ASSIGNMENT

COMMUNICATION THEORIES: CONCEPTS AND PROCESS

UNIT-1; UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION

SUBMITTED BY: SHREEYA UPADHYAY

CLASS- ADVERTISING AND PR

TOPIC: Evolution of a particular brand/ product/ service’s advertisements in print media from
1960’s-1990’s in India.

BRAND: Boroline

JINGLE: ‘Khushboodar antiseptic cream Boroline..’

Boroline antiseptic cream has come a long way since its launch in the pre-Independence era, in 1929: the
winter cream that hails from West Bengal’s GD Pharmaceuticals has, over the years, become a family brand
trusted by generations. It has enjoyed a long period of intense monopoly in East India and been part of the
Superbrands India list for 2003-05.

"We have always altered our positioning with the changing times. All our taglines and ads
actually come from customer experiences with the product," -Debashis Dutta (MD, GD
Pharmaceuticals).

1960’S:
Print and radio heavy advertising dominated this period. During the '60s, Boroline became a national brand
from a purely East-driven one. Since then, it has been advertised in many major Indian languages. The '70s
saw the brand becoming more aggressive, with 'Boroline has no substitute'.
1970’S:
The '70s saw the brand becoming more aggressive, with 'Boroline has no substitute'.

1980’S:
In the early '80s, it moved beyond a purely cosmetic purpose and became 'The hard working cream that
protects your skin'. Later into the decade, it shifted gears with 'In a world full of surprises, thank goodness
you can count on Boroline'.
1990’S:
In the late '90s, it reinstated its skincare positioning with 'Boroline skin. Healthy skin'. At the beginning of
the new millennium, Boroline took to the 'wow' factor with 'Boroline works wonders'. But there wasn’t a
major change in the advertising strategies of Boroline in print media during this decade until when in the
next decade Raima Sen became the face of this product later followed by Sakshi Tanwar and Vidya Balan.
 ANALYSIS:
WHAT CHANGES WERE MADE OVER THE MENTIONED DECADES?

Informative Ads with Sans Serif font.

•Description of Boroline and its uses are
highlighted.
•Focuses majorly on traditional Indian

1960
women with bindi, saree
•Suchetra Sen as the brand ambassador
•Black and white posters with no special
graphics.
•Focus stays majorly on woman's face as
then it was sold as a moisturiser and a
beauty cream.

•Included less traditional and more bold

persona of a lady.
•Focused not on face but on body as a
whole to depict it as a product useful
for the entire body and skin.

1970 •Focus diverts more on skincare than

beauty.
•Better quality graphics are used.
•No more descriptions of usage are
shown.
•Decription of the product and brand is
still available in the ads.
•Subtle colors such as baby pink and
blue colors were used instead of b/w
 •Focuses more on familial
relationships and bonds.
•An attempt to persuade customers to
buy the product for kids as well.

1980
•Celebrates its relationship with the
customers for decades.
•Still the picture of product is shown.
•Ad is very colorful and bright in it
color scheme.
•No celebrity face, just regular faces
shown in the ads to create more
impact and enagage more customers.
•Content is written in Hindi.

Introduction to new packaging.

•Tagline changed.
•Description still exist.
•Shows various uses, mentions

1990- website and varients and sizes of the

product.
•Raima Sen as the face of Boroline
shows its engagement in the youth.

2005 •Bright shades of colors are used.

•No more traditional attires rather a
young girl in western clothes is
shown.
•"Selected as Superbrand" highlighted
in the ads.
 WHY THE CHANGES OCCURED OVER THESE DECADES?
 There was a 'Creative Revolution' in the 1960s and 1970s. The ads of this decade rely more on big
ideas and we begin to see the more modern style combining a balance of headline and body copy.
Since the 1960’s, advertisements have changed from rational appealing to more emotional
appealing. David Ogilvy ushered in 1963 that, “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” What
he meant by this is that ads are not worthy enough if they only contain a brand logo, a slogan, and
a few catchy words. Earlier advertisements had lots of content and believed that people had the
time to read it. Consumers have gained a lot of power since the 1960’s. Advertising became much
more personal and even to the point where brands like Boroline had loyal and devoted
consumers. Through advertising the consumers’ needs and wants were being addressed.
 Advertisements in the 1970s used subtle photographic images paired with a large headline and
body copy to emphasize more on the product details.

 The ads of the 1980s were much more simplistic than we analysed so far. We now see even less
copy and a focus on the middle-class households as the primary consumer. So to emphasize on the
bond of consumers with Boroline, it came up with ad of brother and sister bond.

 The colorful yet simple edge of the 1980s carries through into the 90s. This decade features some
of the most creative and most recognizable ads of all time, including Nike's 'Just Do It', however
Boroline did not come up with any new changes in their advertisements during 90’s.

 In the 21st century, simplicity and minimalism is the real key. Advertisements these days are often
extremely image based with high definition photos and graphics. There is generally an absence of
or there is very little copy. Neat, simple ideas are highlighted.

 The harmony of text and design and the balance therein has varied considerably within the above
mentioned decades.

CONCLUSION:

Boroline as a brand took to the streets during festivals, cheered players in the grounds during cricket and
football matches and launched a blitz of newspaper, magazine, radio and outdoor promotions. Boroline
was everywhere with everyone. It simply became a part of people’s lives. Call it a sales promotion
technique or a way to make Indians feel Boroline a part of their everyday lives but it distributed one lakh
free tubes during independence. Boroline as a brand has reached pinnacle and is the only Indian brand to
owe zero debt to the govt. From the copy heavy ads of the early 20th century to the increasingly
experimental and image driven ads of today, it is obvious that both the standards and the trends in print
advertising are ever-changing and Boroline is coping up with these new emerging trends.