Durga Puja in Calcutta – A platform for corporate advertisements

Posted by Sting Communications on September 16, 2016 in Advertising

As I was driving down Rashbehari Crossing today, a curious thing caught my eye.
A big face of Maa Durga, very traditional with big eyes, just as we imagine our Maa Durga in her traditional best, but the colour of this idol was white not the traditional yellow or ‘basanti’. Now this particular image is quite famous and fresh in our minds, not only in the mind of a advertising professional like myself but also in the minds of every other person who had witnessed the mad rush at Deshopriya Park Durga Puja last year in 2015. The same image was used as a part of a corporate – puja campaign and teaser with the claim of ‘Sob Cheye boro Durga’ or the largest Durga idol. The campaign had started in mid June last year and this was, I think, the most expensive Puja campaign till date that ran almost pan eastern India covering places like Jharkhand and Odisha. The three month long campaign, if not more in duration, was a success in terms of bringing pandel hoppers in hordes but the Puja committee did not have the success of managing the crowds. As a result the police had to close down the Puja for that year and it became one of the most talked about event during Durga Puja last year. I believe, though the Puja was closed to the public with black sheets of flex covering the entire periphery of the park, the campaign was a great success. It had done quite effectively what good advertisement is supposed to do…sell. And the campaign sold the Puja well and Star Cement had got a required mileage out of the campaign. The image of the white traditional Durga face stuck on and lingered the minds of the people. Now this year, The Company is back with the same image before Durga Puja. This time it is ‘Sob Cheye Boro Pujo Samman’. The biggest Puja award for the organizers. Those unaware of this kind of award – it is customary for corporate to hold competition amongst different Durga Puja organizers and declare winners in different criteria like the best pandal, the best lighting, best idol and the list happens to grow each year and also the number of such awards ever increasing. Interestingly, these awards were the first step for the corporate world to take advantage of the biggest cultural event of Bengal. Yes, I believe, like many others that Durga Puja is no longer just the worship of Maa Durga on her home coming but now, it is an event that cuts across the religious boundaries. How can any good brand manager sit ideal and see an opportunity so huge just pass by? Of course there are others who talk of too much branding and the costs zoom up and brand presence gets lost in the sea of hoardings and outdoor banners. Still, most brands who sell in Bengal try to capitalize on this mega carnival. So, when I saw the same image of Maa Durga being used this year, I thought it was a pretty smart move on the part of the advertisers to use negative publicity of last year to positive recall a year later.
It all started when in the mid nineties theme Puja came into being. Before that Durga Puja was classified in two classes – the baroyaari or the para puja held by enthusiastic people of a particular locality and then there was the traditional barir Puja mostly held by the erstwhile Zamindar families and old business families of Kolkata. During our childhood, the baroyaari Pujas tried to bring variation with old temple style pandals and idols that had faces like Hindi film stars and the demon looked like film villains. The demon so many times resembled the British – a face and symbol of oppression in pre-independent India. But in the nineties, Barisha Srishti Club and a few others started bringing in contemporary art into the Durga Puja. Sometimes traditional motifs were clubbed with modern designs to create fascinating installations. In other times a message was imbibed in the entire theme of design. These soon caught up with all Baroyaari Puja committees and now the entire celebration can be termed thematic. Artists and art college students take up the challenge and create wonderful themes with the pandals, idol and lighting. The corporate sector had a new found opportunity to associate their brands with these theme Pujas. And thus Puja Awards and prizes came into being. Every year there is an effort to establish connect between the brand and the award it gives away. Electrical goods manufacturers like Philips and Finolex give away awards on the best lighting while one of the pioneers of awards like Asian Paints give it on overall presentation. Kitchen appliances and food makers have even started giving awards on the Sera Bhog. Abashan er Pujor Sera Bhog is a unique concept that has come up with awards being given to the best offering. In taste, hygiene and decoration. It is wonderful and exciting to see how corporate money has flowed in the biggest event of Bengal. Only a little regret is that someone is yet to think up ways to use advertising in effective ways that will sell the brand and also make the lives of the poor better during Durga Puja. Or that we have to leave to our own saints!

Tags: Advertisements, Branding, Durga Puja