When Advertisements Came Alive: Long Before Gen Z Called It Immersive Marketing!!

My dear friend, Dr. Madhusudan Kota, recently shared an interesting LinkedIn post on sensory advertising, advertisements that go beyond merely being seen. They can be touched, smelled, or experienced, making the reader an active participant rather than a passive observer.

Dr. Kota referred to two memorable examples from The Times of India. Today on the occasion of world Biryani Day, Daawat Biryani Rice came out with an advertisement that made the newspaper itself smell like freshly cooked biryani. Another edition carried the fragrance of a fabric whitener Comfort, allowing readers to literally experience the freshness being advertised.

Many from Gen Z and Gen Alpha may consider this a breakthrough innovation. While it certainly feels modern, the idea itself is far from new. Back in the mid-1980s, Hindustan Lever Limited (then HLL, now HUL) created one of the most memorable sensory print campaigns I have ever seen.

On one page of a newspaper advertisement, a small piece of cloth was stapled to the page. The copy suggested that it had been washed using "the detergent that claims to be the best value for money" an obvious reference to Nirma. The cloth appeared reasonably clean, but it lacked brightness and sparkling whiteness.

Turn the page, and another piece of cloth was attached. This one was sparkling white. The message simply stated that this cloth had been washed with Surf Excel. The advertisement ended with a brilliant line: "Do you need any further proof?". And the Surf washed cloth appeared soft when touched.

The product demonstration was literally in your hands. Instead of making a claim, the advertisement invited readers to verify it themselves. It transformed advertising into evidence. There were many other examples as well.

Several glossy international lifestyle magazines used to infuse pages with perfume samples. As youngsters, we would eagerly visit the magazine stalls in Abids, gently rub those scented pages with our fingers, and carry the fragrance with us long after putting the magazine back. It was a delightful experience that no television commercial could ever replicate.

Closer home, Telugu magazines that brought out their special Deepavali annual editions often infused their pages with the unmistakable fragrance of Punugu. That aroma blended beautifully with the festive mood, complementing the sounds of crackers, the glow of oil lamps, and the spiritual atmosphere of India's most celebrated festival. Even before reading a single article, the festival had already begun.

Today's marketers speak of immersive experiences, multi-sensory branding, and experiential marketing. The terminology may be new, but the thinking is decades old. Great advertisers have always understood a simple truth: the more senses an advertisement engages, the stronger the memory it creates.

People may forget what they read. They may even forget what they saw. But they rarely forget what they experienced. Perhaps that is the timeless lesson from these remarkable campaigns.

The best advertisements don't merely communicate. They create memories that linger, sometimes in the mind, and sometimes, quite literally, in the air.

Keywords: Sensory advertising, experiential marketing, immersive marketing, print advertising, newspaper advertising, Daawat Biryani Rice campaign, aroma advertising, scented newspaper, fragrance marketing, tactile advertising, touch and feel advertising, Surf detergent advertisement, HUL advertising history, Hindustan Unilever advertising, Hindustan Lever vintage ads, 1980s advertising campaigns, nostalgic advertising, innovative print ads, magazine perfume samples, Punugu fragrance, Deepavali magazine editions, marketing innovation, advertising creativity, consumer experience, multisensory branding, brand engagement, marketing memories, advertising history, traditional advertising, memorable advertising campaigns, newspaper marketing, marketing case study, branding strategy, consumer psychology, Dr. Madhusudan Kota, marketing insights, advertising evolution, marketing communication, brand storytelling, Indian advertising legends.

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Dirty fight in Beauty business – Everything is Fair (pun intended) in love, war and Business!

I keep telling my students, ad nauseam “business is a war and it is a war without bullets”. Companies want to get business come what may and will use any reason, means, or method to protect their market share. They will fiercely defend themselves against any upstarts who threaten them and their holy grail – market share and profitability. 

Hindustan Unilever has changed the name of its popular “Fair and lovely” brand name to “Glow and Lovely”. So from now onwards Fair and Lovely will become Glow and Lovely and HUL feels that all the damage control has been done and that it has played a stellar role in defending and promoting the ‘black lives matter’ campaign. 

In reality HUL is only trying to minimize the effect of a possible negative backlash and does not want to be accused of racial discrimination. HUL definitely doesn’t want a tag that it popularizes a racial stereotype of beauty being associated with fair skin.  

But the ploy is not convincing HUL! Fair and lovely, Oops Glow and Lovely is a product that has become popular on the assumption that fair is beautiful and dark is ugly. After fuelling the insecurities of crores of customers and reaping rich dividend HUL simply can’t wish the problem away.

The elephant in the room is big, violent, and quite unruly. It simply can’t be silenced with a cosmetic name change. Just by saying Glow and Lovely will not suffice HUL! End of the day call it Fair and Lovely or Glow and Lovey it is finally a skin whitening cream!

The brand’s USP is based on skin whitening promise. Will the Indian consumer believe that glowing is loveliness? The problem does not end here for HUL. Would HUL promote dark skin and go into the conditioning business? If Indians get comfortable with their skin colour, there is no need for Glow and Lovely!

We are already dark and dusky we might not need HUL’s Glow and lovely to make us glow! A clean bath with good old Liril and a vigorous dab of good old talcum powder might suffice.

The problems don’t seem to end for HUL. They have renamed the men’s range of Fair and Lovely as Glow and Handsome and this tactic did not go well with HUL’s rival Emami. Emami with wisdom has already changed its Fair and Handsome brand’s (Emami’s skin whitening cream targeting men) name as Emami Glow and Handsome but have not yet introduced the same into the market. 

When HUL changed the name of its men’s Fair and Lovely to Glow and Handsome, Emami naturally is upset. Glow and Handsome will clash with Emami's Fair and Handsome and similar-sounding names could create confusion in the minds of the consumers. Emami is worried that the confusion in similar names could result in HUL walking away, a winner courtesy its more powerful and comprehensive distribution network.

The distribution muscle of HUL could cannibalize the market and eat into Emami’s market share and upset Emami’s apple cart in men’s skin whitening business. A business where Emami has been a prime mover and a market leader.

HUL has taken Emami to the court of law and contents that it has the right to use the name Glow and handsome and that it has registered the name a long time ago. HUL argues that it has already launched Glow and Handsome and that Emami is only in the testing stage and that it has not formally launched the product. The skirmishes have started and watch this space for more action.

Lifebuoy – the over Hundred Year brand – Positioning Strategy

 Lifebuoy, the strong-smelling, dull red soap came to life through the energetic  advertisements  in  the cinema halls with the tune of “Tandurusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy …” 

First introduced in India in early 1895 Lifebuoy spans nearly 130 years, Lifebuoy moved from being a men's soap to a family soap. Over the years Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) moved away from the strong carbolic scent, it also modified the aesthetics of the outer packaging. The result is a contemporary-looking and fresher smelling soap which promised ‘continuous protection from germs' for the entire family.  

1. Initial Positioning Strategy (from 1894 to 2002): Since 1894 Lifebuoy had largely remained the ultimate mens' bathing bar.

2. Positioning shift (in 2002): The challenge for Lifebuoy was to effect the change, while retaining the core – its disinfectant properties. So the core positioning strategy was moved from men battling grime and dirt to mothers chasing a healthy soap to ensure their children don't get infected. 

3. Reinvesting positioning strategy (2004):  In 2004, Lifebuoy was re-launched with four variants and all the variants came under one ‘umbrella' look. The variants were Lifebuoy Strong, Lifebuoy Fresh, Lifebuoy Gold and Lifebuoy Naturals

4: Seasonal Positioning strategy (2011): Lifebuoy started being sold on a ‘seasonal' platform with the communication proposition being ‘Protection from 10 infection causing germs'.   The ten germs being are flu, sore throat, respiratory infection, dysentery, diarrhoea, rash, skin infection, sore eyes, pimples and ear infection.

5. Positioning Problem in the urban markets: Although Lifebuoy has stuck to its base proposition over the years; analysts say it has not been able to keep many of its urban audiences interested. Given the category and the competitiveness therein, it's not surprising that Lifebuoy has attempted to refresh itself every few years. Over the years, there are many campaigns from the brand that are fresh in public memory, right from the sweaty players on the football field to the Little Gandhi advertisements. 

Keeping in mind Lifebuoy's heritage and lineage, analysts think that if HUL wants to improve its sales in the urban markets it should position the soap as a retro soap that is a soap that harps on its lineage and its traditional values and try to hook on people who were once very loyal to it rather than trying to be a modern soap and compete with other brands of soap.

Rural Market strategy: Lifebuoy has a pan-India presence and the rural markets make up more than half of its overall sales. There are a lot of challenges that the soap faces in these markets.

In rural markets Lifebuoy has to build a relevance of germs. In the case of urban markets a lot of people understand that germs cause illness. In rural markets Lifebuoy has to explain to people that there are things called germs and if they don’t wash their hands the germs will cause illness.

Although the product quality is the same, the company does have cheaper variants of Lifebuoy in rural areas. Lifebuoy is available in 38-gm stock keeping units that cost Rs 5, in rural areas. This aids easy product penetration.