Globalisation of ideas, not images

While multi-national companies going desi in their advertising is a trend everyone likes talking about, not much has been said about Indian marketers globalising the way they charm audiences.

See the new Mahindra Scorpio ad. Or the Charagh Din ad. Or, for that matter, the latest Liril soap ad. Run them anywhere on the planet, and you'll find people equally clueless of the brands' place of origin.

"It's not a new trend," says Josey Paul, national creative director, David, "In fact, it's an old trick. In India, fashion and apparel brands have been doing this for a long time - using international models in foreign locations. Marketers use this to give their brands a 'dollar' look - it's like you expect to see a price tag in dollars."

The brains behind these brands, though, don't think of it that way. Scorpio's case, according to Niteen Bhagwat, CEO, Interface, the agency on the account, is one of strategic defiance of expectations: "When conventional wisdom says 'show 4x4 applications', we showed great roads, when the desire was to show off terrain, we shot the film in urban settings, and when people said 'use Indian locales and Indian models', we shot abroad."

Santosh Desai, president, McCann, feels that it's not about having a global look or feel for its own sake. It's about the brand's strategy. "Sometimes, the idea itself requires a global feel or look, so marketers go for an international setting."

Globalism in itself, of course, is not an idea. As Bhagwat puts it, "The question is how the background, location or model gets integrated into the brand promise, and how memorable that integration is."

It's the osmosis of ideas, adds Paul. As the world gets smaller, ads begin to defy the particulars of geography.

"Let's hope it's not just about using firangi men or blonde models or shooting in international locations," he says, acknowledging the existence of global advertising that is genuine and not fake.

How to make out?

The idea should be universal, the rest is trivial.