Advertising and Globalization in India

This study explores the profi le of contemporary advertising in India in the wider context of trends in international advertising, the recent changes in Indian economy and society, and issues concerning the cultural impact of foreign advertising in India. Findings are complemented with a case study of outdoor advertising collected in two visits to India in 2000 and 2001. In the 1990s, India has witnessed a massive expansion of advertising, and the advertising sector has quickly been taken over by foreign advertisers and agencies that are affiliated with foreign advertising agencies. The whole advertising sector demonstrates a remarkable degree of concentration. There has been a rapid expansion of television and satellite television in the 1990s but print is still the dominant media. The profi le of most advertised products is dominated by advertising for personal products. The strategies used in India have undergone signifi cant change in recent years, and here has been increased customization to the local culture alongside a major intensifi cation of strategies aimed at targeting rural markets, to stimulate the purchase of the products of foreign companies.