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Should Surrogate advertising be allowed?Surrogate means replacement. Surrogate advertising is adopted by companies whose products were banned and now “surrogate” or substitute the brand name with another product. Their intention is to make sure the customers of the banned product don’t forget it. This process is also termed as “brand extension”.
Examples
- Smirnoff cassettes and CD’s
- Kingfisher mineral water
Here, the company can not just promote new products (CD’s , mineral water), but at the same time also attach the original brand.
Surrogate advertising should not be allowed. Tobacco and liquor banners make use of this phenomenon extensively and try to lure the public. The whole point of banning the product was not the banner but the harm it causes to public and viewers. Hence placing it under the same banner for a different product makes no sense.
The banners should concentrate more on the consequences of the products (like tobacco etc) rather than promoting them for a different product.
Most of the surrogate advertisements are even supported because of the revenue it brings to the different levels of hierarchy in the country.
Even though surrogate advertisements should be banned, there many other sources and mediums using which the public is lured. Most of the television serials are an example of this.
If the surrogate advertisements are used for liquor and cigarettes, they should ensure that the public is also aware of the consequences if they are consumed. If a person has a strong will power, there is nothing that can compel him to do something wrong.
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