46 INDIATODAY AUGUST 19, 2019
sametime,hadsportsmenandwomenfromacrossthecountry
carryingatorchinrelay—again,meanttocelebratediversity
andhonourachievementinsports.Therehaven’tbeensimilar
campaignsfromthegovernmentsince1991,whenthefocus
shiftedfrombuildingsocietytobuildingthenation’seconomy.
‘JaiJawan(hailthesoldier)’,salutingthearmedforcesisanother
popularthemethatstillprevails,perhapstheonlyareawhere
politicalandbranddiscourseoverlap.
Post1991,forthenexttwodecades,asIndiawentfrom
strengthtostrength,thethemeof‘nationbuilding’becamea
favourite.Electricalbrands,foodbrands,bankbrands,business
conglomeratesandlargecompaniesallviedwitheachotherto
presenttheirnation-buildingcredentials.Theveryoldcompa-
nieschronicledtheircontributionfromIndependenceonward,
whilethenewonestalkedoftheirscopeandscaleandtheir
recentachievements.Marketleadersineverycategorytriedto
makethemselvessynonymouswithIndiaandtosuggestthat
theyfuelledtheflameofIndia’sdiversity—‘thetasteofIndia’,
‘bankertoeveryIndian’,‘thenation’shistoryisourhistory’and
of coursethemostbeloved‘bulandBharatkibulandtasveer(a
boldimageofboldIndia)’.
Withthegenerationalshiftincompaniesandcommunica-
tors,howdoesyoungIndiathinkaboutsuchthings?Arewesee-
ingchangesinthewaybrandsapproachpatriotism,theirroleas
Indiancitizens,ortheirIndependenceandRepublicDayads?
Onesegmentofit—alargeone—merelyseesthese‘special
countrydays’asamarketingopportunity.Ahotelroomaggrega-
torexhortspeopletotakeadvantageofthelongIndependence
Dayweekendandtraveltovariouspartsofthecountry;another
lot announcesmegasales;yetanothersegmenttakes‘freedom’
and‘independence’literally,promisingfreedomfromcutsand
scratchybeardsandslipperytyresandthelike.
Ifwegrantthesebusinessestheirperceptionofconsumerism
as thehighestaltaratwhichtoworship,thereisstillaclearseg-
mentofotherswhoarenotcontentwithamerechroniclingand
celebrationofdiversity,butareusingtheirbrandplatformto
‘helpbuildabetterIndia’—takingthenation-buildingthemeto
the next level. If earlier the theme was translated
as ‘built factories, introduced new products, pro-
vided jobs, worked with all segments of society’, it
is now beginning to be translated as ‘promoting
desirable behaviours of a nation with a progres-
sive society’. There are ads around ‘soch badalna
hoga (ways of thinking need to change)’, ‘opportu-
nity for everyone to rise’, ‘what has education done
for you’ and so on. Women’s independence, safety
and freedom from social restraints is a popular
theme; environmental protection (not ‘Swachh
Bharat’ slogans) and freedom from plastic is
another; inclusion or the general ‘freedom to be’
and equal rights for under-privileged sections is
another; and a gentle and positive comment on
the move to a ‘no bribery and corruption/ fast
transactions’ environment from a digital payment
brand are all welcome indicators of what we will
see more of in the future.R
ecent WhatsApp messages doing
the rounds talk of ‘swadeshi-
videshi (domestic-foreign)’ brands,
bemoaning how the behemoths
among US and Chinese brands
are taking over the Indian market and blaming
the government for not enabling the rise of Indian
brands. The Bombay Club of 1991 thinking back
again? No, that ship of patriotism has sailed. The
new theme around swadeshi-videshi is to get our
fair share of our own market by competing fair and
square and doing what China is doing—creating
local beaters of global champs.
Nirma, and now Patanjali, rose on an anti-
MNC platform. However, it is not patriotism but
fair pricing that is their proposition. The ‘made in
country X or Y’ national branding is now begin-
ning to lose all its previous perceptions as supply
chains have gone global. Orders from a website
in Asia go to a US address; the shipping is from
Europe, while the tag says ‘Made in India’.
If brand-speak represents popular culture, we
have less to worry about than some of us might
think! The days when brands kowtowed to politi-
cians are over. The days when they push back and
take a stand if needed are yet to come, but there are
definitely green shoots on the horizon.Rama Bijapurkar is a leading Indian consultant
on market strategy and consumer behaviourNIRMA, AND NOW PATANJALI,
ROSEON AN ANTI-MNC
PLATFORM—BUT IT IS NOT
PATRIOTISM, BUT FAIR
PRICING, THAT IS THEIR
PROPOSITION