 What is Advertising:- Advertising is one of the largest generator

of revenue in the world economy.

It moves markets and minds. It generates employment both
directly & indirectly and influences a large section of the
people.
It creates lifestyles, and involves people with products. It
aims at building relationships between customers and brands.

 Today, the most acceptable definition of advertising is:- ‘Advertising

is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion
of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.’
Presentation refers to an offering, while promotion involves
communication of ideas and persuasion.
In other words, advertising offers people ideas, goods &
services and persuade them about their benefits, utility and
desirability.
 Another good definition of advertising is:- ‘Advertising is a
business activity, employing creative techniques, to design
persuasive communication in mass media that promote ideas,
goods and services in a manner consistent with the
achievement of the advertiser’s objectives, the delivery of
consumer satisfaction & the development of social and
economic welfare.’

 A working definition of advertising is:- ‘Advertising is the mass

paid communication of building brands through persuasive
communication and positioning them in the consumers’
perception with a constant eye on the market environment and
consumer expectations.’
 Characteristics of Effective Advertisement:- Effective
advertisements work on two levels.

 First, they should satisfy consumers’ objectives by engaging

them and delivering a relevant message.

 Second, as we said, the ads must achieve the advertisers’

objectives.
Ex:- Tata Indigo :- Class starts early.
Samsung Mobile:- The big screen experience.
NECC (National Egg Co-ordination Committee):- (Generic adv):-
Sunday ho ya Monday, Roz khao Ande.

 The three broad dimensions characterizing effective advertising

are Strategy, Creativity and Execution.
 Types of Advertising:-

1. Brand Advertising:- The most visible type of advertising is national

consumer, or brand advertising. Brand advertising focuses on the
development of a long–term brand identity and image.
Ex:- Maruti Adv:- Kitna deti hai.

2. Retail or Local Advertising:- A great deal of advertising focuses on

retailers or manufacturer that sell their merchandise in a restricted
area. Local advertising can refer to a retailer or a manufacturer or
distributor who offers products in a fairly restricted
geographic area.
Ex:- Sudha Dairy, Prabhat Khabar, Vadilal Icecream.

3. Political Advertising:- Politicians use advertising to persuade

people to vote for them.
Ex:- Congress, BJP.

4. Directory Advertising:- People refer to it to find out how to buy a

product or service.
Ex:- Yellow pages, Trade directories. Etc.
5. Direct–Response Advertising:- Direct–response advertising can
use any advertising medium, including direct mail, but the message
is different from that of national and retail advertising, as it
tries to stimulate a sale directly.
Ex:- e-bay, bag it today, Amazon, Flipkart etc.

6. Business to Business Advertising:- It includes messages directed

at retailers, wholesalers & distributors and from industrial
purchasers & professionals such as lawyers & physicians to other
businesses, but not to general customers.
Advertisers place most business advertising in publications or
professional journals.

7. Institutional Advertising:- Institutional advertising is also called

Corporate Advertising. The focus is on establishing a corporate
identity or winning the public over the organizations’ point of
view.
Ex:- Pharmaceuticals company advertising.
8. Public Service Advertising:- Public service announcements /
advertisements (PSAs) communicate a message on behalf of
some good cause, such as stopping drunk driving, smoking,
preventing child abuse etc.
These advertisements are usually created by advertising
professionals free of charge and the media often donate the
space & time.

9. Interactive Advertising:- Interactive advertising is delivered to

individual consumers, who have access to a computer & the
internet.
Advertisers use Web pages, Banner ads, and e-mails to deliver
their messages.
In this instance, the consumer can respond to the ad or
ignore it.
 Roles of Advertising:- Advertising also can be explained in terms
of the four roles it plays in business & in society:-

1. Marketing:- Marketing is the process, a business uses to satisfy

consumer needs & wants through goods & services.

 The particular consumers at whom the company directs its

marketing effort constitute the target market.

 The tools available to marketing are Product, Price, Place &

Promotion – which are collectively referred to as the Marketing
Mix or the four Ps.

 The role of advertising within marketing, is to carry persuasive

message to Actual and Potential customers.
Ex:- NECC Advertising.
2. Communication:- Advertising is a form of mass communication
and transmits different types of market information to match
buyers & sellers in the market place.

 Advertising both informs and transforms the product by

creating an image that goes beyond straight-forward facts.
Ex:- Raymond Advertisements.

3. Economic:- Two point of views are there:-

a. Advertising is so persuasive that it decreases the likelihood that

a consumer will switch to an alternative product, regardless of
the price charged.

b. The second approach views advertising as a vehicle for helping

consumers assess value, through price as well as other
elements such as quality, location and reputation. Advocates of
this school, view the role of advertising as a means to objectively
provide price / value information, thereby creating a more
rational economy.
4. Societal:- Advertising has a number of social roles.

 It informs us about new and improved products & helps us

compare products and features & make informed consumer
decisions.

 It mirrors fashion and design trends & adds to our aesthetic

sense.

 Advertising tends to flourish in societies that enjoy some level of

economic abundance, in which supply exceeds demand.
 Functions of Advertising:- Advertising performs three basic
functions:-

1. Provides Product & Brand information:-

2. Provides Incentives to take action:-

3. Provides Reminders & Reinforcement:-

 Players of Advertising:- In addition to the types of advertising and

their various roles & functions, advertising can be defined in terms
of those who play important roles in bringing ads to the
consumer.

 There are five key players in the advertising world:-

1. The Advertiser:- Advertising begins with the advertiser, the person

or organization that ‘needs to get out a message’.

 The advertiser makes the final decisions about the target

audience, the media that will carry the advertising, the size of the
advertising budget, and the length of the campaign.
2. The Advertising Agency:- Advertisers hire independent agencies
to plan and implement part or all of their advertising efforts.

 This working arrangement is known as the Agency–Client

partnership.

 Successful agencies typically have strategy & creative expertise,

media knowledge, workforce talent, and the ability to negotiate
good deals for the clients.

 Large advertisers, (either companies or organizations) participate

in the advertising process either through their advertising
department or through their in–house agencies.

3. The Media:- The media is composed of the channels of

communication that carry the message from the advertiser to
the audience, and in the case of the Internet it carries the
response form the audience back to the advertiser.
 Each medium has an organization structure in place, that is
responsible for selling advertising space or time.

 Each medium also has the capacity to assist advertisers in

making comparison between media as well as making the
optimum choice within a particular media category.

 Many of the medias even assist the advertisers in the design &
production of the advertisements.

4. Vendors:- Vendors are the group of service organizations that

assist advertisers, advertising agencies and the media.

 Members of this group are also known as Freelancers,

Consultants, and Self employed professionals.
Ex:- Copywriters, Graphic artists, Photographers, Songwriters,
Market Researchers, etc.
5. The Target Audience:- All strategies start with the customer. In
marketing strategy, the term target market denotes the
customer, the person, who purchases the product.
Ex:- Kellogg’s Corn flex. Pamper dippers.

 The target audience has a direct bearing on the overall

advertising strategy, especially on the creative and the media
strategy.

 The Evolution of Advertising:- The history of advertising has

been dynamic and unpredictable.

 It can be divided into four stages:-

1. Age of Print:- Ads were primarily classified in format, and print

media carried them.

 The culmination of this age was the development of the

newspaper.
2. The Industrial Revolution & Emergence of Consumer Society:-
This was the period when advertising grew in importance and
size because of numerous social and technological
developments.

 The purpose of advertising was to device an effective and

efficient communication system that could sell products to a
widely dispersed market place.

 National media developed as the country’s transportation system

grew.

3. Modern Advertising: Agencies, Science & Creativity:- In this era

advertising industry grew to a remarkable $ 500 million in
media billing and as a result, attracted the development of
organizations specializing in advertising.

 Advertising agencies came into existence and also Research

techniques evolved and moved into the era of more creativity.
4. Accountability Era:- Started in the early 1970s. Clients wanted
ads that produce sales.

 In the early 1990s, the advertising industry recognized that it’s fate
was linked to the global business environment, and had to learn
to pay it’s own way.

 Technology was implemented , so that the hired experts can

produce such results.

 Current Advertising Issues:- Aside from the changes in world view

since the 2001 terrorist attacks, there are some forceful issues also,
affecting advertising today.

 These are:-

1. Interactive Advertising:- Some experts believe that technology,

especially interactive technology, will change the face of
advertising completely, where as others contend that the
promise of technology is exaggerated and that advertising will
retain its basic characteristics.
 But the fact lies somewhere in–between.
Ex:- The meltdown of the dot-com industry – Static banners with
big letters & little information have not attracted customers.
Also making them move or pop-up just created an irritant.

 Consequently, some advertisers are going back to old–fashioned

TV spots to drive traffic directly to their Web–sites.

 Other companies are signing up with sites that essentially pay

consumer to engage with an electronic mall full of marketers.

2. Integrated Marketing Communication:- The 1990s and 2000s

brought us IMC.

 IMC is the practice of unifying all marketing communication

tools, so they send a consistent, persuasive message promoting
company goals to target audiences.
 Marketing communication tools include advertising, sales
promotion, direct marketing, public relations, packaging, and
personal selling.

 IMC starts with consumer’s needs and wants.

 Marketers now have the ability to capture data about the

consumers that allows them to shift from inside–out to outside–
in advertising planning.

3. Consumer Power:- With these technological changes,

consumers have more information to give them muscle in the
marketplace.
Ex:- Car Purchase.

 Retailers & manufacturers respond to consumer demands for

information access or they risk loosing business.
 In addition to the power of information, consumers are basically
smarter and they know they have many more choices; this gives
them additional leverage over the advertiser.

 Two other concepts have emerged as a result of the new power

base shared by consumers:-

1. Permission Marketing:- Based on three main principles:-

i. The consumers, or recipients, control the process.
ii. They agree to receive communications.
iii. They consciously sign up (or ‘opt-in’)

2. Participation Marketing:- Based on five principles:-

i. You really know your customer.
ii. You generate feedback at every opportunity.
iii. You involve customers and prospects as much as possible.
iv. You market on their schedule – not yours.
v. You make them feel vested in your success.
4. Globalization:- Another trend that continues to affect advertising is
globalization.

 In the early 1990s the trade barriers throughout much of

Europe came down, making it the largest contiguous market in
the world.

 Eastern Europe, Russia, and China have at last opened their markets
to Western businesses.

 Advertisers are moving into these markets and Ad agencies are

forming huge multinational operations with international
research and media buying capabilities.

5. Niche Marketing:- Although advertising has gone global, many

advertisers have moved toward tighter and tighter Niche
markets.

 Instead of marketing to the masses, they target market

segments.
 The retailers have taken a more active role in the
communication effort, as they are often closest to the niches they
serve.

 The two important words for advertising in the future will be

Accountability & Adaptability.

 Advertising – Laws & Ethics:- Because advertising is so visible,

and is often considered manipulative & controversial, it draws
attention from citizens, the media, government and
competitors.

 Advertising takes place in a Public Forum in which business

interests, creativity, consumer needs, and government
regulations meet; and its visible social role makes it a target
for criticism.

 As a result, today’s consumers believe that a great deal of

advertising is unethical.

 According to these people advertising raises the price of products,

is untruthful, ticks people or targets the vulnerable.
 Ethical Issue:- Although many laws govern advertising, not all
the advertising is regulated.

 Numerous advertising related issues are left to the discretion of

the advertisers and are based on ethical concern.

 For instance, many people complain that society is becoming

overrun with advertising, and probably in many respect this
criticism is valid, as ads are to be honest are endless.

 A recent Advertising Age study found that we are exposed to on an

average 5,000 commercial messages a day, most of which we never
notice.

1. Advocacy:- The first ethical issue is advocacy.

 Advertising, by its nature, tries to persuade its audience to do

something, as a result, it is not objective or neutral, which
disturbs critics, who think it should not be.
 Most people however, are aware that advertising tries to sell
something, whether it is a product, service or an idea.
Ex:- Even take the example of the of the general elections. One
can be sure, that the campaign ads will portray a political party and
the candidate positively.

2. Accuracy:- The second ethical issue is accuracy. Beyond the easily

verifiable claims in an advertising message, are matters of
perception.
Ex:- Will buying the particular television make me the envy of
my neighbors? Will buying the particular automobile make me more
attractive to the opposite sex? Such messages may be implied by the
ads.

 Most of us know that buying a particular brand of car or drinking a

certain brand of soft drink won’t make us a new person, but overtone
in the message we see or hear cause concern among advertising
critics.
 The subtle message are more troubling when they are aimed at
the particular groups with limited experiences, such as children
& teenagers or people with limited resources such as elderly or
disabled.

3. Acquisitiveness:- The third ethical issue is acquisitiveness. Some

critics maintain that advertising is a symbol of our society’s
preoccupation with accumulating material objects, as we are
continuously exposed to an array of changing newer, & better
products, and critics claim that we become convinced that we must
have these products.

 At the same time rebuttal of this criticism is that advertising

allows society to see and choose among different products.

 Decisions about advertising campaigns start with advertisers, so

they have the social responsibility of communicating ethically.
 Determining what is Ethical:- Although advertisers can seek help
in making decisions from such sources as codes of ethics, these
codes provide only general guidelines.

 When advertising questions are not clearly covered by a code,

someone, a rule, or a regulation must make a decision.

 The Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) is a

representative body of people from the world of advertising and
also draws experts from the industry & public domain.

 ASCI has an overarching goal of maintaining & enhancing public

confidence in advertising.

 ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its code of

self–regulation which requires advertisements to be:-

• Truthful & fair to consumers and competitors.

• Within the bounds of generally accepted standards of public

decency & propriety. And,
• Not to be used indiscriminately for the promotion of products,
hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals, particularly
minors, to a degree unacceptable to society at large.

 The ASCI encourages the public to complain against

advertisements, which they may be unhappy with for any
reason & ensures that each complaint receives prompt &
objective consideration by an impartial Consumer Complaints
Committee (CCC), which takes into account the view point of the
advise, & an appropriate decision is communicated to all concerned.

 Although the decisions of the council in dealing with cases do not

have a legal bearing, experience has shown that the concerned
advertising agencies have followed the council’s advice by &
large. Some of the highlights of the ASCI’s codes are:-

i. Advertising should be so designed as to conform not only to

the laws but also to the moral, aesthetic, & religious
sentiments of the country in which it is published.
ii. Advertisements likely to bring contempt or disrepute to a
profession should not be permitted.

iii. Advertising should be truthful, avoid distorting facts, &

misleading the public by means of implications & omissions.

iv. Advertising should not be permitted to contain exaggerated

claims that inevitably disappoint the public.

v. Direct comparison with competing brands or firms &

disparaging references are in no circumstances permitted.
Stands revised under some circumstances.

vi. Indecent, vulgar, suggestive, repulsive or offensive themes or

treatment should be avoided.

vii. No advertisement should offer to refund money paid.

viii. Advertisements must not carry claims of drugs to prevent or

cure any diseases or ailments specified in Schedule J.

ix. Also no copy of any advertisement of any kind is allowed.

 In the event of a member proving to the satisfaction of the
Executive Committee, that a client has withdrawn his account
on the grounds of the member’s refusal to undertake unethical
advertising, no other member shall accept any business what-
so-ever from the said client.

 In addition to the code’s rule there are many provisions, both in the
common law and in the statute, which can determine the form
or the content of an advertisement.

 The ASCI’s rules, and the machinery through which they are
enforced, are designed to complement legal controls, and not to
replace them.

 The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) also has its code of conduct for
the advertisers and clients.

 All India Radio’s code for commercial advertising originally

covered advertising on television also. It lays down standards of
conduct for advertisers.
 Some of the provisions of the Prasar Bharti’s code of conduct, which
has both Doordarshan and AIR under it are:-

• General Rules of conduct in Advertising:-

1. Advertising shall be designed as to conform to the Laws of the
country & should not offend the morality, decency, & religious
susceptibilities of the people.

2. No advertisement shall be permitted which:-

i. Derides any race, cast, colour, creed, and nationality.
ii. Is against any of the directive principles, or any other provision of the
constitution of India.
iii. Tends to incite people to crime, cause disorder or violence, or breach of
law, or glorifies violence or obscenity in any way.
iv. Presents criminality as desirable.
v. Adversely affects friendly relations with foreign states.
vi. Exploits the national emblem, or any part of the constitution or the
person or personality of a national leader or state dignitary. Or,
vii. Relates to or promotes cigarettes and tobacco products, liquor, wines
and other intoxicants.
3. No advertisement message shall in any way be presented as News.

4. No advertisement shall be permitted the objects whereof are wholly

or mainly of a religious or political nature; advertisements must
not be directed towards any religious or political end or have
relation to any industrial dispute.

5. Advertisements for services concerned with the following shall not

be accepted:-
i. Money Lenders.
ii. Chit funds.
iii. Saving schemes and lotteries other than those conducted by Central
and State Government organizations, nationalized or recognized
banks and public sector undertakings.
iv. Matrimonial agencies.
v. Unlicensed employment services.
vi. Fortune tellers or soothsayers, etc. and those with claims of hypnotism.
vii. Foreign goods and foreign banks.
 The AIR code exhorts the advertisers to be familiar with various laws
and enactments and codes concerning mass media and advertising.
Some of these are:-

1. Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.

2. Drugs Control Act, 1950.
3. Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1957.
4. Copyright Act, 1957.
5. Trade & Merchandise Marks Act, 1958.
6. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
7. Pharmacy Act, 1948.
8. Prize Competition Act, 1955.
9. Emblems & Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
10. Consumer Protection Act, 1986
11. Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1950.
12. AIR / Doordarshan code.
13. Codes of Ethics issued by the ASCI.
 Advertising & Children:- From the ‘Hritik tum kahan ho’ coke
advertisement to ‘the looser will have to kiss’ and later, the ‘toss
ka boss’ Pepsi ad, from the ‘sab kuch dikhta hai’ Rotomac ad to
the ‘swasth khao tan-man jagao’ Britania ad and ‘kya mall hai
mamu’ Coffee Toffee ad, children have become an essential part
of the world of advertising. Instead of nursery rhymes, children
learn jingles and commercials faster.
 One school of thought feels that children are used in
advertisements because they attract attention.
 While the other school of thought feels that over a period of time,
especially in nuclear families, where children are all on their
own during the day & have better pocket money than their
predecessors had some 15 years back, they have become decision
makers.
 Media exposure has made them savvier about products, and due
to this they are used as Surrogate sales-persons.
 Moreover, now it has become very common for the parents to
involve children in the family decision–making process when
buying durable products starting from electronic goods to cars.
 The ASCI’s code of advertising practice has the following
guidelines on the use of children in advertising:- Advertisements
addressed to children shall not contain anything, whether in
illustration or otherwise, which might result in their physical,
mental, or moral harm, or which exploits their vulnerability.

 For Example, no advertisement:-

i. Shall encourage children to enter strange places or to converse

with strangers in an effort to collect coupons, wrappers, labels
or the like;

ii. Should depict children leaning dangerously outside windows &

over-bridges or climbing dangerous cliffs and the like;

iii. Should show children climbing or reaching dangerously to

reach products for any other purpose, or show children using
or playing with matches, any inflammable or explosive
substance; or playing with or using sharp knives, guns,
mechanical or electrical appliances, the careless use of which
could lead to their suffering cuts, burns, shocks, or other
injury, or;
iv. Features minors for tobacco or alcohol–based products.

 Though the conditions laid down by the ASCI may not generally
be violated by the advertisers, the same acts enacted by elders are
at times aped & emulated by children. Ex:-

1. A young child who aped the bungee–jumping act in the Thumps

Up ad, lost his life.

2. The advertisement of an MNC selling soaps had the copy –

doodh malai to denote that it contained milk & cream, only to
be eaten by a very young child who had just started
comprehending language.

3. Shahrukh khan, in the Santro ad, drove the Santro as if he was

in a circus ring.

 The point is if children endorse products meant for them, it

makes sense, but now children are soliciting products ranging from
Refrigerators to Water filter systems & Washing machines, from wall
paints to detergents, and from computers to real estate and mutual
funds!
 Many studies suggested that children below a certain age can
not differentiate between dreams & reality. They copy & imbibe
things they see in their lives.
Ex:- Little girls & boys copying their mothers and fathers
respectively. Advertising exposure provides them with a lot more
fodder to play around with.

 One of the reports by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the

USA asserted that ‘many young children – are so naïve that they
can not perceive the selling purpose of T.V advertising or
otherwise comprehend or evaluate it and tend to view a
commercial simply as a form of information program.’

 The FTC took up the issue with certain companies & the
advertisements which were deemed to have a harmful impact on
children were withdrawn.
Ex:- Hudson Pharmaceuticals agreed not to use a hero figure
such as Spiderman in its vitamin advertising because such
advertising could influence children to take an excess amount of
vitamins.
 A number of consumer groups all over the world continue to feel
concerned and are crusading against the ‘manipulative’ impact of
advertising on children.

 The AIR code warns advertisers that no advertising for a product

or service shall be accepted if it suggests in any way that unless
children buy or encourage other people to buy the products or
services, they would be failing in their duty or lacking in
loyalty to any person or organization.

 It also exhorts that no advertisement would be accepted which

may lead children to believe that if they do not own or use the
product advertised they would be inferior in some way to other
children or that they would liable to be condemned or ridiculed
for not owning or using it.

 Interestingly, the International Advertising Association (IAA)

takes a different argument in its code.
 According to IAA – Sociologists & child psychologists feel that
children have to be brought up in a commercial world, as part
of their education as consumers.
So they must be taught early on how to deal with
commercials, just as they must learn form their school books &
life style lessons to take full advantage of the world we live in.
 Hence, in the view of IAA, removing the possibility of choice is
depriving the child of learning one or the most important skills
in life.
 The IAA advocates voluntary self–regulation on brand building
communication.
Commenting on the influence of advertising on children, the IAA
feels, ‘One does not need to add that advertising is only one of
the many influences on the choices that children make.
Moreover, research has shown that when as young as three
year old children recognize the difference between programs
and ads & as they are aware of the intention of ads, they will
reject ads that don’t fit in with their own or friend’s
experience’.
 Women in Advertisements:- The portrayal of women in
advertisements has received much attention over time,
especially recently.
 Initially, critics complained that ads show women as preoccupied
with beauty, household duties, and motherhood. Although,
there is still concern about this stereotype, more advertisers are
recognizing the diversity of women’s roles.
 Beginning in the 1980s, advertisements focused on briefcase–
toting professional women, who can be also a working mother &
can tell us the benefits of serving her children a powdered
breakfast drink.
The image of Superman has been displaced by the image of
Super woman.
 Historically, advertising has portrayed gender in distinct &
predictable stereotypes.
Men are shown as strong, independent & achievement oriented
where as women are shown as nurturing and empathetic, but softer
and more dependent, and they are told that the products being
advertised will make their lives less stressful & more manageable.
 Even women’s body language in advertising can infer certain
traits.
One research study on print ads found that women were often
depicted as ‘shy, dreamy, gentle, likely to be manipulated, and
helpless’.
Men were shown as ‘expressing a level of power, control and
dominance’.
But with passage of time these gender stereotypes are
changing.

 Advertising is criticized for building & reinforcing stereotypes.

A woman is often shown as a homemaker, doing household
chores, and a man is seen as a provider, protector & some one
with authority.
 Some advertisers have however, tried to break these myths &
stereotypes.
Ex:- The man in the Nivea cream advertisement was shown
bowing down to tie the shoe laces of his pregnant wife.
In the Ponds advertising, a young would be bride sends back the
prospective father–in–law along with the groom when he demanded
dowry.

 With more and more urban women going out of their homes to
work & having a disposable income and the power to make
purchase decisions, and with women’s empowerment becoming
the politically correct stand, it has been only natural for
advertisers to register the change.
 Advertising & Intellectual Property Rights:- Intellectual Property
rights (IPR) and their safeguards have gained focus, especially
after the Internet has unified the world with boundless
knowledge that transcended artificial boundaries.
Earlier known as ‘Industrial Property Rights’, the domain has
expanded with new interpretations coming with latest enactments
and contests in various statuary bodies and the courts of law.

 Is Advertising an Intellectual Activity?:- Critics of advertising

reject this claim, alleging it to be a clever & cunning discipline
that makes people buy products that they do not need.
Hence, they claim that there can not be anything intellectual
about the discipline. However, this may be an extreme view.

 On the other hand, those who believe in advertising, feel that

advertising moves minds & markets.
Advertising over the years has been recognized as an important
activity for informing & educating consumers about brand
attributes.
The profession that for long was considered to be a creative
art form, has now acquired the status of an applied science.
 Advertising, as part of marketing mix, is used to publicize the
product in the mass media.

 It is aimed at building the brand character of a product.

 An advertisement broadly comprises visual copy, mark of identity

of the company, a mission statement / a tag line, logo,
monogram, trademark to lend identity to the brand and the
company.

 There have been arguments regarding whether advertising is an

intellectual activity that needs protection.
There is, however no denying the fact that tangible
manifestations such as the design of the product & the trade mark
are very much a part and parcel of the visual element of advertising.
Ex:- ‘Idea’ is registered as the trademark of a cellular phone
company. The brand advertisements reflect the mark TM along with
the name IDEA. In fact the entire campaign revolves around the
trademark. The advertisement campaign’s mission statement ‘ An
idea can change your life’ is a reflection of the ‘ value transfer’ of
a trademark to the communication strategy and application.
 Defining Intellectual Property Rights:- A category of
intangible rights protecting commercially valuable products of
the human intellect.

 The category comprises primarily Trademarks, Copyrights, &

Patent Rights, but also includes Trade–secret rights, Publicity
rights, Moral rights & Rights against unfair competition.

 The ‘Intellectual Property’ has now replaced the earlier term

‘Industrial Property’.

 Let us discuss the terms to understand their roles & relevance in

advertising:-

a. Patents:- In more than 140 countries patents protects

inventions. In other words, a patent is a legal protection for an
invention, however, all inventions are not patentable.

• In order to pass the test of invention, it has to be ‘new’, should

involve some ‘inventive’ steps, ‘non–obviousness’ & most
importantly, should be industrially applicable.
• Patents, according to the World Intellectual Property
Organization, cover a whole range of inventions in the field of
Human endeavor, Scientific discoveries, Industrial designs,
Agricultural innovations, Literacy, Artistic, & Scientific works,
Performances of performing artists, Phonograms & Protection
against unfair competition.

• ‘Invention’ has been defined in section 2(i) of the Patents Act,

1970. The act defines invention to cover the following:-

i. Art, process, method, or manner of manufacture.

ii. Useful machine, apparatus or other article.
iii. Substance produced by manufacturer and includes any new and
useful improvement of any of them & a s0–called invention.

• It should however have the following characteristics – the manner

of manufacture, which should be novel, an outcome of
inventive activity, and have utility & should not be contrary to
law & morality.
b. Design:- The design element in a product is, how it is shaped,
what colours are chosen, and what material is used.

• These are the most important considerations before a product is

able to see the light of the day.

• The protection obtained by registering a design is for limited

initial period of 5 years from the date of application for
registration, which is further extended by two more terms, each
of 5 years.

• After the expiry of the term, the design is expected to be in the

public domain, which can be copied by anyone.
Ex:- Fanta introduced a new bottle in 2005. The advertising
campaign revolved around the shape of the bottle that was reflected
as the ‘Spin’ bottle.

• Design elements at times become the unique selling

preposition in the advertising of these products.
• In order to qualify for an Intellectual Property Right, a design
has to keep in view the shape & configuration, beauty &
ornamentation, distinctiveness, and the possibility of mass
production.
Ex:- Reebok & Nike trademark, appear prominently not only on
the shoes but also the soles of the shoes.
Similarly, The trademark of the car companies such as ‘Tata
Motors’, ‘Chevrolet’, ‘Hyundai’, ‘Maruti’ also appear prominently
on the cars also.

• Design is not just about a good visual appeal, it has to take into
consideration the company’s philosophy and ethos.
c. Trademark:- A Trademark is a mark of identity approved by law,
to be exclusively used by its owner for a period of time.

• A trademark can be applied for and owned by a manufacturer,

importer, distributor, or even a salesman.
Ex:- McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Sony etc.

• The definition and implication of a trademark is that it should

not be hypothetical, notional, imaginary, conceived & stored in
files. It must be used on goods or even with services.

• In this regard advertising is very relevant, as the use of a

trademark in an advertisement is seen as its ‘use’ in connection with
goods / services.

• Registration of trademark gives the manufacturer / owner a legal

remedy against unfair practices by unscrupulous traders /
competitors.

• The trademark law grants a manufacturer or a trader an exclusive

right to use the mark of identity on his goods.
• The trademark needs to be distinctive and not descriptive.

• Words that are used to describe one or the other qualities of

goods, such as, perfect, good, best, clean, superb, etc. are not
registerable.

• Despite that some such registrations are there, on the ground that
it has acquired distinctiveness with a long use.
Ex:- The word ‘Sheen’ (means smoothness, glossiness, and shine
on surface) was registered for needles.

• Designing an appropriate trademark and obtaining

registration for the same creates an intellectual property in
the trademark.

• It protects its use by others for similar goods in exactly the

same way as it protects any other kind of private property.
 Trademark Vs Patent:- The difference between a trademark and a
patent is that the former identifies the origin of the article to
which it is affixed, while the patent is a grant from the
Government.

• Trademarks have great recall value for the brands and are
prominently used by advertisers in advertisement campaigns
along with the tag line / catch phrase.

 Redesigning Trademarks:- Many companies change their

trademarks for various reasons that includes an expansion in their
activities, change in the mandate, or statutory requirements,
or to be in tune with the changing times in terms of design &
approach.
Ex:- Britannia, ONGC, Tata & Sons, P&G. etc.
 Trademark as an Advertising tool:- A trademark performs the
function of advertising & publicity for a company and bring about
‘top–of–the–mind’ recall among customers.

• Some famous trademarks have become the bench–marks of

quality and credibility.
Ex:- Mercedes Benz, Ford, Pepsi Co., Coca–Cola, Tata, Maruti,
Johnson & Johnson etc.

 Personal Name as Trademark:- In the interesting case of DM

Entertainment Vs Rajesh Jhaveri, Daler Mehndi, was able to get an
action against the defendants for registering the domain name
dalermehndi.net, thereby violating inter alia his rights to the
name.
The court restrained the defendants from using the plaintiff’s
trademark ‘Daler Mehndi’, thus giving a benchmark judgment by
recognizing the celebrity status of an entertainer’s personal
name as having trademark significance.
d. Copyright:- Copyright confers upon its owner exclusive rights in
respect to his literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work or in
respect of cinematographic film or record.

• It not only confers on the holder the right to do something but

also excludes others from committing those acts covered under
the copyright act.

• Copyright continues for fifty years from the end of the calendar
year in which the copyright holder died, after which the work
comes in the public domain & can be used, adapted, enacted, etc.

• An interesting deviation was made by the Government of India in

1994, when the copyright on Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath
Tagore vested with the Vishwabharti University came to an
end.
Bowing down to its sentiment that there could be misuse &
misinterpretation of his work for commercial purpose, the
copyright was extended for ten more years.
After the end of the extension in the year 2004, Tagore’s works are
now in the public domain.
 Copyright Vs Trademark:- Under the copyright law, authors,
composers, dramatists, and artists are entitled to protection
for their creations of intellectual nature, while under the
trademark law, the work may not be necessarily artistic.

• It may not even be new or novel, but it is registerable by virtue of

its becoming distinctive either by usage or being capable of
being identified with the manufacturer / owner.

• The applicants pay a certain fee to the Registrar of Trademarks, who

after convinced of the originality of the work, grants the
trademark.

• The registration once made valid for a period of seven years,

which can be renewed from time to time for further terms of
seven years and for any number of terms before the expiry of
each term.