Nandita Chalam, a lecturer at the Xavier’s Institute of Communications (XIC) and ex senior VP & ECD at JWT,says the Indian ads lack the right tonality for such campaigns to get through without trouble. “The tonality of the communication matters. The ads in the west mostly don’t downright degrade the rival brand,” she explains. 

Nisha Sampath, brand consultant and founder, Bright Angles Consulting, says whenever brands in India are resorting to comparisons, they should ensure the ads are rooted in Indian culture instead of just copying the west. 

“ Humour as a concept is very acceptable in the west. They use humour very well in their comparative ads so it doesn’t come across as offensive.”’

Citing similar thoughts, Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner of Alchemist brand solutions,  says that as an advertising market, India is not mature. “Unlike the west which has always had an open economy and a number of brands playing for each other, our economy has opened up a little over 40 years ago. As an advertising society we are still not as evolved.”

“Humour that is often a great advertising tool for story telling is somehow rarely seen in comparative ads in India,” adds Sinha.

According to Abhijit Awasthi, co-founder of Sideways Consulting it is a vicious cycle. He says the problem is not the creativity as much but the law which doesn’t let you name any brand directly.“In India you cannot do comparative advertising by stating names. Hence these ads may come across as quite boring,” he adds.

What does the law say about competitive advertising in India?

Hence, comparative advertising is allowed under Indian law in the ordinary circumstances unless an advertisement is disparaging or denigrates a product and/or a trademark.

However, there are instances where the law is compromised. As per Chalam, many brands purposefully resort to comparative advertising. “These ads are released on Fridays and they are aware that the rival brand will take action. However, since the offices of ASCI and other authorities are closed on weekends, the ad gets a large amount of media and attention. Even if the courts tell them to take the ads down, the job is done.”