1. Introduction

Advertisements are probably the most pervasive medium of popular culture that dominates the 21 st

century consumer society. They are strategically developed to act as a ligand between a brand and a

spectator and convert him/her into a consumer. Strategically placed in newspapers, magazines, banners,

billboards, television and internet they form an integral part of people’s daily routine and through the

process of repetition (an individual is exposed to hundreds of ads everyday) they constitute the

product/service as an inherent ‘need’ and an absolute necessity in the consumer’s life. Advertisements

integrate carefully crafted methods of sociological and psychological appeal that creates a virtual

environment in which the consumers can relate themselves to the characters and the products being

sold. They form an integral part of the culture industry that produces, controls and disciplines

consumers (Adorno, Horkheimer 15).

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India commissioned Ogilvy and Mathers in 2002 to design

advertisement campaigns to promote tourism in India. The Incredible India campaigns introduced India,

practically non-existent in the virtual spaces of popular media so far, as a tourist commodity to the

world. The first set of promotional images used ambient advertising and altered images deliberately

superimposing the logo “Incredible India” over exotic representations of the country. The images focus

on themes that are largely assumed semiotic motifs of India (Fig 1-5). An exclamation mark (!) replaced

‘i’ of India and reiterated the potency of these “Incredible” constituents of “India”. A native woman

carrying a pot of water on her head across the unending expanse of Thar Desert (Fig 1); the light of the

setting sun on the imposing Himalayas (Fig 2); the stripes of the tiger (Fig 3); the inverted minarets of the

Taj Mahal (Fig 4); a young woman standing in the vrikshasana (tree-posture) of Yoga – they formed the

‘!’ and represented the socio-historical, geographical, wildlife and mystic “experiences” offered and

invited the audience “for an experience that is truly incredible”. The incredibility of the experience was

reiterated with statements like, “Too close and you’re the one who’s endangered, Unless you’re

enjoying the safety of the most preferred 4x4: the Indian Elephant” (Fig- 3).

The ads target various target audience ‘types’. The “imposing forts, intriguing palaces and fascinating

royalties” target the spectator who is looking for an ‘Indiana Jones’ kind of adventure (Fig 1). The

Himalayas target a different audience interested in “mountaineering, rock climbing, rafting, skiing,

honeymooning” (Fig- 2). The wildlife offers a glimpse of the endangered (the tiger) and the exotic (the

elephant ride) (Fig- 3). The Taj Mahal attracts the romantic type to experience the “Ode to eternal love”

and “most photographed monument on the planet” (Fig- 4). The mysticism of yoga attracts the modern

spiritual type (Fig- 5).

A series of ads followed on the themes of Eastern therapy, yoga, wildlife, adventure sports, festivals,

diversity and colors and their success in representing India as a brand of exotic, wild, mystic, spiritual

and beautiful commodity is apparent by the sudden boost in the number of tourists visiting the country.

The images succeeded in creating a fantasy of India in the minds of the spectators, a fantasy of a land as

diverse in it geography as its cultural heritage – largely dominated by retouched photos of The Taj

Mahal.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Incredible India promotional campaigns in the light of

Raymond Williams’ definition of Culture, Language and Literature and to interpret the language of the

advertisements as constitutive of an “Incredible” culture for the outsiders. The paper discusses at length

the Taj Mahal-in-the-backdrop and the “Find what you seek” campaigns for their representation and

construction of India as an ideal ‘destination’.

2. Theoretical Issues

2.1 Culture

Raymond Williams defines culture as a social constitutive process that carries conflicting meanings of an

achieved state and an achieved state of progress. As an achieved state it represents an ideal way of life

that marks its departure from earlier primitive cultures. As an achieved state of progress it represents a

consistent movement towards more advanced cultural forms.

We use the word culture in these two senses: to mean a whole way of life--the common meanings; to mean the arts and learning--the special processes of discovery and creative effort. Some writers reserve the word for one or other of these senses; I insist on both, and on the significance of their conjunction.

- Raymond Williams, Culture is Ordinary

2.1.1 Motifs of Culture – Achieved, Progressive and Diverse

The Incredible India ads use a variety of motifs from India’s heritage to develop a cultural portfolio. The

campaigns make extensive use of Ayurvedic medicine, therapy, meditation and Yoga; the blue city of

Jodhpur with its citizens in red turbans; the decorated elephants of the Jaipur Elephant Festival; the

elephants decked in gold in Kerala; the line-up of brightly dressed Rajasthani women – these images

represent the multiple dimensions and diversities of the country. The images portray a static

arrangement – the culture is put on a display – and the arrangement is not purely contemporary. The

motifs belong to an ancient culture; they are the heritage of the age that is widely considered to be the

epitome of Indian civilization. Ayurveda, Yoga, meditation are the symbols of the therapeutic and

medicinal advancements of the civilization, a symbol of scientific and spiritual development that the

Indian civilization had achieved. The elephants were religious symbols as well as the symbols of status

for the royalty. They were decorated and paraded as a show of a kingdom’s prosperity. And although

there are no royalties left in India the ritual has still survived as a memento of that age of prosperity. The

lack of movement presents a preserved portrait of ancient times. The advertisements recreate, in their

frame, a static idea of history, insinuating that modern India bears with it it’s centuries old history. They

represent the ancient “achieved state”1 of perfection of Indian culture.

The thrills of the white water rafting rapids of Rishikesh and paragliding in Himalayan ranges portray

forward movement, growth and progress. The thrills of rafting and paragliding are modern thrills and

the images, along with others, show that India is not just about the spirituality and the history. It has the

highest mountains and fastest rapids and they too are offered for consumption. The juxtaposition of

spirituality and adrenaline, very often with the text in the image, e.g. “Don’t panic, there is always

Rebirth” (Appendix), catalogues the ancient and the contemporary.

The advertisements not only represent culture – a preserved historical and an evolving contemporary

culture – as a commodity. They also create a consumer culture pointing out the flaws of the stress and

the “rat race” of the capitalist society, and offering an alternative in the meditation, adventure sports

and even a camel race.

2.1.2 Colors

The Incredible India campaigns make extensive use of the color palette. The adverts use combinations of

vivid colors to attract attention, announce the colorful ambience of the destination and radiate the

warmth of its people. The colors are chosen not only for their aesthetic purposes but they are carefully

picked to trigger psychological responses. Psychological and marketing research has shown that colors

not only have an elevating effect, they can also influence a consumer to make a purchasing decision.

Colors have a placebo effect on consumers and stand for specific emotions– blue for trust and

dependability; red for excitement and yellow for optimism and warmth (insert citation). These three

colors are extensively used in the Incredible India ads. The Taj Mahal ads (Appendix D), especially, are

dominated by the use of these colors. Blue dominates the frame with bright red and yellow streaks. The

Taj Mahal has a prominent position in the background while the foreground changes, making way for

relevant cultural symbols – women praying, children playing, camels crossing the river or boats sailing.

By the dominant use of blue the ad transforms the romantic connotation of Taj Mahal into one of an

ancient and trusted host while the contemporary figures in red and yellow invite the spectator to share

the exhilaration and the warmth of the land.

2.1.3 Slogans

2.2 Language

2.2.1 The Logo – ‘Incredible !ndia’

2.2.2 Semiotic construction of Indian Identity as a Tourism Hub

2.2.3

(bring ‘motif’ to language: reorganize Culture)

Notes

1. Raymond Williams in the chapter “Culture” in Marxism and Literature analyses the discourse around ‘Culture’ bears an intrinsic conflict between the two implied concepts of culture – (i) culture as an achieved state and (ii) culture as an achieved state of development. Culture as a corollary of Enlightenment civilization was a cultivation of external virtues exemplified, as Williams points out, in “the metropolitan civilization of England and France” (Williams 14). As a process of progress culture meant a dynamic process of constant evolution through higher stages of development. The second concept takes the first concept in its stride as just another stage of progress. The 17th century “metropolitan culture of England and France” was the product of the ruling classes of the society – the aristocrats, it was not a state of perfection and the culture that came next was a product of the democratic sensibilities of the Romantic Age. The Concept of Culture ‘progressed’ towards an inner spiritual development.

2. Raymond Williams in his essay Advertising: The Magic System refers to advertisements as “the official art of the modern capitalist society” in a sense that they are displayed everywhere, from magazines and newspapers to billboards and a significant amount of labor is involved in their production (170). Advertisements dominate the modern capitalist cityscape and form a media of popular culture regularly consumed actively or passively by the audience.

Works Cited

Adorno, Theodor W., Max Horkheimer. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception”. The Consumer Society Reader. New York: The New Press, 2000. 3-19. Print.

Williams, Raymond. “Advertising: The Magic System”. Media Studies: A Reader. New York: NYU Press, 2000. 170-189. Print.

Appendix A

Fig 1- Thar Deserts

Fig 2- Himalayas

Fig 3- Tiger

Fig 4- The Taj Mahal

Fig 5- Yoga

Appendix B

Fig 1- Eastern Therapy

Fig 2- Yoga

Fig 3- Yoga

Fig 4- Eastern Therapy

Fig 5- Yoga