Will Kingfisher Airlines be allowed to advertise?

Indian laws do not allow alcohol and tobacco companies to advertise, but a few of these advertisers have extended their brands to other categories purely in an attempt to advertise. Surrogate advertising happens when the brand extension is seen as a guise for a product that is almost non-existent in commercial terms. There have been regular noises made against surrogate advertising and the government could soon be decisively clamping down on all surrogate ads on TV. This could spell a loss of Rs250 crore in TV ad spends, say perturbed broadcasters. Leading broadcasters want to know the definition of surrogate advertising. “How do you implement such bans or disprove legitimate brand extension. Does this mean Kingfisher Airlines doesn’t exist and can’t advertise? Or that there are no Wills Lifestyle stores? And will Sony not be allowed to air Indian Premier League matches featuring Royal Challengers (named after Royal Challenge, a liquor brand)? Why is the clamp not extended to other media, such as sponsored ground events, outdoors, point-of-purchase advertising etc., which will reap our losses?” asks a broadcaster.
02/04/08 Marion Arathoon/Livemint

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Categories: Kingfisher Mar 2008