The Hindu Business Line : Not all young & beautiful

Why is it that advertising tends to focus so much on youth, even when the brands are not particularly youth brands? By youth, I don't just mean teenagers but young people in a wide age range, from children to parents of young children. I'm sure the market for these products include a substantial chunk of older people, especially as life expectancy is higher these days. Also, older people get in their careers, fatter their wallets and spending power. For example, soap ads show nubile young things prancing in waterfalls, while the customer profile could actually be an older generation.

- Chandrahaas, on e.mail

THERE is a truism which is at least as old as advertising - that life should be mirrored in advertising - which I suppose means advertising should be as life is.

I believe the truth is a little different. Advertising mirrors life as it should be; not as it is. Remember, one of the earliest definitions of advertising (which I still think holds true) is that advertising is salesmanship in print. Now that we have advertising in many media we should change that definition to read `advertising is salesmanship in any form of a paid medium'.

Based on this definition, advertising must interest, excite, and elicit a positive response to a communication, which is essentially meant to sell a product, a service or even an idea. Communicating the idea is what we call the creative execution of an advertisement. The young people referred to by Chandrahaas in his letter are a part of the creative execution. Chandrahaas' query is whether the creative execution could be a bit more realistic in choosing the models for such communication.

Let us first get the demographics out of the way. First, unlike the Western countries, India is a very young country. Almost half of the population is below the age of 15 and the truly old constitute less than 10 per cent of the total population. This is despite the fact that India has significantly increased its life expectancy, because the demographic bulge in the country is very definitely in the younger age group.

Second, this is a country where youth is a role model. Take our national heroes. Sachin Tendulkar, Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan (and all the other Khans) and a group of sportsmen (mainly cricketers) and film stars constitute the most popular people in this country. They are all young, behave like the youth, certainly look so and are admired for their youthful attitude. Even Amitabh Bachchan prances like a schoolboy in the latest Pepsi commercial. So, there is no getting away from the fact that role models are the youth and we are a young country; indeed, a very young country.

Hence, advertising agencies feel that the best way is to appeal to the core target group which invariably comprises men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 (or 45 at the very most). Indeed, this is the danger of demographic targeting that most brands will invariably find their core consumer group within the above age group because that is where the large bulk of the adult population is.

Hence, the argument goes, that to appeal to such an age group we need a young model, be it male or female, smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat, preening in the sun, full of life and vitamins, with a beautiful body which is picture perfect. This is true not just for both young men and women but also for housewives and husbands who are beautifully turned out, good-looking and full of beans. Remember the last time you saw such a person?

Needless to say, such art direction does not really add to any form of communication. As I said earlier, the problem starts in the definition of the target consumer which, when expressed in demographics, gives a picture from which it is difficult to differentiate and impossible to identify to whom the advertisement is being addressed to.

This is why I believe that in any marketing exercise we must first identify the target market (i.e., people that the brand will actively target). We must, then, also build a picture of the target consumer, which should not be based on demographic details but should be a vivid and even inspirational description of the person who is the object of the brand's affection: the target consumer.

For example, giving a description of a consumer for high quality ladies undergarments as being `female, age between 18 and 25, SEC A1 and A; living in metro markets' does not tell either the creative person or the media manager what sort of consumer should be targeted.

However, if we define the consumer, as I have suggested, in a vivid and inspirational manner, we could (perhaps) say something quite different. For example, we could define that target consumer as a `fashionable young lady interested in pampering herself; wants not only to look good but also feel glamorous; identifies with TV soap opera stars; is traditional in behaviour but wants to be seen as being modern in her outlook'.

Of course, the `vivid and inspirational' description I have given should be based on consumer understanding (probably, gained through focus group research) and in consonance with the positioning and image that is proposed for the brand.

It would now be possible for creative people to have a clear picture in their minds of the consumer for whom the communication is being developed; and they can also see the manner in which the communication, when developed, should communicate the brand promise and the desired brand image.

I believe that an approach on the lines that I have mentioned will result in more effective advertising and will ensure that we do not face the problem of lack of identity between the potential customer and the communication.

Of course, in the example I have given it is possible that the model(s) chosen would be young and beautiful. But, if we follow the same approach for many of the brands that are being advertised we would certainly have a greater variety and far greater meaning and `connect' between the advertised brand and its target market.

(The author is CEO, Quadra Advisory, a strategic marketing consultancy. Readers can send their questions on marketing issues to The Editor, The Hindu Business Line, 859, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002, or e-mail them to bleditor@thehindu.co.in.)

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