History of Indian

Advertising
Pre Independence
• Press advertisements – largely imported
goods which had reached Indian shores
• B.Dattaram Ad agency
• ITC Launches Gold Flakes
• First Foreign Owned Ad Agency
• (Gujarat Advertising and Indian Advertising,
Alliance Advertising, Tata Publicity, D J Keymer
gives rise to Ogilvy & Mather and Clarion)
• JWT in India – General Motors
1930’s

• National Advertising Service Pvt Ltd

setup
• Sista Advertising & Public relation
• The talkies and radio (AIR) emerge
as media
• Lever’s advertising department
launches Dalda
• The Press Syndicate Ltd, Bombay
set up
• Colour movies
1940’s

• Lux signs Leela Chitnis as

endorser
• ASP, Everest, Grant agencies
setup
• Radio ceylon & Radio Goa
• 2nd World War
• Famine
• Fight for Independence
1950’s
• Watershed years for Indian advertising
• Industrial revolution in the Nehruvian era
• 1st survey of the rural market (Wood)
• Burmah Shell vans used for advertising
• Cinema advertising began
• Kolkata gets the privilege of India’s first ad
club
• Leading ad agency - Press Syndicate
• Vividh bharathi launched
1960’s
• India’s First Soap Opera telecasted
• India’s first Advertising Convention (1960)
• HLL + Lintas, Wadia Launches InterPub,
Wills – Made for each other by JWT
• First commercial in vividh bharathi
• Advertising to be Indian in thought and
content
• Shift to marketing orientation
• Professionalisation within agencies
• 1st Asian Advertising Congress at New
Delhi
• Research data generated
Cont’d

• MRI (Market Rating Indices)

• Shop Audits
• NRS I and II
• Creativity was emphasised
• Photography find increasing
use
• Social marketing
1970’s

• Media boom
• Special magazines
• 2nd Asian Advertising Congress
at New Delhi
• Lifestyle studies, positioning
• Rural marketing
• Agencies O&M, Mudra, Grey
1980’s
• Indianisation of western advertising
• Public sector advertising
• Expansion and diversification of
agencies
• Aug 15th 1982 – Colour TV introduced
• Radio commercials introduced
• NRS III by IMRB
• Colour Printing more popular (A&M
magazine)
Cont’d

• Regional broadcasts, expansion

of radio
• Formation of Indian chapter of
International Advertising
Association
• Formation of ASCI
• Adoption of a new code
• Concept of sponsored
programmes on TV
1990’s
• NRS IV ( 2 surveys – ORG and IMRB-MARG)
• Niche magazines – ET launches Brand
Equity
• Emphasis on Direct marketing
• Satellite TV
• CNN – 1st channel to be beamed to India
• Star bouquet
• Zee bouquet
• DD Metro to counter satellite channels
Cont’d

• DD Audience surveys
• Movie channels and pay channels
• FM Radio
• Emphasis on Brand Equity
• Internationalisation of Advertising
• NRS V
• IRS survey
• Consumer Tracking and Satisfaction
studies
2000

• NRS VI
• Internationalisation of domestic
agencies
• Net Advertising
• The role of the advertising
agency – changing to that of a
marketing consultant