd

( prepaid cellular cards); Exide Industries Ltd (Exide - automotive

batteries); SBI Funds Management Ltd (SBI - mutual funds)

RK Swamy/BBDO Advertising Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs- 231 5.95million

Television billings: N.A.

Senior Executive: R.K. SWAMY, Chairman

Major Clients: Cisco System(network solution); Abbott Laboratories

India Ltd(Healthcare); Mercedez Benz (Automobiles);

MTNL(Telecommunication); Sony India Ltd(Sony/TV); Fujitsu ‘0’

general(Airconditioners); SQL Star International Ltd(Computer

education);Dalmia Cement (Cement); Wrigleys India (Wrigleys Juicy

Fruit chewing gum); Dena Bank (Banking); ANZ Grindlays (Credit

cards)

Ram Advertising Service

SCO 1112-13, Sector 22-B, Chandigarh 160022

Tel: (0091 172) 702 361, 705 168 Fax: (0091 172) 707 283

Branch telephone numbers:

Mumbai: (0d91 22) 264 1553

Delhi: (0091 11) 371 8224 Fax: 331 6089

Capftalised billings: Rs 158.27 million

Senior Executive: Pawan KumarTah, Managing Director

Rashtriya Advertising Agency

Capitalised billings: Rs 111 .83 million

Television billings: Rs 18.03 million

Senior Executive: Dinesh Gupta, President

Major Clients: Northern Railway: IRCON International Ltd(Govt):

NHDC(Ministry of Textile): Power Finance Corporation: western

railway; Reserve Bank of India: Airport Authorit of India;

Akai(electronics); Videocon (electronics): Food Corporation of India -

Saatchi & Saatchi Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings Rs 937.54 million

Television billings: Rs72.69 million

Senior Executive: V Shantakumar, Managing Director Major Clients:

Maruti udyog Ltd(Wagon RI Automobile); Bharat Petroleum Corporation

(Diesel Engine oil/automotive lubricants); HDFC Asset management

company(Mutual Fund); Glçbal Tele-system(lnformation Technology);

BPL Ltd (Washing machines, Corporate); VISA (Card, Relationship

marketing); Delta Airlines (Airnes); Proctor & Gamble (Old Spice -Mens

Grooming); Hyundai Motor India (Hyundai Accent - automobile); Sony

Entertainment Television (Sony TV - television channel)

SSC & B Lintas Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 494.00 million

Television billings: Rs 164.00 million

Senior Executive: Ajay Chandwani, President

Major Clients: Bombay Dyeing (Home Collection, Vivaldi, Princeton);

10101 (ICICI

Direct .com/portals); UDV (Gilbeys Green Label, Alchemy, Old gold,

Chistian

brothers , Alcazar/liquors); Kale Consultants (Software); Indian Oil

(servo); Hero

Motors(automobiles); Samtel lndia(Monitors); HLL (Nihar coconut oil);

Sasi Advertising Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 27Q.66 million

Television billings: Rs 37.05 million

Senior Executive: R Swaminathan, Managing Director

Major Clients: Hatsun Agro Product Ltd (Arun Ice-cream); Maharani

Amusement Park (Theme park); LIC (TN & Kerla); Crocodile Products

(Mens Wear); Godrej & Boyce (Regional); Mafatlal SA Intex Ltd

(Mafatlal - garments); Mcdi Xerox Ltd (Modi Xerox - Photo copiers);

Srinivas Cellcom Ltd (Aircell -Cellular Services, Corporate); The

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd (Corporate)

Trikaya Grey Advertising (India) Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 2208.00 million Television billings: Rs 906.00

million Senior Executive: Nirvik Singh, Chief Executive Officer Major

Clients: Smith Kline Beecham (Viva, maltova/health drink); Dominos

Pizza (Food); Sri Adhikari Brothers (SABe TV); Hughes Software

(Software); General otors (Opel Astra - automobiles); Oracle India Ltd

(Oracle - software); United Agencies Ltd (Pernod - liquor); Bhartiya

Janata Party (BJP political); Philips Communications (Savvy - cellular

phones); Britannia Industries (Zip-Sip, Tetrapak - health drink); Kinetic

Engineering (Luna, V2, Brat - mopeds)

TBWA Anthem Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 696.15 million

Television billings: Rs 163.61 million

Senior Executive: K George John, Chaiman & Managing Director Major

Clients: Malayala Manorama Ltd.(Publication); United Television (UTV

interactive portal); Samtain Sales Pvt Ltd (Samsonite luggage);

Electrolux Voltas Ltd (Aliwyn - refrigerator); Tag Heuer Pte Ltd (Tag i—

Ieuer - wrist watch)

Ushak Kaal Advertising Pvt Ltd.

Capitalised billings: Rs 372.58 million

Television billings: Rs 70.00 million

Senior Executive: Raj Hiremath, Managing Director

Major Clients: MTNL (Telecom); Summit Infotech Ltd (Software);

ONGC(Oil); Wipro Ltd (Software); Adobe Systems (IT); India Trade

Promotions (ITPO-Government); Wipro Bangalore (Wipro - software

division); Fedders Lloyd (Lloyd-Cozy-Consumer Durables);

Telecommunications Consultants Ltd (Consultant Services)

Urja Communications Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 141 .6lmillion

Senior Executive: Prakash Sharma Director

Major Clients: Aptech Ltd (Online Varsity.com, BconnectB.com/portals);

CRISIL (Crisilcom/eqUit research)

Lintas India Ltd

Television billings: Rs 2930.00 million

Senior Executive: Prem Mehta, Vice President, Managing Director Major

Clients: ITO (Indian Kings cigarettes); Johnson & Johnson (Johnson’s

Kids soaps); Air France (Airways); BPL (BPL Excell alkaline batteries)

Nestle India Ltd (Polo, Bar One - Confectionary); Johnson & Johnson

(Lotion, Cream - baby oil); AT&T (Cellular phone); United India

Insurance (Insurance), Bajaj Auto Ltd (Bravo, Legend - Scooter); BHEL

(Corporate); Elf Gas (Elf - LPG distributor)

Triton Communications Pvt Ltd

Capitalised billings: Rs 1301.90 million

Television billings: Rs 940.10 million

Senior Executive: Noshir Desai, Executive Director

Major Clients: Set India Ltd(Sony Set Max, Entertainment); Coca-cola

India Ltd (Coke promotion/beverages); Tata Finance Ltd (Credit Card);

Bajaj Tempo Ltd (automobiles); Balsara Hygiene Products (Odopic Bar

scourer); Genco (Jockey innerwear); Whirlpool Apple Consumer Credit

(Consumer Finance); American Dry Fruit Ltd (Mother’s Recipe - spices,

dry fruits); Samsung Ltd (Samsung - mobile); LG (LG garments)

Current Status of Indian Television

This study is limited up to the TV Ads only. So it is very necessary

to know about the current status of Indian TV.

The Indian television business is packed with contradictions as of

October 1999. On the one hand, it has some 70 million television homes,

giving a viewing population of close to 400 million individuals. They

have a gaggle-bag of 100 plus channels to choose from, but on the other

hand, the infrastructure is so rickety that this choice cannot be converted

into a willing purchase. One the one hand, Internet Service Providers are

threatening to deliver the Net to Indian television viewers, while on the

Other 90% of Indian TV sets have the capability to receive only 12-16

channels The authorities make a display of frowning down upon foreign

broadcasters but allows them to operate freely in the country.

It has a glut of television channels, a slowing down advertising

revenue stream, a gradual opening up of the pay television market, steady

but unregulated growth in cable and satellite television homes and the

absence of any machinery to track misdemeanors and crack down on

violators. A broadcasting bill has been pending for almost four years, Ku-

band DTH television has been stalled by vested interests, and cable TV

licensing has not progressed and only a rudimentary Cable TV Network

Regulation Act is what governs the massive cable TV operator

community.
Result: it gets away with many an activity which is inconceivable in

some developed markets. Piracy of local and international movies is

rampant, under declaration of subscribers to basic pay TV programmers,

evasion of government imposts, involvement of shady elements, and a

high-handed attitude in the case of some cable operators.

Not that cable operators alone are to blame: because of the relatively

low incomes, some subscribers don’t cough up subscription fees on time

and regularly thus leading the cable operator into a tight corner. The cable

operator is hard-pressed to allow many a subscriber to go scot-free

without paying, courtesy competitive pressures from neighboring cable

TV operators. The absence of addressable consumer set top boxes

allowing him to switch off defaulting subscribers compounds his

problem.

With nearly 24 million cable and satellite homes, that is about 150

million viewers, it is a large market which has attracted many a channel

from overseas. But the channels that attract eyeballs are those that offer

dollops of local fare in local languages: state-owned broadcaster

Doordrashan, Zee TV, Sony Entertainment, Star Plus, ESPN Star Sports,

Sun TV, Raj TV, Eenadu TV, the local cable TV operator run pirated

movie channel. The English and foreign language channels are niche
players struggling to stay on their feet. English language channels dubbed

in local languages are faring much better.

Some of the English and foreign language services like Deutsche

Well TV, RTM, TV5, Saudi TV, are pretty irrelevant to Indian viewers

but they are still being beamed down by hopeful telecasters. The list of

channels which are watched can be whittled down to about 50. Most of

these are transmitted via satellite; the only terrestrial broadcaster

operating is the, state-owned broadcaster DD, which has a bouquet of 19

channels using both modes of delivery.

With ad revenues slowing down, programmers are attempting to

generate revenues by charging cable operators carriage fees. But that has

not worked successfully excepting in the case of cinema and sports

programming. Niche channels such as Discovery, National Geographic,

Animal Planet are bleeding and will continue to do so for quite some

time.

They are also migrating towards digital transmissions which enable

them to eke out savings in transponder rentals and deliver better quality

of sound and picture. Almost 20-30 channels are broadcasting in digital

mode. Many more are expected in the near future with existing language

players launching second channels and introducing channels in other

languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, and Bengali. In fact, it

is in regional language niche channels were the action is slated to hot up

even further in the coming year.

However, there is hope on the horizon. Over the past year and a
that there has been a loosening of restrictions has been opened up to
private places, private earth station ownership has also been permitted as
has Interne Be careful with humor in advertising. It can work for you. It can work
against you.

Effective humor draws people to your message. It keeps

the attention of your prospect. It makes your message
easier to remember. It's more likely they'll tell others
about your advertising. It tells others that you and your
company have a sense of humor.

On the other hand, be careful with humor in advertising.

Weak humor can undermine your credibility. It can detract
from your advertising message. A frequently appearing ad
with weak humor is often be a big turnoff to potential
customers. It can reflect negatively on your judgment.

On the other hand I have seen lame humor used

effectively. People remembered the name of the business
because the ad was so stupid and frequently seen. Testing
your ad is in order.

Here are some specific things to consider when planning

on adding humor to your advertising.

1. Sleep on it. When you have an idea for using

humor, give yourself some time to think about it. Use
your time in the morning, while still in bed, to
explore ideas around your humor seed. Brainstorm.
Letting your mind wander. You'll eventually come up
with some creative ideas that might work. Avoid
going to press with a half-baked humor effort.
2. Test drive it. No advertising professional would
consider doing a large advertising campaign without
first testing it on an impartial audience. This would
not include your family. This would probably not
 include your friends and employees. You need to
know what your target market thinks of your
advertisement. You could test it, for example, with
split mailings. See whether the humor or non-humor
version of the ad draws best. Or get the opinions of
your current customers. Avoid doing a large, costly
campaign without first testing.
3. Less is more. Subtle humor is easier to create and
often more effective than something on a larger
scale. A business card with a baby picture, with your
name below it, is an example of what I'd call gentle
humor. On my web site you'll find my small head-
shot photo with the caption "not actual size". Humor
on a grand scale takes more talent and experience to
effectively carry off.
4. Get help. Effective humor is a specialty that most
people will need some editorial help with. Find
someone who knows the humor business to help you
create and fine tune your ideas.
5. Avoid inside humor. A sales person throwing a pie
in the face of the sales manager on a TV ad will be
hilarious to your company staff, but will probably
make the general public yawn. A commercial
featuring the boss or his kids often falls in the "too
cute" category. It's loved by the family and misses
the mark when trying to reach your new customers.
It's the type of advertising which could have been
corrected by sleeping on it, test driving it,
remembering that less is more and getting help.
Lame advertisements are usually the result of failing
to take those steps.

t delivery. Power of humour in advertising

V Ganapathy, GM 20:20 Media

The role of humour dates back to many years when all of us used to view films like the
Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy. These actors and characters really made all of us laugh
when we sat and watched their movies. Even all our Hindi and regional movies in India
always had a comedian to play a very important role and provide the movie a touch of humour
to give the audience some fun and joy. Every Hindi movie had an actor
like Mehmood, Jagdeep, Deven Verma or an Asrani who played a very
important role in making the movie entertaining and thrilling.

The same strategy is used by many advertisers in India into their

advertising to get noticed and stand out in the clutter with memorable
humour which remains sticky in the viewer's mind. In fact news papers
like the Times of India have made every reader smile early morning with
R.K.Laxman's cartoon. Even individual personality or celebrities try and
use humour to position themselves differently in the people's minds. One
such example that is top of mind is our Railway Minister Laloo Prasad
Yadav. His witty and funny speeches and replies have positioned him
differently amongst other politicians. So humour as a tool has been a
strong weapon for many brands to draw the customers' attention.

Some Definition of Humour in Advertising:

'Humour' in the dictionary means a quality - being amusing or comic but
in advertising it is serious business. In advertising, humour is more than
just making a bunch of people laugh. Some of the best brands in India
have leveraged humour to such an extent that the viewers look forward
for newness in humour each time they see a new commercial from that
brand. To illustrate, Fevicol has been one of those brands which have
used humour so intelligently and subtly that it remains in people's minds.
Here again one needs to closely view the product and the category before
applying humour to sell your product. According to David Ogilvy 30 per
cent of advertising is based on humour. Humour sells if used creatively
with a strong idea and great execution. Claude Hopkins, the father of
modern advertising had a different view on this. He was of the opinion
that people don't buy from clowns. But in India over the last two decades
humour has been drawing lot of attention for communicating a product.
Also the conventional wisdom of thinking among our people is that when
you buy products it should deliver some value and benefits. These could
be nutritious for a health beverage, labour saving for a washing machine
or a dishwasher.

Role of Humour:
With more and more channels mushrooming, clutter has become a
significant problem for most brands. Hence to beat the clutter and break
the ice, humour has been used by many brands to answer the problem.
Over a period of time humour has been proved to be one of the best
techniques to keep the customer laughing and grab his attention with
some sticky and creative idea. The proof of the pudding for any humour
based on advertising remains in forcing the audience watch, laugh and
most importantly is able to recall the brand easily. Brands must ensure
that if they are using humour to sell a product then the connect and the
equity of the brand should not be diluted. According to some research
humorous ads are recalled fast and easily and it also elevates the
consumer's happiness and mood. Finally humour captures the viewer's
attention, cuts through the ad clutter and enhances recall. If not crafted
properly humour can also backfire at times.

Product and Brand connect:

It sometimes so happens that a joke in an advertisement is so powerful
that the consumer tends to forget the brand. Hence it is important that
there should be a strong connect between the product and the humour that
you are trying to convey. The Pizza world ad showing a hosepipe being
used to cool off someone who just had a spicy pizza is a good and
relevant example which connects with the brand and really communicates
that when you ask for a spicy pizza we deliver it with full pride.
Understanding the nuances of the brand and the audience is very
important. Overindulgence of humour can put down the audience and the
brand if not executed in the right taste. The Amul undergarments ads
which tried to use humour and sex to sell their brand never went off well
with many consumers. The brand did get some publicity due to
controversy but did not win the hearts of the target audience. Hence it is
important to base your joke on the core values of the product and the
service proposition the brand is offering. No product connect means no
effectiveness. All these results in huge wastage of the marketing budget.

Types of Humour in advertising:

Using a comedian: Here instead of building humour in the advertising
one can use a comedian actor to promote the brand. One's choice of
comedian has to match the values of the brand. One of the most
memorable advertisements that have used a comedian well has been
Charlie Chaplin for Cherry Blossom shoe polish. The most recent one in
this space using an Indian comedian which has been noticeable and
successful is Domino's Pizza which has plugged in Paresh Raval very
cleverly.

Capitalizing on the current topics : Use the current hot topic in all walks
of life which is funny, sticky, memorable and controversial. Amul Butter
has been doing these for several years. The advertising deployed has been
very humorous and are always based on the current topics with a tongue-
in-cheek approach. People never get fatigued watching the Amul ads.
People eagerly wait for what Amul Butter outdoor campaigns by
constantly looking at the prime hoarding points where Amul butter is
visible.

Strong idea based humour: Here the strong creative idea is carefully
blended with subtle humour. The case in example is Fevicol. The
powerful idea with humour helps in beating the clutter. Centre Shock
electric gum is another good example where a strong advertising idea
(Idea sprung up from the product) with the help of humour helped in
translating into a great piece of campaign. Saint Goblin glass is another
wonderful example of how humour has been used subtly. The restaurant
advertisement (where the water is thrown) created by the company is so
refreshing that one never gets bored of viewing it.

Using the right type humour in advertising will be determined by clearly

defining your objectives and positioning of your product. This, supported
with a strong idea will further help you to create good advertising which
can be sticky and memorable for a long time.

Humour will help if it is relevant: Mostly humour is used in products

which is low in investment and which has high impulse purchase.
(Candy, beer and mosquito repellents). One cannot totally generalize this,
as consumer durable products have also used humour effectively.
Humour may not work in category like condoms, sanitary napkins as
these products need to explain the benefits of the product more
clearly.Similarly cars and diamonds may also not use humour as the
decision process to purchase is long.

Finally we need to remember that humorous campaigns are difficult to

design and create.

Over exaggeration of humour may have negative effect on the brand.

People may remember the joke but not the message and the brand. It can
upset individuals if not done tastefully. Products can also flop and brand
equity may erode.

While humour is a strong and interesting route to create a great

advertising campaign, one must also keep in mind that the imagery, core
values of the brand and the positioning does not deviate. If your
positioning is perfect then humour with a great idea can do wonders for
the brand.