Sravanthi Challapalli

Ritu Singh had been mulling writing a book on advertising that was more a collection of case studies, but what she ended up creating is Stark Raving Ad: A Giddy Guide to Indian Ads You Love (or Hate). The book is a breezy, rib-tickling and irreverent social and business history primarily of liberalised India. “Ads being what they are, the humour was impossible to keep out,” says the author. “The book took on a life of its own.”

Singh has over two decades of experience in the advertising and marketing industry. Fourteen years of it were spent in the creative department at JWT. Her initial angst at having “villainous clients” reject her ideas evolved – in a role reversal later in her career – into the comprehension that those ideas weren’t good if consumers didn’t understand them. “It was a sudden shock, really, looking at my tribe but from a client’s perspective,” she says.

One of the early chapters deals with controversial ads. People found these ads, for underwear, deos and apple juice advertised by liquor brands, scandalous. Does Singh think Indians lack a sense of humour? “Not at all. Across media or movies, we don’t seem to lack a sense of humour. People may have thought they were in bad taste.” Singh’s book also discusses surrogate advertising. She hasn’t worked on any such ads herself but says but says that agency people who do, probably deal with such ads as all in a day’s work. She admits, though, that some socially responsible ads like those for liquor brands telling you not to drink and drive can be confusing. “People may wonder if it actually is a responsible ad or just disguised as one to gain mileage, or playing to play the system? It is quite obvious surrogate ads are for categories that are not banned because the revenue from liquor is important.”

There are chapters on iconic mascots such as the Air-India Maharaja, the Amul baby, Asian Paints’ Gattu, Lalitaji and the Onida devil. Another is devoted to advertising wars – Rin vs Tide, Cadbury Perk vs Nestle Munch, Horlicks vs Complan, and more. Singh doesn’t mention how they ended, as some of them are still being heard in court. The propensity of advertising to come up with wacky words and phrases, even nonsensical, such as jingalala , is another chapter. The book records significant shifts – such as mothers ceding way to children as the prime targets of advertisers’ appeals – and trends, some that mirror society’s transformation as reflected in ads. Sexism and the unfairness of it all, same sex love and advertisers’ bold, but nascent, experiments with the subject, aiding in efforts to normalise the discussion around menstruation, are some of these.

Was there a particular moment when she realised moms had fallen out of fashion? Singh says it was over 20 years ago. “It was an ad film script for a kids’ cycle. I had thought up a fairy tale-ish plot – replete with pixies, flowers, cutesy animals and a smiling, enabling Mom. It was unceremoniously dumped! I learnt that kids liked seeing themselves at the centre of more ‘cutting-edge’ stuff like pranks, cool moves, a gang. And you just had to appeal to the kid first.” Some of the brands Singh has worked on include colas, snacks, antiseptics, music, quick-service restaurants, sports, instant noodles and e-commerce.

Interestingly, the book’s opening chapter seems to suggest that all it takes for a product to be wanted and not remain irrelevant is some persuasion. That “Diamonds, for example, are probably way up there on any list of things that people do not need”, is followed up by mention of De Beers and effective enticement. Does Singh think advertising is the art of selling people things they don’t need? Has society become too consumerist? “Well, I wouldn’t say too consumeristic but of course without consumerism there would be no advertising. I’m not an impulse buyer myself, and consumerism has risen a lot since the late ’90s,” she says.

How did she choose the subjects for the book? “Initially it was very intuitive, the mascots, scandalous ads. Some brands are so big, you have to mention them, like Lux. When I gave in the first draft, the editors at Hachette said it’s too thin, so I had to pad it up. As I worked, I found unexpected fits.” Like men’s fairness products - it seemed only fair to talk of men being pressured to be fair. Then, in digital, it was fun figuring out that lower-priced onions can spell online success for an international ‘deals’ brand.” (In 2013, Groupon sold onions for ₹9 a kilo when their price had shot up to ₹80-100.)

Books on Indian advertising have ranged from academic to reflective, chronicling business and society. The most recent ones that come to mind are Arun Chaudhuri’s Indian Advertising - Laughter & Tears , Ambi Parameswaran’s Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles and Piyush Pandey’s Pandeymonium . The cheeky Stark Raving Ad , is, according to the blurb, the non-classic book on advertising in India no one asked for. So, who’s the book intended for? “Anybody,” says Singh. “For those who like a humorous read, for those who are in marketing and advertising or for those who are just starting out,” she says, adding that she has got feedback from all kinds of people, even those completely unrelated to the field.

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