Advertising Business, the most flourishing business of the world, no doubt that has accelerated exponentially other businesses globally. But sadly, the banes of this growth as well. The crass commercialisation culture, the environmental degradation, the evolution of greedy materialistic humans. The sole purpose of the advertising was to create mass awareness of a product or service while the purpose of a trade was to bridge the gap between demand and supply. Now the whole scenario is totally inverted. Check market sentiments, extrapolate the data to future, exploit these, create a false demand through excessively exaggerated marketing strategies and then supply.
Now that this outbreak of COVID-19 has slapped across this pandemic of over capitalism, this could be an opportunity to roll back this cycle from wherever it was going to and start a journey anew with calibrated steps towards a goal where everyone is the winner – the business, the advertiser, the user and the Earth.
All this ‘Make in India’ initiative does not stand a chance before mammoth brands puffed up solely by advertising. Everyone should have a fair chance of showcasing that product as per their scales of manufacturing but only to actual level.
So let’s sanitise our media. The way people have embraced Ramayana, produced 30 years back, shows how they were thirsting for something genuine, free of razzamatazz and that we still cherish our culture in our hearts. But when they are bombarded by the visuals of good things in the advertisements, especially the younger generation, they feel like deprived of necessities. This mimicry of western culture has only been thrust upon us by the hungry consumer industry. Please feed the hungry and poor. Just do not create hunger around with those luscious dishes on the platter being served every minute on the screen. Do provide medicine to the ill. Just do not induce them to more diseases for the sake of the pharma industry.
If the advertisers perform their roles honestly, the same integrity would reverberate across the retail industry. We do need cars, mobiles, gadgets, dresses, cosmetics but not a new one everyday. Let the luxury be for the CLASSES. Do not lure the MASSES into markets inundated with luxury items. A teenager battling with obesity need not be tempted every other minute with a pop up of mouthwatering pizza oozing with cheese while he is studying or even playing games on the net to divert his mind from food.
The emphasis of advertisement should be on the REAL USPs of a company or brand. At this juncture, when even the big brands are forced to curtail their budget on advertising, then its high time that the advertising industry take up its basic core task viz. to showcase only factual benefits of a product or facility and popularise their real achievements.
This is the only way to give a fair chance to small scale industries, local manufacturers and farmers, Indian wellness industry like Yoga, Aayush and Indian food processing units providing better options with taste and nutritional value. And the way to Strengthen India.
Creative Streak 