A woman clad in a yellow saree beams as she swings a cricket bat; an old man, wearing a crocheted taqiyah (skull-cap) and holding a bunch of lotuses, grins; a plump man is engaged in an animated conversation over his cell-phone — these were the happy faces featured in the BJP’s ‘India Shining’ ad campaign’s posters from the 2004 General Elections.
The posters and the campaign had created quite a stir and elicited harsh criticism from all quarters: the Opposition, citizens, media and academia. They felt that the campaign was a far cry from India’s reality. Accepting criticism, LKAdvani, former Deputy Prime Minister, at a leadership forum in 2011, went so far as to say that it should have read “India Rising.”
While the campaign attracted flak and support, Ashutosh Khanna, former-COO of Grey Worldwide, India, says the ‘India Shining’ slogan was never intended for electioneering. Khanna was part of the team that had spearheaded the ‘India Shining’ account for Grey.
He elaborates: “The brief was given to us by the Ministry of Finance, some time around mid-2003, for an ad campaign for the Ministry.” ‘India Shining’ was originally the theme for a 60-second video. “The brief we received for this was that India is going through a time of great economic opportunity, we have also had a good monsoon. It’s an opportunity to grow and a good time to invest.” The campaign was tailored to cater to an economic agenda.
“Around February (2004) we heard that election dates had been announced. Soon, statements were being made by Advani and others, that ‘India Shining’ would be the BJP’s campaign’s slogan,” Khanna says. “We were aghast, and not in favour of using it as a political campaign.” According to him, the campaign suffered because it wasn’t used for its intended purpose. “The message in 2004 was a bit confused, unlike in 1999 (Grey had handled the BJP’s campaign in 1999). There was no clarity of thought to go out and understand what the major issues were. Maybe there was a sense of over-optimism since psephologists had predicted that the NDA would return.”
While it is an uphill task to quantify the success or failure of a political ad campaign, one can’t deny that ad campaigns have the power to hurt or elevate political reputations. Alleged to have cost the BJP a whopping ₹500 crore, the ‘India Shining’ campaign is often cited as one of the biggest reasons for them not returning to power.
Could this possibly be the reason for advertising agencies not confirming their involvement in the upcoming election?
Tight-lipped According to media reports, Taproot and Dentsu are handling the Congress’ media activities, but aren’t confirming their involvement. Likewise, there is news that Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson, wouldn’t admit that he’s being hotly pursued by the BJP. Only PR agency Genesis Burson-Martsteller has confirmed its involvement with the Congress.
“Political parties don’t use effective communication strategies during the four years before the election,” Khanna says. He believes last-ditch efforts one month before the elections are the worst way to garner any support or establish electoral presence. “In the run-up to elections, unless political parties are lucky enough to get a hold of an emotive issue — such as corruption, as the Aam Aadmi Party has — advertising campaigns will fail to have the desired impact.” He feels that a party’s advertising campaign should be a sustained effort throughout the four years leading up to the elections. While this wouldn’t’ completely negate the risk of a failed advertising campaign, it would perhaps soften the blow.