The Historical Evolution of Advertising in India

India’s advertising story spans over two and a half centuries – and it is far more than a business history. It is a mirror of the country’s social fabric, political shifts, and economic ambitions. From a single classified notice in a colonial-era newspaper to hyper-targeted digital campaigns on Instagram, the journey of Indian advertising reflects how the nation itself has changed. Understanding this evolution is essential for anyone studying how communication shapes markets, cultures, and even identities.

The colonial beginning: Hickey’s Bengal Gazette (1780) 🔗

Concrete advertising history in India begins with classified advertising. On January 29, 1780, James Augustus Hicky published Hickey’s Bengal Gazette – India’s first weekly newspaper – and with it, the first printed advertisements appeared on Indian soil. These were not persuasive pieces designed to seduce consumers. They were purely informational: announcements of ship arrivals from England, sales of household furniture, births, deaths, and property auctions. The intended audience was small – mostly British colonists and a narrow English-speaking Indian elite.

The word “advertise” at this time literally meant to inform. There were no brands, no slogans, no creative strategy. Even so, this moment was foundational. Some journals like the Bengal Journal, first published in 1785, even offered to print government advertisements free of charge, with the front pages of many papers devoted entirely to such notices. It would not take long for persuasive copy to replace mere information, with punchy phrases like “superior to anything of the kind hitherto imported” beginning to appear in print.

The birth of India’s first advertising agency: B. Dattaram & Co. (1905) 🔗

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the industrial revolution’s impact began to reshape Indian commerce. British business houses increased their advertising spend, and “agents” emerged as space contractors – individuals who secured advertisements for newspapers on a commission basis. This practice was the direct forerunner of the formal advertising agency. Two main events propelled the growth of Indian advertising agencies: the Swadeshi Movement (1907-1911), which gave rise to indigenous industries, and the installation of the first rotary linotype machine by the Statesman of Calcutta in 1907, which enabled cheaper newspapers with wider circulation.

Amidst this backdrop, B. Dattaram & Co. was established in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1905. India’s first advertisement in print for West End Watches was created by Dattaram, and the agency is widely considered to be the oldest existing Indian advertising firm. Its founding was significant: it was an Indian agency, run by Indians, for Indian businesses – a clear departure from the colonial model. Dattaram’s firsts were numerous; it also created India’s first banner ad on trams and even ran an early campaign with the self-referential slogan, “Be wise. Advertise.”

The entry of foreign agencies: J. Walter Thompson and the professionalization era (1920s-1930s) 🔗

While Indian agencies like Dattaram were building their footing, international players were watching India’s growing market with interest. The major British agencies during the early period – Alliance Advertising Associates, Publicity Society of India, and L.A. Stronach and Co. – primarily catered to the affluent British and Indian elites in metropolitan cities and rarely advertised mass consumer items like tea and cigarettes.

That changed decisively in 1929, when J. Walter Thompson (JWT), the prominent American agency, set up its Indian office. JWT brought with it globally tested techniques, market research methodologies, and a more strategic approach to brand-building, training a new generation of Indian advertising professionals and setting a new quality benchmark. JWT went on to create iconic work, including Air India’s beloved Maharaja campaign. The entry of such foreign-owned agencies rapidly professionalised the industry, introducing concepts like campaign planning and creative art direction that simply hadn’t existed before in the Indian context.

Tata Publicity and the rise of in-house departments 🔗

Professionalization wasn’t limited to standalone agencies. India’s major corporations also recognized the value of structured brand communication. The Tata Group – a pioneer across industries – established Tata Publicity in 1939 as an in-house department to manage its image and communications. This move signalled that India’s most prominent industrial house understood advertising not as an afterthought, but as a core business function. Around the same year, Lever’s advertising department, LINTAS (Lever’s International Advertising Service), was set up – launching the Dalda brand in 1939, the first major example of a brand and marketing campaign specifically developed for an Indian audience.

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI): Giving the industry a collective voice (1945) 🔗

By the mid-1940s, advertising in India had grown from a handful of space-brokers to a network of structured agencies serving major brands. The industry needed a unified body to represent its interests, set standards, and advocate for its members. That body arrived on September 21, 1945, when the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) was registered as a society in Calcutta, with seven founding agencies from Bombay and Calcutta as signatories – including D J Keymer, J Walter Thompson, Lintas, and National Advertising Service.

The AAAI is the official national organisation of advertising agencies formed to promote their interests, uphold sound business practices, and serve as the apex body and spokesperson for the advertising industry at all forums – with advertisers, media owners, and the government. Over the decades, it played a pivotal role in shaping policy: in 1987, when TV sponsored programmes became a reality, AAAI determined how income should be shared between placing agencies and creative agencies. It also championed the formation of self-regulatory bodies, including the Advertising Standards Council of India. Today, AAAI’s membership accounts for nearly 80% of advertising business placed in the country.

Television arrives: Doordarshan and the first TV commercial (1976) 🔗

If print gave Indian advertising its voice and radio gave it a melody, television gave it a face. Doordarshan, India’s state broadcaster, began service in 1959 but remained non-commercial for years. The first television commercial in India aired in 1976, and with the gradual increase in TV ownership, brands gained a powerful mass medium for the first time. Gwalior Suitings is widely recalled as India’s first television commercial, introducing viewers to a visual vocabulary in advertising that print and radio simply could not match.

The 1980s turned television into a cultural force. Bombay Dyeing became the first colour TV advertisement, and the 1982 Asiad Games marked the moment when Indian television switched to colour transmission entirely. Sponsorship deals like Vicco’s association with the popular serial Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi became part of popular memory. Advertisers quickly understood that television offered something uniquely powerful – emotion, storytelling, and a living room audience that was emotionally engaged with the content surrounding their ad.

The Swadeshi spirit continues: Ads find an Indian identity 🔗

After Independence in 1947, advertising gradually shifted its orientation from the colonial elite to the Indian consumer. The post-independence advertising scene was miles apart from its predecessor – it introduced echoes of a newly free nation, with local languages and culturally relevant themes gradually replacing English-centric communication. Mascots like the Murphy Baby, the Air India Maharaja, and the Zodiac Man became iconic because they gave brands a recognisable face in a still largely illiterate market. The 1960s brought a creative revolution, with legendary slogans like “Made for each other” for Wills Filter Tipped cigarettes demonstrating the power of well-crafted copywriting.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI): Building accountability (1985) 🔗

As advertising grew in scale and reach, the industry faced a new problem: the absence of any ethical watchdog. Misleading claims, offensive content, and false advertising were eroding consumer trust. The advertising fraternity recognised that without self-regulation, statutory censorship was inevitable.

In response, ASCI was formed in 1985 by professionals from the advertising and media industry to keep Indian ads decent, fair, and honest. Established as a non-profit company, ASCI is committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers by requiring advertisements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful, and not hazardous or harmful. The four main constituents – advertisers, advertising agencies, media, and allied professions – came together to form the council, making it a genuinely industry-wide initiative rather than a government mandate.

ASCI’s structure includes a Board of Governors and a Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), which investigates complaints from the public. ASCI established a process by which any consumer, organisation, or competitor may file a complaint against an advertisement deemed misleading, offensive, or harmful, with decisions typically reached within four to six weeks. Its authority was strengthened considerably in 2006, when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a mandate requiring all TV advertisements in India to follow ASCI’s codes. In 2017, the Supreme Court of India further affirmed the self-regulatory mechanism as an effective pre-emptive measure against statutory intervention in advertising content.

Liberalization and beyond: Advertising comes of age (1991 onwards) 🔗

The economic liberalization of 1991 was arguably the single most transformative event for Indian advertising after the launch of television. The opening of Indian markets to global brands – Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg’s, and dozens more – flooded the advertising industry with new clients, bigger budgets, and international competition. The entry of private television channels broke Doordarshan’s monopoly, meaning more ad slots, niche audiences, and creative freedom than ever before.

This era saw Indian advertising develop a distinct creative identity. Legendary campaigns – Cadbury’s “Real Taste of Life” with the dancing girl on the cricket ground, Fevicol’s quirky humour, and the emotional storytelling of Asian Paints – proved that Indian ads could compete on the world stage. By 1993, India’s only advertising school, MICA (Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad), was established, creating a formal academic pipeline for advertising talent. The late 1990s brought the internet, and with it, the earliest experiments with digital advertising – banner ads, email campaigns, and nascent e-commerce promotions that hinted at the revolution to come.

The digital turn: Where India’s advertising story stands today 🔗

The arrival of affordable smartphones and cheap mobile data – particularly after 2016 – fundamentally restructured the advertising landscape. Digital advertising in India is no longer supplementary; it is central. Personalization has become the defining shift of the digital era, with advertising platforms targeting consumers based on search history, location, interests, and online behaviour rather than broadcasting a single message to a mass audience. Social media influencers have emerged as a new category of advertising professional, prompting ASCI to expand its jurisdiction to include influencer advertising, mandating the disclosure of material connections in paid promotions.

India is now the world’s second-largest television market with over 197 million TV households, while its digital advertising sector continues to grow at a pace that outstrips most other economies. The industry that began with a few lines in a colonial gazette is today a multi-billion-dollar sector that shapes public opinion, drives consumer behaviour, and competes at Cannes.

A timeline of key milestones 🔗

1780 – Hickey’s Bengal Gazette publishes India’s first print advertisements.
1838 – The Bombay Times (later The Times of India) carries classified ads.
1905 – B. Dattaram & Co., India’s first advertising agency, is established in Bombay.
1907 – Swadeshi Movement and rotary linotype machine spur growth of Indian agencies.
1929 – J. Walter Thompson sets up in India, professionalising the industry.
1939 – Tata Publicity established; LINTAS launches Dalda, India’s first brand campaign.
1945 – AAAI registered in Calcutta, becoming the apex body for advertising agencies.
1976 – India’s first television commercial airs on Doordarshan.
1982 – Asiad Games brings colour television; advertising enters a new visual era.
1985 – ASCI established as India’s advertising self-regulatory body.
1991 – Economic liberalization unleashes competition and creativity.
1993 – MICA, India’s first advertising school, founded in Ahmedabad.
2006 – Government mandates TV commercials to comply with ASCI code.
2016 onwards – Digital and influencer advertising reshape the entire industry.

What do you think? The evolution of Indian advertising closely mirrors the country’s own economic and cultural transformations – from colonial informational notices to emotionally resonant national campaigns. Does that mean the best advertising is always a product of its social moment, or can truly great creative work transcend the era in which it is made? And as personalized digital advertising replaces mass-market storytelling, do you think something important is being lost in how brands communicate with people?

References

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