The Story Ever stopped by one of those blue-coloured paan shops on the street and noticed the vendor selling Kamla Pasand Elaichi (cardamom)? Well, you’ll probably have a tough time finding this product on store shelves because it’s mostly created for advertising purposes and may not be widely or readily available for sale. In fact, some brands that market themselves under the garb of elaichi available. But we know that as soon as you read Kamla Pasand, your brain probably went straight to pan masala or gutka (chewing tobacco).
Just to clarify, that was an example, not an ad. Ads for tobacco and liquor products are a no-go under Indian law. These are considered .
And this ban started way back in 1995 when the Cable Television Network Rules, 1995 (“CTNR”) were amended to stop both direct and indirect ads for cigarettes, tobacco products, liquor or other intoxicants. But despite the ban, brands selling these products have found clever workarounds through something called surrogate advertising. This sneaky strategy actually when domestic violence spiked as more men began drinking.
Fed-up housewives protested liquor ads targeting their husbands, so companies got creative. They started promoting fruit juices and soda using the same brand names. This smart move helped them sidestep the ban and boost their sales.
And that’s something that’s still happening to this day. Brands advertise other legal products or brand extensions under their same brand names. It as long as t.