Local brands at 'Fair' advertising - Literally fair !

India’s obsession with white skin doesn’t seem to be fading any sooner. Watching foreign models and actors dominating the beauty segment ads and promotions for products being offered to Indian consumers (who have a very different skin complexion and skin type) has always been a little perplexing to me. Perplexing not due to ‘exploitation’ of this trend by the cosmetics companies but because I wonder for how many more decades we will be coaxed by the myth- more fair is more beautiful. Nevertheless, as far as beauty products are concerned the white-skin obsession was always a legitimate excuse for empowering this trend, but do the same “rationale” works for segments outside beauty and cosmetics? Looks like it does!

It is hard to miss the wave of home-grown Indian companies in segments like automobile, apparel, consumer durable using foreign models as part of their brand communication through advertisements.

Which companies' use of foreign models and location is baffling

Before we go any further we must distinguish between the companies on the basis of whether or not they are home-grown and where do they ‘extensively’ generate their revenues from, Indian market or foreign market (where is the major consumer base?). 

We must also differentiate between the use of foreign models (not-known to the audience to whom ads are exposed) and foreign celebrities (Hollywood actors & actresses, sportsmen & sportswomen and other famous personalities).

How having a celebrity in the ad a different ballgame than
having just a 'foreign' face and exotic location instead?

There are multiple reasons for foreign MNCs with target market as India as well as Indian MNCs with target markets in foreign countries to employ foreign models and locations in their brand communication and promotion through advertisements. Also using foreign celebrities as the face of certain brands in India is also backed with some sound and logical arguments. Very briefly put, these could be -

• When an international brand creates a single ad for multiple markets and hence saves on the cost of creating multiple ads for multiple markets
• When an international brand aims at a globalized marketing strategy which has to ensure the right and exact communication spread into multiple markets across the globe
• A foreign brand specifically wanting its genesis to be exposed, portrayed and made to be talked about in the target market, thus helping its cause. Example – ‘German engineering’ for automobiles, ‘From the coffee bowl of the world’,"Premium English chocolates" etc.
• Signing one very famous celebrity helps the company to cut costs on signing multiple celebrities from target markets thus saving cost and adding credibility and brand following to the brand and the product
• Legal reasons to avoid controversies in target markets. Eg. Ads from Jockey and Triumph in India

There are many other reasons which can be looked into detail to understand how using foreign models or celebrities by international brands help them build a credible image in a market like India. 

However, what is to be seen is why are home-grown companies who mostly sell their products in India and hence have to largely communicate with Indian audience are giving more importance than ever to foreign models and locations in their ads.

Apparel segment –

Madura Textile and Raymonds are two major homegrown companies that have built their apparel brand around relevant communication and effective advertisements that are based largely around foreign models and exotic lines. Some of Madura’s famous brands are – Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England etc. On the other hand, Raymond created Park Avenue, Parx and Color Plus etc. Have a look at the flyers of these brands which boasts foreign models showcasing the desi brands. Interestingly, even the locations picked are alien to the Indian consumers.

Van Heusen by Madura Garments

 Allen Solly by Madura Garments

Peter Englnd by Madura Garments

Parx by Raymonds

Mobile segment –

Some home-grown mobile phone players are Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Spice etc

When we look at some of the recent advertisements by these companies for promoting their products and brand as a whole, it’s difficult to miss an overall exotic and foreign feel that is tried to be served to the audience watching these ads. It starts from the actors in the ads who are mostly foreign models, the locations which look exotic and even the central theme which tries hard to seal it as an exotic affair. Below are links to some video ads for these companies which are peculiar with their foreign cast and locations.

Micromax Canvas 2 

Micromax Canvas HD

Karbonn Titanium

Spice Cappuccino 

Spice Pinnacle Series 

Why this trend?

There are many arguments to justify this ever-growing trend. Indians are considered to be having a chronic hang-up with the white skin syndrome which many blame on the British colonial rule. Britishers ruled India for more than 200 years and that did something more than just nurturing servitude as an acceptable behaviour evident in our political and bureaucratic mechanism. India grew older under the sense of how the white-skin was always more smart, more successful and dominating over the dark-skin.

White is Might?

This ill-gotten belief automatically brewed some more erratic behavioural changes in Indians who started to believe that everything that has a white-skin endorser is a quality proposition. However, it might not be completely inaccurate to say that local products due to substandard production techniques and lack of consumer-focused marketing have let down Indian consumers over and over again and hence strengthened their belief about the superiority of foreign products over their national counterparts.

Hence, international brands and products promoted by foreign models became aspirational and soon consumers wanted to be associated with these products and brands, not necessarily due to functional (& technical) but emotional attributes.

How is this consumer behavior trait utilized by marketers? 

With these starting points, it has become an easy approach for local companies to add an international touch in their communication which in turn heightens the brand image in eyes of its consumers, as the product will be seen accepted and endorsed by ‘smarter’ and ‘better-looking’ brigade of foreign models. Behaviourally, a consumer starts looking himself or herself in place of the model of the ad who is shown to be the center of attraction, and is ‘coincidentally’, also white-skinned.

What does it actually do for the brand or the product?

Is the color prejudice typical with Indians only?

• Automatically induces a ‘quality product’ belief in the consumer
• Make the product look being accepted by higher evolved markets and more informed consumers hence rendering credibility to the product and brand promise
• Increases the acceptability of the brand and the product due to an international touch
• Makes the brand aspirational by strengthening brand image
• Place the brand above some other local brands helping it climb the value ladder without much real technical innovation
• Such communications add a premium-ness to the product allowing the manufacturers to command higher price which can be invested to product improvement leading to actual ascent in the segment against competitors (instead of difference in communication level only)
• Changing fence-sitters into consumers
• Reducing cognitive dissonance

The last point mentioned is important in many senses. A marketing tactic for promotion can only take the product so far. Beyond a point a product should speak for itself. Such a strategy if systematically implemented may give a higher end to the brand at the start but eventually a superior product is what is needed to take the brand further. An ordinary product will soon be recognized and the gross mismatch between the appeal created through brand promise for the product and actual product will leave no option for revival. Koutons’ debacle is an example of such a mistake though there were other major loopholes in its marketing strategy as well.

How long – Can & Will marketers use this erratic and stereotypical behaviour of Indian consumers, answer to that question lies in another question - How long the whit-skin syndrome will keep its hold on Indian consumers?

Cheers,

Campaigns with plus-size models - Marketing gimmick or mind-set shift?

H&M's Beachwear Homepage with Jennie Runk

A recent campaign by Swedish retailer H&M became centre of attraction for fashion industry as well as consumers alike. It was for the first time that the retailer chose to represent its collection of Beachwear through Jennie Runk. There were two peculiarities in this campaign – Jennie Runk is a plus-size model and; the section is not called “Plus-size Beachwear” but only “Beachwear”, a brave digression from all such previous attempts by any other organization.

This can be a small aberration for some while for others it can be seen as a much needed refreshing change in the modelling industry where starved and wafer-thin models have managed to achieve prominence  over natural and original models with fuller and normal figures, which the industry choose to call plus-size models. Let me reiterate though, that being thin is not bad but what these models have to go through to be thin and what they end up representing by being size 0 or 00 is dangerous for themselves and for the ones who end up idolizing them.

Ralph Lauren campaign featuring Robyn Lawley

A lot of people dubbed the H&M’s move refreshing by calling it a welcome change in industry while many doubted its inherent motive as being purely a marketing tactic, not for the beachwear promotion but to come out as an ethical and moral brand, promoting what is right for the society and its consumers.

The campaign for H&M featuring plus-size model was definitely not the first time such a theme was promoted.  Ralph Lauren chose Australian model Robyn Lawley as its first ever plus-size model, but there was a difference between the two campaigns. Unlike Ralph Lauren, which went all-out announcing its “ethical” move to appoint a plus-size model to show case Ralph Lauren apparels, H&M went quiet and even refrained from mentioning the model as a plus-size model or the beachwear as plus-size beachwear. But not to forget, the same retailer came under scrutiny for its campaign where they used virtually designed body-parts and added real women’s heads to the ads to showcase its apparel line. Not so moral there!

Elle coverpage featuring plus-size model

A plus-size model leading the pack at  a runway for Mark Fest

Another welcome move came recently when three models were banned from a fashion show in Spain for being "too thin". The show in Cibeles bans models with a Body Mass index of less than 18, suggesting anything below this is an unhealthy vision to set upon young teenage girls. Vogue, first time ever in 2011had plus-sized models on its cover page while Elle, very recently in May,2013 adorned its cover page with a plus size model.

So can we assume that the plus-size modelling has arrived at the centre-stage of big brands and the above milestones represents a generic shift in the mindset of fashion and modelling industry alike? Unfortunately, No.

H&M's head-off campaign that was condemned for its 'fake' nature

A detailed observation into these milestones will suggest that more often than not these events were marketing tactics and by no means suggested an overall change in the outlook of the industry.

The H&M campaign was more of a damage control exercise for its head-off campaign disaster. The navigation through the beachwear finally leads the user to plus-size section(!). Finally, the page was taken off after few days from its website, when enough buzz was generated for the campaign. No points of guessing, the inherent motive was not to 

be all moral and put across a message, it was to be heard, known and talked about.

Vogue coverpage with three plus-size models

The vogue and elle magazines attached a slight amount of pun to the cover pages with plus-size models with taglines like “Thigs is the limit”, "booty-ful" models with "full-siz
e fannies” etc. These taglines then made rounds with further jokes and puns on the models, though earned great amount of spotlight for the magazines which was evident from the number of copies sold and inquiries, feedbacks and comments received.

Inspite of all the noise made by industry stalwarts about bringing in more original and natural models, models being fired for gaining weight is a regular phenomena and not much is being done by any party to ensure that the so called mind-set shift is actually implemented. Hence, the whole out-cry for change lacks moral intent and appears to be more of propaganda by the industry to gain mass-acceptance among society and its consumers for being a responsible industry.

Despite the public opinion condemning the use of "size 0" models, fashion gurus still give the girls the go ahead to walk at their shows. Guidelines set down last year advise the industry to go against using mega-thin girls. They claim that the brands are supposed to create an aspirational value for themselves and must also be able to suggest to consumers a better version of himself/herself when he/she acquire these brands.

There is another interesting aspect to the story. In March when H&M started to use size 12 mannequins in its store there were some critics which complained that such a move is promoting obesity among people.

With the arguments placed by the industry in favour and against of plus-size models at different occasions and sometimes by actions, it is clear that at the end of the day it’s the consumer which over-rides the decisions like these. Acceptance of the plus-size models and abandoning those who themselves undergo a torturous process and propagates the false imagination of “a perfect woman” through size 0 among consumers should be the first step in the direction.

As a new British study suggests that the cultural obsession with slim female figures could be overturned if advertising flaunted fuller-sized models, which in-turn are accepted and appreciated by the consumers. Industry must also rise above the petty marketing gimmicks to gain points for the campaign and instead place their belief in such ideology which is not just ‘right’ but also financially rewarding for them.

 Cheers,