Cultural Norms, Fair & Lovely, and

Advertising

Cosmetic Market3000cr marketStill at primary stageJust 22% market penetrationMarket share:

1200cr is for skincare 700cr is fairness creams HUL 54.5% CavinKare Fairever 12% Godrej FairGlow 3.4% Others 30%

Others in the market…Emami - Gold Turmeric, Boroplus, Naturally FairRevlon - Touch and GlowHimalaya - Himalaya Fairness CreamL'Oreal – Garnier LightMarico – KayaAditya Birla Group – Kara Skincare WipesShahnaz Hussain – Shahbright bright skin formulaClinics and boutiques

Fair & LovelyWorld’s #1 fairness cream

Launched in 1978

Maintained 90% market share till 1998

Current share – over 50%, about 640cr

FaireverA CavinKare brand

Launched in 1998

Gained 1.3% share in 1st year & 15% in two

years

Rs. 170cr company by 2001

Company’s turnover in 2006-2007 was

5000m INR

Case HighlightsNew Advertisement campaign….Launched in 2001Taken off air in 2003Reasons….Year long campaign lead by AIDWA(All India Democratic Women’s Association)Case filed against Fair and Lovely by AIDWA to the Human Rights Commission because

It was considered sexist It promoted ‘son-preference’ It was offensive towards working women because it suggested

that the women were employed only for their beauty, fairness and sexuality

look down upon the single women

Legal IssuesMinistry of Information and Broadcasting found the advertisements in violation of the Cable And Television Networks Acts of 1995Provisions of the act state that,

“no advertisement shall be permitted which derides any race, caste, color, creed and nationality”It also stated that

“women must not be portrayed in a manner that emphasized passive, submissive qualities and encourages them to play a subordinate role in the family and society.”

Details of the adFair and Lovely

The ad focused on the girl not getting married, not

finding a boyfriend and not finding a job

Fairever The ad focused on achievement

Fair and Lovely’s response to Fairever ads… Ads that focused on achievement too

Fair and Lovely’s response to AIWDA

2003…

On international women’s days, Fair and

Lovely launched its “fair and Lovely

Foundation” aiming to “encourage economic

empowerment of women across India” by

providing resources in education and

business.

Activities undertaken by HLL

Career fairs in 20 cities offering counseling in 110

career options.

It supported 100 rural scholarships for women

students passing 10th std.

These scholarships were for a profession course for aspiring beauticians

A three month course for a home healthcare nursing

assistant’s course

Courses aimed at women aged 18-30

Fair And Lovely & Fairever … values and promises

Values and beliefs of both the parent companies, HLL and Cavinkare, as listed on their website are…Integrity, fairness, excellence innovation, openness, trust….Do they deliver on their promise ….?The fairness creams do not deliver on their promise of visible fairness, do not provide complete information about the ingredients used in the creams, and their harmful effectsCreate false impression in the minds of the consumers based on their aspirations

IssuesDoes not deliver on promise of fairnessNothing is controlled; producers are not compelled to indicate the content of their bleachers on the label. neither the quantity nor the proportion needs to be specifiedMany of these 'cosmetics', harmless in appearance, contain products deriving from such substances as

Corticoids mercury or hydroquinone, which if absorbed in big quantities can prove fatal.

According to the eminent Jamaican dermatologist, Neil Persadsingh, author of 'Acne in Black Women' (1999), certain whitening products even contain steroids! The principle of most creams consists in eliminating the melanin present in the skin, which does not only give the skin its colour but also protects it from ultra-violet rays which cause skin cancer

Issues Despite sexy packaging and spicy slogans, bleaching products can lead to many health hazards, which are sometimes irreversible. a few potential consequences listed by several dermatology departments in France, Senegal, Togo and Burkina Faso:

Diabetes Hypertension Acne bone problems hyper hairiness renal insufficiency skin cancer disturbance of the menstrual cycle premature ageing of the skin Eczema cardio-vascular and respiratory problems Pimples mycoses and other skin infections None of these are mentioned on the label.

The creams are absorbed by the skin, and then enter the bloodstream, reaching the organs - thus creating hormonal disorders and other problems, as if you were eating poison.

Comparison of fairness cream ads nationally and internationallyInternationally…The ads focus on “how to use the product”These ads are in no way related to achievement of goals and aspirations of the women portrayed in these adsIn India, The ads focus on the aspirations of women claiming usage of the fairness creams lead to achievement of their goals and aspirations

Latest ad of Fair and Lovely

The ad plays on the same message , only this time the message is conveyed in a different manner.

Question 1Is it ethical to sell a product that is, at best, only mildly effective? Discuss.No. it is not unethical if the exact extent of the products effectiveness are communicated to the consumer.In the case of most fairness creams the effects of the cream is shown to be much more that what it actually is.According to HLL itself, the creams are able to bring about skin color change of 1-3 shadesThe ads depict the central characters turn much fairer then their original dark complexions

Question 2Is it ethical to exploit cultural norms and values to promote a product? Discuss.NoIt is only the perception or mindset of Indians that fair skin is a symbol of status, class, higher caste, ability and achievementIn reality ability and achievement do not have any relation to a person’s complexion. There has traditionally been a bias against girls in Indian society and a high preference for sons.This mentality has lead to a lot of social evils against the girl child and women in general. As such, any communication supporting this ideology is banned in india. For these reasons it is not ethical to exploit the cultural norms and values to promote a product.

Question 3Is the advertising of Fair & Lovely demeaning to women or is it portraying a product not too dissimilar to cosmetics in general?many of the cosmetics advertisements’ theme is the beauty and the special function of the product. Fair & Lovely has advertised its products in this way. It showed how “the miracle worker” makes the women whiter and more confident. From this aspect, the advertisement is similar to the other cosmetics’ in general. However, it used other element and stories to convince the customers that if they use its products, they will be successful in their career and probably have a higher social status. This is quite negative, since it supposed that the main qualification for woman to get a job is the way she looks but not the capability within herself. I think it’s a kind of demeaning women regardless of the social influence. The derision of any race, caste, skin color, creed and nationality should be avoided in the advertisements.

Question 4Will Fair and Lovely’s Foundation counter charges made by AIDWA? Discuss.It has not countered the charges until now.It has only responded indirectly to the allegations with its CSR initiatives

Question 5.. In light of AIDWA’s charges, how would you suggest Fair & Lovely promote its product? Discuss. Would your response be different if Fairever continues to use “fairness” as a theme of its promotion? Discuss.our suggestion is that Fair & Lovely may emphasize more on the confidence of the women than the beauty of women, which means they could show how confident a woman is after using their products while not just show how beautiful the woman is because of the fair skin. It’s quite positive to bring woman hope and confidence in their career and social life. I also support the things Fair & Lovely did after the AIDWA’s complaint, which was that HLL launched its “Fair & Lovely Foundation to encourage economic empowerment of women across India by providing resources in education and business. In addition, HLL sponsored career fairs in over 20 cities across the country offering counseling in as many as 110 careers. This is quite meaningful and useful to set up a good reputation and prestige among the public, which will also help the company to make the brand well-known. I think fairness could be the promotion theme of Fairever, since the main function of the product is to make the woman’s skin whiter. However, the promotion strategy shouldn’t follow what the Fair & Lovely did before, because it used the extreme way to show the fair skin is the important way to help woman become successful. Every woman has her own ideas towards beauty, if she thinks fair skin is good for her, then she could try to use the product to improve the condition of her skin. However, the company shouldn’t persuade the customers to believe that fair skin is the trend of beauty which will make them attractive and have high social status.

Question 6Propose a promotion program that will counter all the arguments and charges against fair & Lovely and be an effective programNew advertisements that show the actual impact of the product on the skin. The level of fairness achieved by the use of the cream should be clearly mentioned. This should be supported with proofs from reliable dermatologists The advertisements should recommend consultation with a skin specialist before use. In any ads, the girl should not be shown using fairness as a means of getting married or qualifying for a job. The ads should focus on equality