When the amendment to the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods Act 1992 banned advertising and promotional activity for infant and weaning foods, there was talk that ad revenues would take a hit. But that is not to be so
Baby Food
When the amendment to the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods Act 1992 banned advertising and promotional activity for infant and weaning foods, there was talk that ad revenues would take a hit. But that is not to be so. Companies have retained ad agencies on their respective brands. McCann Healthcare will still be attached to Nestle India's Cerelac and Lactogen brands, and Farex -- a Heinz brand -- will retain Rediffusion-ayc.
Why have these agencies been retained? A possible answer is the necessity -- for these companies -- of being publicly perceived as visible, stolid and alluring. Surrogate advertising (like "8 pm mineral water", or "Bacardi blast cds") in the print media is a way out, and requires the best brains to formulate. Also, the stakes are too high: for the agencies, Rs 10 crore worth of advertising revenue; for the companies, their product. Baby food ads have all but disappeared from tv -- which guarantees high visibility -- and today are found mostly in print, as spending patterns since 2000 show.
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