Culture, Advertising and Promotion To dos:
\n1. Read Case 2-2: Fair & Lovely and Advertising attached<\/p>\n
2. Answer the following questions:
\n1. Is the advertising of Fair & Lovely demeaning to women, or is it promoting the fairness cream in a way not too dissimilar from how most cosmetics are promoted
\n2. Propose a promotion\/marketing program that will counter all the arguments and charges against Fair & Lovely and be an effective program.
\nDeliverables: Typed word document to be handed in class, not to exceed 2 pages, 12 size font, Times New Roman.<\/p>\n
Cultural Norms, Fair & Lovely,and Advertising<\/p>\n
in newspapers or on the Web that are used by families to arrange
\nsuitable alliances, and you will see that most potential grooms
\nand their families are looking for \u201cfair\u201d brides; some even are
\nprogressive enough to invite responses from women belonging
\nto a different caste. These ads, hundreds of which appear in India\u2019s
\ndaily newspapers, reflect attempts to solicit individuals with
\nthe appropriate religion, caste, regional ancestry, professional and
\neducational qualifications, and, frequently, skin color. Even in the
\ngrowing numbers of ads that announce \u201ccaste no bar,\u201d the adjective
\n\u201cfair\u201d regularly precedes professional qualifications. In everyday
\nconversation, the ultimate compliment on someone\u2019s looks is to
\nsay someone is gora (fair). \u201cI have no problem with people wanting
\nto be lighter,\u201d said a Delhi beauty parlor owner, Saroj Nath. \u201cIt
\ndoesn\u2019t make you racist, any more than trying to make yourself
\nlook younger makes you ageist.\u201d
\nBollywood (India\u2019s Hollywood) glorifies conventions on beauty
\nby always casting a fair-skinned actress in the role of heroine, surrounded
\nby the darkest extras. Women want to use whiteners because
\nit is \u201caspirational, like losing weight.\u201d
\nEven the gods supposedly lament their dark complexion\u2014
\nKrishna sings plaintively, \u201cRadha kyoon gori, main kyoon kala
\n(Why is Radha so fair when I\u2019m dark).\u201d A skin deficient in melanin
\n(the pigment that determines the skin\u2019s brown color) is an
\nancient predilection. More than 3,500 years ago, Charaka, the
\nfamous sage, wrote about herbs that could help make the skin
\nfair.
\nIndian dermatologists maintain that fairness products cannot
\ntruly work as they reach only the upper layers of the skin and so
\ndo not affect melanin production. Nevertheless, for some, Fair &
\nLovely is a \u201cmiracle worker.\u201d A user gushes that \u201cThe last time
\nI went to my parents\u2019 home, I got compliments on my fair skin
\nfrom everyone.\u201d For others, there is only disappointment. One
\n26-year-old working woman has been a regular user for the
\npast eight years but to no avail. \u201cI should have turned into Snow
\nWhite by now but my skin is still the same wheatish color.\u201d As
\nan owner of a public relations firm commented, \u201cMy maid has
\nbeen using Fair and Lovely for years and I still can\u2019t see her in
\nthe dark.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. But she goes on using it. Hope springs eternal, I
\nsuppose.\u201d
\nThe number of Indians who think lighter skin is more beautiful
\nmay be shrinking. Sumit Isralni, a 22-year-old hair designer
\nin his father\u2019s salon, thinks things have changed in the last two
\nyears, at least in India\u2019s most cosmopolitan cities, Delhi, Mumbai,
\nand Bangalore. Women now \u201cprefer their own complexion, their
\nnatural way\u201d Isralni says; he prefers a more \u201cIndian beauty\u201d himself:
\n\u201cI won\u2019t judge my wife on how fair her complexion is.\u201d Sunita
\nGupta, a beautician in the same salon, is more critical. \u201cIt\u2019s just
\nfoolishness!\u201d she exclaimed. The premise of the ads that women
\ncould not become airline attendants if they are dark-skinned was
\nwrong, she said. \u201cNowadays people like black beauty.\u201d It is a truism
\nthat women, especially in the tropics, desire to be a shade fairer,
\nno matter what their skin color. Yet, unlike the approach used in
\nIndia, advertisements elsewhere usually show how to use the product
\nand how it works.
\nCultural Norms, Fair & Lovely,and
\nAdvertising
\nCASE 2-2
\nFair & Lovely, a branded product of Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL),
\nis touted as a cosmetic that lightens skin color. On its website
\n(hll.com.in), the company calls its product \u201cthe miracle worker,\u201d
\n\u201cproven to deliver one to three shades of change.\u201d While tanning
\nis the rage in Western countries, skin lightening treatments are
\npopular in Asia.
\nAccording to industry sources, the top-selling skin lightening
\ncream in India is Fair & Lovely from Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL),
\nfollowed by CavinKare\u2019s Fairever brand. HLL\u2019s Fair & Lovely brand
\ndominated the market with a 90 percent share until CavinKare
\nLtd. (CKL) launched Fairever. In just two years, the Fairever brand
\ngained an impressive 15 percent market share. HLL\u2019s share of market
\nfor the Fair & Lovely line generates about $60 million annually.
\nThe product sells for about 23 rupees ($0.29) for a 25-gram tube of
\ncream.
\nThe rapid growth of CavinKare\u2019s Fairever (www.cavinkare
\n.com) brand prompted HLL to increase its advertising effort and
\nto launch a series of ads depicting a \u201cfairer girl gets the boy theme.\u201d
\nOne advertisement featured a financially strapped father lamenting
\nhis fate, saying, \u201cIf only I had a son,\u201d while his dark-skinned
\ndaughter looks on, helpless and demoralized because she can\u2019t bear
\nthe financial responsibility of her family. Fast-forward and plain
\nJane has been transformed into a gorgeous light-skinned woman
\nthrough the use of a \u201cfairness cream,\u201d Fair & Lovely. Now clad in a
\nminiskirt, the woman is a successful flight attendant and can take
\nher father to dine at a five-star hotel. She\u2019s happy and so is her father.
\nIn another ad, two attractive young women are sitting in a bedroom;
\none has a boyfriend and, consequently, is happy. The darkerskinned
\nwoman, lacking a boyfriend, is not happy. Her friend\u2019s
\nadvice\u2014Use a bar of soap to wash away the dark skin that\u2019s keeping
\nmen from flocking to her.
\nHLL\u2019s series of ads provoked CavinKare Ltd. to counter with an
\nad that takes a dig at HLL\u2019s Fair & Lovely ad. CavinKare\u2019s ad has
\na father\u2013daughter duo as the protagonists, with the father shown
\nencouraging the daughter to be an achiever irrespective of her
\ncomplexion. CavinKare maintained that the objective of its new
\ncommercial is not to take a dig at Fair & Lovely but to \u201creinforce
\nFairever\u2019s positioning.\u201d
\nSkin color is a powerful theme in India, and much of Asia,
\nwhere a lighter color represents a higher status. While Americans
\nand Europeans flock to tanning salons, many across Asia seek ways
\nto have \u201cfair\u201d complexions. Culturally, fair skin is associated with
\npositive values that relate to class and beauty. One Indian lady
\ncommented that when she was growing up, her mother forbade
\nher to go outdoors. She was not trying to keep her daughter out of
\ntrouble but was trying to keep her skin from getting dark.
\nBrahmins, the priestly caste at the top of the social hierarchy,
\nare considered fair because they traditionally stayed inside, poring
\nover books. The undercaste at the bottom of the ladder are
\nregarded as the darkest people because they customarily worked
\nin the searing sun. Ancient Hindu scriptures and modern poetry
\neulogize women endowed with skin made of white marble.
\nSkin color is closely identified with caste and is laden with
\nsymbolism. Pursue any of the \u201cgrooms\u201d and \u201cbrides wanted\u201d ads
\ncat29974_case2_01-031.indd 7 at29974_case2_01-031.indd 7 15\/10\/12 5:45 PM 5\/10\/12 5:45 PM
\nPart 6 Supplementary Material
\nHome Healthcare Nursing Helpant course catering to young
\nwomen between the ages of 18 and 30 years. According to HLL,
\nthe Fair & Lovely Academy for Home Care Nursing Helpants
\noffers a unique training opportunity for young women who possess
\nno entry-level skills and therefore are not employable in the
\nnew economy job market. The Fair & Lovely Foundation plans
\nto serve as a catalyst for the economic empowerment for women
\nacross India. The Fair & Lovely Foundation will showcase the
\nachievements of these women not only to honor them but also to
\nset an example for other women to follow.
\nAIDWA\u2019s campaign against ads that convey the message, \u201cif
\nshe is not fair in color, she won\u2019t get married or won\u2019t get promoted,\u201d
\nalso has resulted in some adjustment to fairness cream
\nads. In revised versions of the fairness cream ads, the \u201cget fair to
\nattract a groom\u201d theme is being reworked with \u201cenhance your selfconfidence\u201d
\nso that a potential groom himself begs for attention.
\nIt is an attempt at typifying the modern Indian woman, who has
\nmore than just marriage on her mind. Advertising focus is now on
\nthe message that lighter skin enables women to obtain jobs conventionally
\nheld by men. She is career-oriented, has high aspirations,
\nand, at the same time, wants to look good. AIDWA concedes
\nthat the current crop of television ads for fairness creams are \u201cnot
\nas demeaning\u201d as ones in the past. However, it remains against the
\nproduct; as the president of AIDWA stated, \u201cIt is downright racist
\nto denigrate dark skin.\u201d
\nAlthough AIWDA\u2019s campaign against fairness creams seems to
\nhave had a modest impact on changing the advertising message, it
\nhas not slowed the demand for fairness creams. Sales of Fair & Lovely,
\nfor example, have been growing 15 to 20 percent year over year, and
\nthe $318 million market for skin care has grown by 42.7\u00a0percent in
\nthe last three years. Says Euromonitor International, a research firm:
\n\u201cHalf of the skin care market in India is fairness creams and 60 to 65
\npercent of Indian women use these products daily.\u201d
\nRecently, several Indian companies were extending their marketing
\nof fairness creams beyond urban and rural markets. CavinKare\u2019s
\nlaunch of Fairever, a fairness cream in a small sachet pack priced at
\nRs 5, aimed at rural markets where some 320\u00a0million Indians reside.
\nMost marketers have found rural markets impossible to penetrate
\nprofitably due to low income levels and inadequate distribution
\nsystems, among other problems. However, HLL is approaching the
\nmarket through Project Shakti, a rural initiative that targets small
\nvillages with populations of 2,000 people or less. It empowers underprivileged
\nrural women by providing income-generating opportunities
\nto sell small, lower priced packets of its brands in villages.
\nSpecial packaging for the rural market was designed to provide
\nsingle-use sachet packets at 50\u00a0paise for a sachet of shampoo to Rs 5
\nfor a fairness cream (for a week\u2019s usage). The aim is to have 100,000
\n\u201cShakti Ammas,\u201d as they are called, spread across 500,000 villages in
\nIndia by year end. CavinKare is growing at 25 percent in rural areas
\ncompared with 15 percent in urban centers.
\nIn addition to expanding market effort into rural markets, an
\nunexpected market arose when a research study revealed Indian
\nmen were applying girlie fairness potions in droves\u2014but on the
\nsly. It was estimated that 40 percent of boyfriends\/husbands of
\ngirlfriends\/wives were applying white magic solutions that came
\nin little tubes. Indian companies spotted a business opportunity,
\nand Fair & Handsome, Menz Active, Fair One Man, and a male
\nbleach called Saka were introduced to the male market. The sector
\nexpanded dramatically when Shah Rukh Khan, a highly\u00a0acclaimed
\nBollywood actor likened to an Indian Tom Cruise, decided to endorse
\nFair & Handsome. Euromonitor International forecasts that
\nCommenting on the cultural bias toward fair skin, one critic
\nstates, \u201cThere are attractive people who go through life feeling inferior
\nto their fairer sisters. And all because of charming grandmothers
\nand aunts who do not hesitate to make unflattering
\ncomparisons. Kalee Kalooti is an oft-heard comment about women
\nwho happen to have darker skin. They get humiliated and mortified
\nover the color of their skin, a fact over which they have no control.
\nAre societal values responsible Or advertising campaigns
\nAdvertising moguls claim they only reflect prevailing attitudes in
\nIndia. This is possibly true but what about ethics in advertising Is
\nit correct to make advertisements that openly denigrate a majority
\nof Indian people\u2014the dark-skinned populace The advertising is
\nblatant in their strategy. Mock anyone who is not the right color
\nand shoot down their self-image.\u201d
\nA dermatologist comments, \u201cFairness obtained with the help of
\ncreams is short-lived. The main reason being, most of these creams
\ncontain a certain amount of bleaching agent, which whitens facial
\nhair, and not the skin, which leads people to believe that the cream
\nworked.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cIn India the popularity of a product depends
\ntotally on the success of its advertising.\u201d
\nHLL launched its television ad campaign to promote Fair &
\nLovely but withdrew it after four months amid severe criticism for
\nits portrayal of women. Activists argued that one of the messages
\nthe company sends through its \u201cair hostess\u201d ads demonstrating
\nthe preference for a son who would be able to take on the financial
\nresponsibility for his parents is especially harmful in a country
\nsuch as India where gender discrimination is rampant. Another
\noffense is perpetuating a culture of discrimination in a society
\nwhere \u201cfair\u201d is synonymous with \u201cbeautiful.\u201d AIDWA (All India
\nWomen\u2019s Democratic Association) lodged a complaint at the time
\nwith HLL about their offensive ads, but Hindustan Lever failed to
\nrespond.
\nThe women\u2019s association then appealed to the National
\nHuman Rights Commission alleging that the ad demeaned
\nwomen. AIDWA objected to three things: (1) the ads were racist,
\n(2) they were promoting son preference, and (3) they were
\ninsulting to working women. \u201cThe way they portrayed the young
\nwoman who, after using Fair & Lovely, became attractive and
\ntherefore lands a job suggested that the main qualification for a
\nwoman to get a job is the way she looks.\u201d The Human Rights Commission
\npassed AIDWA\u2019s complaints on to the Ministry of Information
\nand Broadcasting, which said the campaign violated the
\nCable and Television Network Act of 1995\u2014provisions in the act
\nstate that no advertisement shall be permitted which \u201cderides any
\nrace, caste, color, creed and nationality\u201d and that \u201cWomen must
\nnot be portrayed in a manner that emphasized passive, submissive
\nqualities and encourages them to play a subordinate secondary
\nrole in the family and society.\u201d The government issued notices
\nof the complaints to HLL. After a year-long campaign led by the
\nAIDWA, Hindustan Lever Limited discontinued two of its television
\nadvertisements for Fair & Lovely fairness cold cream.
\nShortly after pulling its ads off the air, HLL launched its Fair &
\nLovely Foundation, vowing to \u201cencourage economic empowerment
\nof women across India\u201d by providing resources in education
\nand business to millions of women \u201cwho, though immensely talented
\nand capable, need a guiding hand to help them take the leap
\nforward,\u201d presumably into a fairer future.
\nHLL sponsored career fairs in over 20 cities across the country
\noffering counseling in as many as 110 careers. It supported 100
\nrural scholarships for women students passing their 10th grade,
\na professional course for aspiring beauticians, and\u00a0a three-month
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\nCases 2 The Cultural Environment of Global Marketing
\n3. Is the advertising of Fair & Lovely demeaning to women, or
\nis it promoting the fairness cream in a way not too dissimilar
\nfrom how most cosmetics are promoted
\n4. Will HLL\u2019s Fair & Lovely Foundation be enough to counter
\ncharges made by AIDWA Discuss.
\n5. In light of AIDWA\u2019s charges, how would you suggest Fair &
\nLovely promote its product Discuss. Would your response be
\ndifferent if Fairever continued to use \u201cfairness\u201d as a theme of
\nits promotion Discuss.
\n6. Propose a promotion\/marketing program that will counter all
\nthe arguments and charges against Fair & Lovely and be an
\neffective program.
\n7. Now that a male market for fairness cream exists, is the
\nstrength of AIDWA\u2019s argument weakened
\n8. Comment on using \u201cShakti Ammas\u201d to introduce \u201cfairness
\ncream for the masses\u201d in light of AIDWA\u2019s charges.
\n9. Listen to \u201cIn India, Skin-Whitening Creams Reflect Old
\nBiases,\u201d NPR, November 12, 2009. Consider this information
\nin your analyses.
\nSources: Nicole Leistikow, \u201cIndian Women Criticize \u2018Fair and Lovely\u2019 Ideal,\u201d Women\u2019s
\neNews , April 28, 2003; Arundhati Parmar, \u201cObjections to Indian Ad Not Taken
\nLightly,\u201d Marketing News , June 9, 2003, p. 4; \u201cFair & Lovely Launches Foundation to
\nPromote Economic Empowerment of Women,\u201d press release, Fair & Lovely Foundation,
\nwww.hll.com.in (search for foundation), March 11, 2003; Rina Chandran, \u201cAll
\nfor Self-Control,\u201d Business Line (The Hindu), April 24, 2003; Khozem Merchant and
\nEdward Luce, \u201cNot So Fair and Lovely,\u201d Financial Times , March 19, 2003; \u201cFair &
\nLovely Redefines Fairness with Multivitamin Total Fairness Cream,\u201d press release,
\nHindustan Lever Ltd., May 3, 2005; \u201cCavinKare Launches Small Sachet Packs,\u201d Business
\nIndia , December 7, 2006; \u201cAnalysis of Skin Care Advertising on TV During
\nJanuary\u2013August 2006,\u201d Indiantelevision.com Media, Advertising, Marketing Watch,
\nOctober 17, 2006; \u201cWomen Power Gets Full Play in CavinKare\u2019s Brand Strategy.\u201d The
\nEconomic Times (New Delhi, India), December 8, 2006; Heather Timmons, \u201cTelling
\nIndia\u2019s Modern Women They Have Power, Even Over Their Skin Tone,\u201d The New
\nYork Times , May 30, 2007; \u201cThe Year We Almost Lost Tall (or Short or MediumHeight),
\nDark and Handsome,\u201d The Hindustan Times , December 29, 2007; \u201cIndia\u2019s
\nHue and Cry Over Paler Skin,\u201d The Sunday Telegraph (London), July 1, 2007; \u201cFair
\nand Lovely\u201d University Wire , June 4, 2007; \u201cThe Race to Keep up with Modern
\nIndia,\u201d Media, June 29, 2007; Aneel Karnani, \u201cDoing Well by Doing Good\u2014Case
\nStudy: \u2018Fair & Lovely\u2019 Whitening Cream,\u201d Strategic Management Journal 28, no. 13
\n(2007), pp. 1351\u201357; \u201cIn India, Skin-Whitening Creams Reflect Old Biases,\u201d NPR,
\nNovember 12, 2009.
\nin the next five years, spending on men\u2019s grooming products will
\nrise 24 percent to 14.5 billion rupees, or US$320 million.
\nA recent product review in www.mouthshut.com, praises Fair &
\nLovely fairness cream: \u201c[Fair & Lovely] contains fairness vitamins
\nwhich penetrate deep down our skin to give us radiant fairness.\u201d \u201cI
\ndon\u2019t know if it can change the skin color from dark to fair, but my
\npersonal experience is that it works very well, if you have a naturally
\nfair color and want to preserve it without much headache.\u201d \u201cI think
\nRiya Sen has the best skin right now in Bollywood. It appears to be
\nreally soft and tender. So, to have a soft and fair skin like her I recommend
\nFair & Lovely Fairness Lotion or Cream.\u201d Yet \u201cskin color
\nisn\u2019t a proof of greatness. Those with wheatish or dark skin are by
\nno way inferior to those who have fair skin.\u201d
\nHere are a few facts from Hindustan Lever Ltd.\u2019s homepage:
\nLever Limited is India\u2019s largest Packaged Mass Consumption
\nGoods Company. We are leaders in Home and Personal
\nCare Products and Food and Beverages including
\nsuch products as Ponds and Pepsodent. We seek to meet
\neveryday needs of people everywhere\u2014to anticipate the aspirations
\nof our consumers and customers and to respond
\ncreatively and competitively with branded products and services
\nwhich raise the quality of life. It is this purpose which
\ninspires us to build brands. Over the past 70 years, we have
\nintroduced about 110 brands.
\nFair & Lovely has been specially designed and proven to
\ndeliver one to three shades of change in most people. Also
\nits sunscreen system is specially optimized for Indian skin.
\nIndian skin, unlike Caucasian skin, tends to \u201ctan\u201d rather
\nthan \u201cburn\u201d and, hence, requires a different combination of
\nUVA and UVB sunscreens.
\nYou may want to visit HLL\u2019s homepage (www.hll.com.in) for
\nadditional information about the company.
\nQUESTIONS
\n1. Is it ethical to sell a product that is, at best, only mildly effective
\nDiscuss.
\n2. Is it ethical to exploit cultural norms and values to promote a
\nproduct Discuss.
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