Surrogate Advertising:
The Union Health Ministry recently asked both the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to bring in measures to prevent surrogate advertisement of tobacco and or alcohol related products by sportspersons.
- Surrogate Advertising refers to a form of advertisement that duplicates the brand image of one product to promote another product of the same brand.
- The word surrogate means a ‘substitute’. Usually, brands use surrogate advertising to promote products that cannot be advertised directly due to legal or social restrictions.
- Surrogate goods could either resemble a similar commodity or an entirely different product. Meaning, companies advertise their products and services by disguising them for some other product under the same brand name.
- From liquor to tobacco-related products, several brands have embraced this form of advertising to spread their word and uphold their image in the industry.
- In India, surrogate ads are common and used across several media platforms. For example, liquor brands use their brand names and logos to promote products like music CDs, soda, and more.
- While the target audience knows a particular brand’s niche, surrogate advertising helps you get your message across in a subtle and legal way.
- The motive behind doing so is to ensure that the customers can recall the original product in the disguise of another advertised product.
- This process is also called “brand extension”.
