All about Surrogate Advertising

We must have heard the word surrogate many times, but what does it really mean? A surrogate is a person or a thing who is duplicating another person in role. Similarly surrogate advertising is a form of advertising that duplicates the brand image of one product to promote another product of the same brand.  

 

What is Surrogate Advertising?

 

Advertisements have become a powerful form of influence on both society and the people in the age of new-fangled technologies. Companies utilize a variety of channels to sell their products and services, which has a direct or indirect impact on the lives of their consumers. These channels range from television ads to social media platforms.

 

As a result, in recent years, several corporations have increasingly used such platforms to market items that would otherwise be illegal to advertise directly. Surrogate advertising is a type of advertising that uses one product's brand image to promote another product from the same company.

 

The term surrogate refers to a substitute.' Surrogate advertising is commonly used by businesses to advertise a prohibited product under the guise of a replacement offering.

 

Surrogate products may resemble a comparable commodity or be wholly distinct. In other words, businesses market their products and services by masquerading them as another product under the same brand name.

 

A common example of this is a liquor product marketed as a soda drink or an altogether different product such as music CDs under the same brand name.

 

Surrogate advertising is the promotion of unlawful, prohibited items such as alcohol and cigarettes. Surrogate Advertising began in the United Kingdom, when housewives protested against liquor businesses and forced them to advertise fruit juice and soda under the same brand name.

             

Also Read | Types of Targeted Advertising

 

 

Examples of Surrogate Advertising 

 

Many businesses have used goods to mimic their brand image. As a result, the following are three common industry examples that employ surrogate advertising to advertise their products:

 

• Surrogate Advertising In Liquor Industry

 

Today's liquor business purposefully blurs the difference between goods by promoting "ancient wine" in a "fresh bottle." In other words, firms offer alcoholic beverages disguised as soda, fruit juice, and cocktail mixers.

 

Imperial Blue's series of adverts on music CDs to promote their whiskey brand in India, where advertising an alcoholic product is prohibited, is a prominent example of this.

 

This category includes well-known brands such as Bagpiper soda, cassettes and CDs, Royal Challenge, and Kingfisher.

 

Check out the Advertisement by Imperial Blue :

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• Surrogate Advertising In Tobacco Industry

 

Many firms have quietly targeted customers in recent years by marketing tobacco-based items disguised as pan masala and hookah replacements. For example, Pierce Brosnan, the renowned actor who played James Bond's role, sponsored Pan Bahar, a pan masala brand, by becoming its brand ambassador.  

 

This category includes well-known brands such as Manikchand Group, Dharampal Satyapal Limited, and Kothari Products Limited.

 

• Surrogate Advertising In Cannabis Industry

 

Cannabis marketing is evolving at a rapid pace. Most marijuana companies offer their weed-infused goods under the guise of treatment. This category includes well-known brands such as ArcView and GW Pharmaceuticals.

 

Also Read | Covert Advertising

 

 

Functions of Surrogate Advertising

 

Since tobacco and liquor product advertising has been prohibited in the mass media, these firms have turned to surrogate advertising strategies to keep their brands alive in the minds of customers. 

 

Brand recall is the most crucial purpose of surrogate advertising. A surrogate advertising promotes other market items without mentioning cigarettes or alcohol, yet under the same brand.

 

Surrogate advertising entered India in the mid-1990s, following the passage of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, coupled with the Cable Television Rules, 1994, which prohibited direct liquor, tobacco, and cigarette commercials. 1 Previously, the Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply, and Distribution) Act of 1975 required a statutory health warning to be shown on all cartons and ads. 

 

Advertisements have a powerful impact on customers' brains, especially in this day and age of cutting-edge technology. The government took a step forward by prohibiting direct ads concerning booze and cigarettes in order to limit the influence of such marketing on the public and successfully reduce the negative consequences of these items in general. 

 

As a result, these booze and cigarette corporations' Surrogate Advertisements undermine the fundamental objective of this restriction. Launching additional items under a common brand name is known as brand extension, and it is not inherently unlawful or unethical. 

 

The issue occurs when a brand expansion is carried out in response to a prohibition on advertising for a certain product category.

 

Also Read | Influencer Marketing

 

 

Strategies for Surrogate Advertising

 

Some effective strategies adopted in Surrogate Advertising are:- 

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Strategies for Surrogate Advertising

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Surrogate advertising employs a collaborative technique to gain exponential and quick exposure. As a result, corporations can market their products using any of the following five strategies: promotion by extension, promotion by association, promotion through TV commercials, promotion through events and sponsorships, and promotion through public service announcements.

 

1. Promotion by extension 

 

Brand extension is the promotion of new items using a well-known brand name. Several corporations now employ brand extensions to respond to a limitation on advertising a certain product category.

 

For example, Kingfisher has marketed everything from soda to calendars to airplanes under the same brand.

 

2. Promotion by Association

 

Promotion through association focuses on a company's value proposition and generates the impression in the minds of buyers that the brand is for daring people.

 

In general, celebrities endorse such companies to assist represent the ideals that a firm aims to convey. For example, famed Bollywood actor Shatrugan Sinha appeared in a Bagpiper club soda advertisement to promote the brand.

 

3. Promotion through TV Commercials 

 

Promotion through association focuses on a company's value proposition and generates the impression in the minds of buyers that the brand is for daring people.

 

In general, celebrities endorse such companies to assist represent the ideals that a firm aims to convey.

 

For example, famed Bollywood actor Shatrugan Sinha appeared in a Bagpiper club soda advertisement to promote the brand.

 

4. Promotion through Events

 

Events and sponsorships are another kind of surrogate advertising. In this sort of advertisement, the corporation places its logo someplace, such as on an event wall or the outside boundary of a sporting event. This strategy, in turn, imprints the brand's image on the brains of consumers.

 

Royal Stag, for example, owned an IPL franchise and supported Coke Studio performances to promote their brand.

 

5. Promotion through Public Service Announcement

 

Public service announcements (PSAs) are a popular method of advertising items.

 

Most items on the market today are prohibited by surrogate advertising rules and are related to a variety of health hazards. As a result, using colorful business logos, corporations may raise awareness about the dangers of smoking using this advertising strategy.

 

For example, a firm can raise awareness about the dangers of smoking while also attracting customers by drawing attention to its brand.

 

Also Read | Classified Advertising

 

 

Benefits and Limitations of Surrogate Advertising

 

Since the promotion of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages has been prohibited in the mass media, businesses have turned to surrogate advertising strategies to sell their products. They do, however, have their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

 

As a result, the following is a summary of the many advantages and disadvantages of surrogate advertising.

 

Benefits

 

• It enables businesses to gain income from prohibited items.

 

• It constantly reminds users of the prohibited items in a roundabout way.

 

• When no one can advertise, the threat of competition from new players is reduced.

 

Limitations

 

• It can defeat the goal of the government's ban on advertising dangerous items since the knowledge and awareness level on surrogate advertisements is very low.

 

• It can defeat the goal of the government's ban on advertising dangerous items since the knowledge and awareness level on surrogate advertisements is very low.

 

There are a number of reasons for companies to use surrogate advertising. One of the most common reasons is to circumvent a ban on direct advertisements of particular products. Surrogate Advertising is a boon for such products and helps in reaching and attracting prospective customers. 

 

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