Surrogate Advertising: How liquor brands keep their voice alive

There was a time when liquor advertising had a distinct place in Indian advertising. Whisky and rum brands built their identities through catchy slogans, memorable films and clever storytelling. Consumers remembered the campaigns, and some of those advertisements became talking points well beyond the category. Then came restrictions on advertising alcoholic beverages. The brands, however, did not go silent. They found other ways to keep their names alive.

Surrogate advertising has since become an important part of this story. Packaged drinking water, soda, music and entertainment have given spirits companies alternative platforms for brand communication. Imperial Blue's latest campaign, built around its familiar Men Will Be Men identity, once again raises a question that marketers have debated for years: how do liquor brands maintain awareness when they cannot freely advertise their main products?

Imperial Blue Knows the Value of Recall

Imperial Blue has built considerable recognition through its Men Will Be Men campaign. Its humour and everyday situations gave the brand a personality that audiences could easily recognise. The latest campaign, promoted through packaged drinking water, returns to this familiar territory.

For consumers who remember the earlier films, the connection may be immediate. They may recognise the name, the style and the humour even before thinking about the product being advertised. That is the advantage of an established brand. Years of communication have already done some of the hard work.

The question is whether an advertisement for water also brings the whisky brand back into the consumer's mind. From a marketing perspective, that possibility is precisely what makes such campaigns interesting.

There is an important distinction, though. A genuine packaged drinking water business can have its own commercial purpose. Using a familiar brand name does not automatically make its advertising illegal. But neither does introducing another product provide a free pass to promote liquor indirectly.

What Do the Rules Say?

India has several layers of restrictions on alcohol advertising. The Cable Television Network Rules restrict direct advertising of alcoholic beverages on television. The Consumer Protection Act and the Central Consumer Protection Authority's 2022 guidelines also address misleading advertisements, including surrogate advertising designed to get around legal restrictions.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has criteria for assessing brand extensions. These include whether the product is genuinely available in the market, whether it sells in meaningful quantities and whether advertising expenditure is proportionate to its sales.

In simple terms, a company cannot merely introduce a product on paper and use it as a convenient route to advertise a restricted category. The product must have a real business behind it. Its sales, distribution and advertising all matter when assessing whether the extension is genuine.

The government has also considered tougher measures against surrogate advertising and certain brand extensions. However, a proposal is not the same as an enforceable rule. Companies need to consider the applicable legal position rather than assume that every proposed restriction has already become law.

The real issue is not whether a campaign is clever. It is whether it genuinely promotes the permitted product or uses that product mainly to circumvent restrictions on liquor advertising.

How the Strategy Works

Surrogate branding works because consumers remember more than the product itself. They remember names, colours, slogans, music and the feelings associated with a brand.

When an established spirits brand promotes a legitimate non-alcoholic product, the advertising can serve two purposes. It can build awareness for the new product and, at the same time, reinforce familiarity with the parent brand.

Think of the difference between introducing an unfamiliar name and reviving a slogan that consumers already know. The second approach has an advantage because the brand does not have to explain itself all over again. It can build on memories created over several years.

That is valuable in a category where direct advertising opportunities are restricted. But there is a limit to what brand recall can achieve. Remembering a whisky campaign does not automatically lead to a purchase. Sales also depend on the consumer's preference, the price, availability and competing brands. The actual contribution of surrogate advertising needs to be measured rather than assumed.

The Bigger Battle Is at the Marketplace

For liquor companies, advertising is only one part of the business. The product must also reach the consumer, and that is where distribution becomes important.

India's liquor market is complicated by state-level regulation, taxation, licensing and distribution arrangements. What works in one state may not work in another. Companies have to understand local markets, consumer preferences and the commercial conditions under which their products are sold.

A well-known brand can still lose ground if it is difficult to find or priced above what consumers are willing to pay. A competitor with a stronger distribution network may have an advantage even if its advertising is less memorable.

Licensed retail outlets, product availability, price points and the range of brands stocked all influence purchasing decisions. The consumer may remember a campaign, but the final choice is often made in the marketplace.

This is why liquor brands need more than advertising visibility. They need a sound product, competitive pricing and a distribution network that can convert consumer interest into sales. A memorable campaign may open the door, but the business has to do the rest.

Why the Brands Keep Investing

Established spirits brands have considerable equity to protect. Years of investment in a name, identity and reputation cannot simply be abandoned. If a brand disappears from public conversation, competitors have an opportunity to become more familiar and relevant.

Entertainment also offers a useful way to maintain interest. Humour, music and storytelling can stay with audiences longer than a straightforward product message. Imperial Blue's long-running creative platform shows how a recognisable idea can be brought back rather than replaced with a completely new identity each time.

Digital media has added another dimension. Campaigns can travel through social platforms, online publications and shared videos, reaching audiences beyond their original placement. Yet online visibility does not exempt an advertisement from applicable restrictions. The same basic question remains: is the campaign compliant, and is the advertised product genuine?

A Fine Line for Marketers

Surrogate advertising leaves marketers and regulators with a difficult balancing act. Legitimate brand extensions should not automatically be treated as attempts to evade the law. At the same time, a product extension should not become a convenient cover for prohibited liquor advertising.

Imperial Blue's latest campaign brings the debate back into focus. Its familiar creative identity offers a way to maintain brand recognition, but the legality of any particular execution depends on the product, the campaign and the applicable rules.

Ultimately, liquor is a business in which advertising, distribution, pricing and consumer preference work together. Surrogate campaigns may help keep a brand in the conversation, but awareness alone does not guarantee sales. For spirits companies, the challenge is to remain relevant without crossing the regulatory line. For regulators, it is to distinguish genuine businesses from advertising created mainly to get around the restrictions.