Fariness Creams In India

SUMMARY

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” that’s what we have been saying for years but then
how true is it in today’s environment. Today if you are not fair you are not their. Today the
fairness cream companies are marketing their product to the psychology of the Indian
consumer. People today associate Fairness to Success, in every aspect of life, is it personal of
professional. Although this holds true more for females then males.

Marketing of fairness cream has been under a lot of criticism from many social
organization and they are blamed of creating gender bias. But what’s true is that these ads
represent the psychology of common man, which accepted of not is a bitter truth. Even today
birth of a female child is looked upon as a burden on the family and for female looking fair
will decide her destiny. It’s only the mindset of common people that is represented in the ads.

Companies are making whooping profits in the cosmetic market. India is viewed as
the biggest market for cosmetic products. Indian cosmetic market, which is more then Rs
3000 crore, the competition is getting intense with more and more companies entering into
market and trying to capture the market. With the growing competition is growing the want to
look fair and one wonders how ‘fair’ it will go.

Through this project I have made an attempt to learn as to why this product and its ad
campaign are so successful even when they are criticized. In a country like India where the
markets are flooded with FMCG product, it is hard to sell a product on its feature. So the
advertiser have picked up the nerves of the India consumer and it sell’s the product by
appealing to the emotional aspect.

It is believed that Indians are emotional and marketers make a business of it. That’s the
reason why we see LIC saying “Zindagi ke saath bhi, Zindagi ke bad bhi” and Fairness cream
companies show how using their so called ‘effective fairness cream’ will help their daughter
find a Dream Husband, as in India marrying a daughter is seen as a huge burden
(responsibility) on family.

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 Fariness Creams In India

INTRODUCTION

“Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is fairest of the all?”

Obsession for fairness has been there for ever, it’s as old as the civilization. Scenario
today is not too different but has only gone deep and far. "Fair, convent-educated, beautiful
bride wanted"-screams the matrimonial section of a reputed newspaper or a magazine. The
minds of the masses have been interpellated with the bombardments of such 'ideological
apparatuses' for eons and most people in India hardly notice anything grievously abnormal
with statements like these.

Not to mention the scores of inputs coming from a certain quarter who want to help
the "fair sex" get fairer through home remedies and special face packs which give the politely
termed "dusky" girls a chance to illuminate their skins miraculously in a few days. After all,
let's face it- this kind of colorism, a fetish for the fair skin has existed in India for a long time,
but what is significant is the fact that it is mainly gender sensitive. This craving to have
lighter skinned brides and categorizing the "other" as the 'dusky lot' is directed only towards
women in India, with the underlying idea that the future of such "olive skinned" or dusky
women is at stake, especially in the marriage market.

It's no major revelation that the skin-lightening obsession in Indian society is more
prevalent among women than men. If a woman is fair-skinned, she is automatically beautiful,
no matter how many coats you could hang from her nose. If a woman is dark-skinned, she'd
have almost no chance of winning the Miss. India contest, even if her personality were as top-
notch as her plastic surgeon.

Men, on the other hand, have never had to obsess over their complexion, largely
because they're judged more by their earning power than their looks. A single doctor who
advertises himself as "tall, dark and handsome" would get far more attention from women
than a single writer who's "tall, fair and unemployed."

The situation may be changing though - and not necessarily for the better. A recent
survey commissioned by the Media Researchers Users Council (MRUC) found that 32% of

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fairness cream users in India are men! Yes, men are using products such as Fair Glow,
Fairever, and Fair & Lovely, trying hard to prove that women are no longer the fairer sex.
Instead of getting women less obsessed with complexion, our society has managed to get men
more obsessed. If this continues, you'll soon see new beauty products such as Fair Guy,
Fairmale, and Fair & Hairy.

Most users of fairness creams probably consider themselves dark-skinned. But "dark"
and "fair" are relative terms. The woman calling herself "very fair" in a matrimonial ad may
be darker than the woman calling herself "medium-complexioned," but fairer than the woman
calling herself "as fair as Snow White."

Underneath the entire propaganda lurks the phallocentric idea that appearance is the
only tool that a woman has to navigate the job market, thereby denying her even a miniscule
portion of subjectivity. Thus the race/color question intricately merges with sexism which
compels women to be beautiful, fair and lovely- the only means of survival left for her in the
society.

While on the topic I just cant resist pointing out the fact that some of our best
actresses like the Late Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi,Nanditha Das are all dusky women, arent
they beautiful. If you still dont agree then how about the unquestionable Glam queen of
Bollywood, the Ultimate Rekha, she isnt the fairest(again as in skin color) of them all. Even
on the international scene Naomi Campbell, Janet Jackson, Halle Berry....I can go on the list
is endless of people who have proved that Black is also beautiful.

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 Fariness Creams In India

COSMETIC MARKET

THE INDIAN COSMETICS market is seen as a huge area of opportunity. Its potential is
estimated at $4 billion and growing at a rate of 15-20 percent per year, according to Indian
Chamber of Commerce. Although awareness of European prestige brands and Western skin
care regimes is moderately high among the wealthy and educated population, price dynamics
in the Indian cosmetics market are complex. Widespread poverty and an extremely low per
capita income--less than $500 a year--also means many Indians are extremely price
conscious. This has led to cut-throat competition for virtually any product aimed at the mass
market.

Cosmetics:
More than Skin-Deep

FOR players and target customers, the market for cosmetics has been through a long
transition and several stages of evolution.

Multinationals woke up early to the Indian opportunity and entered the market in the
mid-1990s.

Despite some initially difficulty, they have learnt the tricks of the trade and are now
fighting tooth and nail with established Indian players. In terms of product profile, the herbal
wave and renewed focus on cosmetics for men have been the two predominant trends over
the past decade.

Herbal Wave

Over the past couple of years, the herbal wave has been sweeping the skin care segment. This
Rs 300-crore segment is perceived to be the hottest and the fastest growing. A slew of
companies launched herbal skin-care products. Players such as Shehnaz Hussain have been in
this segment for quite some time. With the dawning of the potential of this segment, players
such as Boutique and Lotus Herbals, which operate in the premium segment, have become
more prominent. Existing players too have expanded their range to include herbal variants.

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For instance, Hindustan Lever recently introduced the herbal version of its popular Fair &
Lovely brand.

The belief that cosmetics are harmful to the skin and increased awareness among
consumers of herbal products triggered the demand for natural products rather than chemical-
based cosmetics.

Healthcare Companies Test the Water

This trend has attracted a host of new entrants, including health-care companies such as
Himalaya Drugs (with its Ayurvedic Concepts range), Dabur and Dr Morepan. While
Himalaya's Ayurvedic Concepts have already hit the shelves, Dabur plans to launch three
skin-care products this year.

With the acquisition of the Life spring chain of health and beauty stores, Dr Morepan
Laboratories is exploring opportunities in the cosmetics segment.

Targeting Men

The cosmetics industry, traditionally believed to target women, has a new target segment:
Men. No longer do cosmetics represent a `women only' market. Many players are coming up
with skin care products for men.

Men account for about 25 per cent of fairness cream use across the country and the
figure is growing. In absolute terms, it works out to about Rs 200 crore in sales. According to
an HLL spokesperson, about 20 per cent consumers of Fair & Lovely - one of HLL's mega
power brands - are men. Given that sales of Fair & Lovely are estimated at Rs 500 crore, men
contribute Rs 100 crore.

But while Fair & Lovely leads the fairness creams pack with an estimated market
share of 55 per cent, CavinKares' Fairever, which occupies the second spot, does better with
male consumers.

"Nearly 27 per cent of Fairever's users are men," says a CavinKare official. That
amounts to nearly Rs 22 crore in sales, since Fairever's sales are estimated at Rs 80 crore.

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Aditya Agarwal, director of Emami group, says that men now contribute to about 45
per cent sales of his Rs 10-crore Emami Naturally Fair brand. "Of course, there's some degree
of overlap when both the men and women in the family use my brand, but the fact remains
that usage of fairness products by men has been on the upswing the past couple of years."

The men's personal care segment is estimated to be worth Rs 790 crore, with Gillette
having a large share of the pie. The growing demand for men's cosmetics inspired cosmetics
majors such as Modicare and Amway to launch new products in the skin-care segment.
Modicare is coming out with its Velocity range, while Amway has launched its men's range
in the Indian markets.

Market Segmentation for Fairness Cream

Sales value (Rs. Cr) Growth

(Aug07 – July08) (Aug05 – July06) (%)

All India 711.33 619.82 14.76

North Zone 185.55 184.32 12.93

East Zone 129.92 108.02 22.54

West Zone 163.73 145.83 12.27

South Zone 232.13 203.65 13.98

Metro 135.30 118.50 14.17

What's the reason behind this? The number of men-only salons springing across
metros indicates that metro sexuality is here to stay, says a Delhi-based sociologist.

CURRENT MARKET

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The Indian cosmetics industry appears to have considerable growth potential. Of the Rs
3,000-crore cosmetics and toiletries industry, the market size of the skin-care segment alone
is estimated at Rs 1,200 crore.

Fairness creams account for around 60 per cent of the skin-care business at around Rs
700 crore.

This segment has some of the big names such as Hindustan Lever (Fair & Lovely)
with a massive 53 per cent market share, followed by CavinKare (Fairever) with over12 per
cent share and Godrej FairGlow with a 3.4 per cent share.

Other players such as Emami (Gold Turmeric and Naturally Fair), Revlon (Fair &
Glow) also have a presence in this market.

Specialty creams such as sunscreen lotions, moisturizers, and toners, cleansing

lotions, under-eye dark circle removing creams and cold creams contribute the rest.

The colour cosmetics segment, worth around Rs 300 crore, is most competitive with
many multinational companies in the fray.

This segment can be further segmented into lipsticks, nail enamels, mascara, eye-
liners and so on. While lipsticks account for nearly a third of the market at Rs 90-100 crore,
the market for nail enamels is estimated at around Rs 110 crore.

The Lakmé brand is the market leader with a 50 per cent share, followed by Revlon.
Mass market products account for a major share, around 70 per cent, while the premium
segment accounts only for a mere 9 per cent in lipsticks and 5 per cent in nail enamels.

Here again Hindustan Lever dominates with its Lakmé and Elle 18 brands, followed
by such multinational brands as Revlon and Maybelline. Tips & Toes is another major Indian
player in the colour cosmetics segment.

‘Fairness creams lead in skin care market’

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Volume & value contribution by skin cream segment

(for the 12 month period ending July 2008

Volume in Value in
Contribution (%) Contribution (%)
Antiseptic creams 14 13
Astringents 01 01
Foundations 02 06
Cold Creams 13 10
Moisturizing lotions/creams 17 11
Vanishing creams 04 06

THE country's obsession with fair skin continues unabated.

According to the latest AC Nielsen India Retail audit, fairness creams and lotions put
together continue to be the largest segment in the skin creams category, accounting for 48 per
cent of the total skin creams volume market, in the 12-month period ended July 2007. This is
much higher than the total of the next three segments.

The volume contribution of moisturizing lotions and creams was 17 per cent,
antiseptic creams accounted for 14 per cent of the total skin creams market, and cold creams
accounted for 13 per cent during the same period. Vanishing creams, calamines and
foundations, snows and astringents remain marginal categories within the skin-care market.

In terms of value, the contribution of fairness creams and lotions has been recorded at
53 per cent in the same time period.

In the last 12 months ended July 2007, a total of 30 new brands were added in the skin
creams category, out of which four brands were added in the fairness creams/lotions segment.

During the same period, 30 per cent of new stock keeping units (SKUs) out of the
total 984 SKUs were added in the fairness creams/lotions segment.

Fairness creams and lotions achieved double-digit volume growth of 10.7 per cent in
July 2007 over the corresponding period last year, according to the AC Nielsen India retail
audit. Value growth of fairness creams and lotions was 5.1 per cent in July 2007 over the
corresponding period last year.

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The mother of all fairness creams on the subcontinent is Fair & Lovely. Its reach has
extended beyond India. Today it is marketed in over 38 countries and has become the largest-
selling skin lightening cream in the world, but its biggest customer concentration remains in
South Asia itself. The brand comes in several incarnations; consumers have the delightful
convenience of choosing between not just Fair & Lovely Fairness Reviving Lotion and Fair
& Lovely Fairness Cold Cream, but also Fair & Lovely Fairness Soap.

Fair & Lovely brand continued its stranglehold in the category, with a volume share
of 82 per cent of the fairness creams and lotions category in July 2007 against 75 per cent the
previous year, as per the AC Nielsen retail audit. By value also, Fair & Lovely's share was 82
per cent.

In terms of growth, Fair & Lovely recorded a volume growth of 16.7 per cent in July
2006 over July 2007. Value growth for the brand was 10.4 per cent during the same period.

In July 2007, within skin creams, the total number of companies was 172, the total
number of brands was 345, and the total stock keeping units (SKUs) were 1,454. Within the
fairness creams and lotions category, the total number of companies was 33, the total number
of brands was 58, and the total SKUs were 338 in the same month, as per AC Nielsen India
retail audit.

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COMPANY VIEW ON INDIAN MARKET

"India is a phenomenal market for fairness creams and our product should do well beyond all
imagination. Despite the logistical problems of setting up a company in India (Annexure A), I
believe that not only should we market the cream in India, but we should also set up our own
base in India - not as part of a joint venture with a local company, as we had thought of doing
earlier. Not only that, I believe that we should even be prepared to shift our production
facilities to India if necessary, at short notice."

Observations:

1) Indians are obsessed with skin color." A careful study of the classified matrimonial
columns in the local and national papers shows that the majority of the ads follow a set
pattern.' A fair, good-looking, Gujarati/Sindhi/Punjabi/Tamil lady wanted for an educated,
well-settled man'. If the girl is advertising for a groom, the ad goes something like, 'A fair girl
with good temperament looking for....', or if the girl is not fair, euphemistically, 'A girl with a
whitish complexion.....'. Never in the last few months, have I come across an ad from either
side mentioning a dark-skinned lady. This is because all things being equal (and sometimes
even if not equal), a fair woman has a much better chance of bagging a good husband

2) As soon as a child is born and its sex is known, the next thing looked at is the skin
color. A dark skin in a boy is still acceptable, but in a girl is considered a liability.

3). Indians have a poor tolerance towards races darker than them. In places like
Kenya, where there is a large Indian population, a very derogatory attitude exists towards the
native African population. The Indians there refer to them as 'Kaalia' or 'Karo", meaning
black. A similar attitude exists towards Africans who come to study in India. They are looked
upon with suspicion and in the event of even the slightest trouble involving them or their
places of stay, they are arrested and considered guilty unless proved innocent. A couple of
years ago, an African couple was denied entry into a South Mumbai pub, because the owner
thought the couple would cause trouble. As an Indian friend tells me 'Our attitude towards the
blacks is worse than the attitude that the whites had towards us - the apartheid spectrum
seems to have shifted to the right of the color range.'"

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 Fariness Creams In India

4). Just to illustrate this point further. I am sure you are aware of the controversy that
Indian and Pakistani cab drivers in New York got into, when they refused a ride to Mr.
Danny Glover, the actor, on the grounds that they were scared of blacks and would prefer not
to go to areas with a predominant African-American population.

5). There is a sizeable community of Indians in the US. Though marriages and
interactions between the white population and Indians are known, it is very rare for Indians to
have emotional or sexual relations with African-American individuals.

6). There are two popular brands selling fairness products in the local Indian market -
they account for most of the market share. Of these two, one is actually a bleach, (we can
stress this point in our ad campaign and run the company out of business) and the other is a
cream similar to ours.

7). In the Southern parts of India, where the people are much darker than in the
northern parts, being fair is considered a godsend. In their movies, fair actresses and heroines
are much better appreciated than dark actresses, even though the majority of the population is
dark.

Marketing Strategies:

1). There are two target populations. The first is women in the age group of 17-25 whose
need to be fair is directly proportional to their urge to get married. At this stage, they are
extremely vulnerable to suggestions from any source, including ads, about products that
would help make them fair. The second target population is men - they should be made to see
the virtues of our cream using subliminal messages in our ads. They would then support the
use of our product and sometimes maybe even suggest its use to their daughters and wives.

2). The two competitive products mentioned above, blatantly extol the virtues of
being fair, in their television ads. There is no opposition from the public or the advertising
council regarding these racist ads, which would never have been allowed in our politically
correct country. With our superior advertising and marketing concepts, we can push this
divide even further - we can show how being dark is shameful and that nothing works like
being fair, creating a situation where anyone even remotely affected by color, will have no
choice but to use our products."
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3). To this end, we can use some fair actresses to advertise our product. This concept
is very prevalent in the soap industry and though the actresses are expensive by Indian
standards, the amount of money involved is not much by our standards (approximately
100,000$ or so for endorsement)."

4). If we could get Michael Jackson to endorse the product in India, that would work
wonders. We can show him during his "Thriller" days and compare that MJ to the new one,
to show how even the darkest of dark people can become fair with the right attitude and skin-
care products."

5). There is a tendency to believe anything which has even the slightest scientific
background to it. Shampoo and face-care companies run countless television ads showing
pretty scientists in research and development departments strutting around extolling the virtue
of their products that ostensibly have been developed after extensive experimentation. Since
we have an R&D department, we could do the same by showing a dark, academic-looking
Indian asking a fair, Indian, woman scientist working in our R&D department, leading
questions about our fairness cream and looking terribly impressed by the results shown, so
much so, that even she starts using our cream and notices a change, within a month."

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MARKETING OF FAIRNESS PRODUCTS

The Marketing Mix

(The 4 P's of Marketing)

The major marketing management decisions can be classified in one of the following four
categories:

 Product

 Price

 Place (distribution)

 Promotion

These variables are known as the marketing mix or the 4 P's of marketing. They are the
variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target
market. The marketing mix is portrayed in the following diagram:

The Marketing Mix

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Product

The product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. In the case of physical
products, it also refers to any services or conveniences that are part of the offering.

Product decisions include aspects such as function, appearance, packaging, service, warranty,
etc.

Price

Pricing decisions should take into account profit margins and the probable pricing response
of competitors. Pricing includes not only the list price, but also discounts, financing, and
other options such as leasing.

Place

Place (or placement) decisions are those associated with channels of distribution that serve as
the means for getting the product to the target customers. The distribution system performs
transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions.

Distribution decisions include market coverage, channel member selection, logistics, and
levels of service.

Promotion

Promotion decisions are those related to communicating and selling to potential consumers.
Since these costs can be large in proportion to the product price, a break-even analysis should
be performed when making promotion decisions. It is useful to know the value of a customer
in order to determine whether additional customers are worth the cost of acquiring them.

Promotion decisions involve advertising, public relations, media types, etc.

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A Summary Table of the Marketing Mix

The following table summarizes the marketing mix decisions, including a list of some of the
aspects of each of the 4Ps.

Summary of Marketing Mix Decisions

Product Price Place Promotion

Functionality List price Channel members Advertising

Appearance Discounts Channel motivation Personal selling

Quality Allowances Market coverage Public relations

Packaging Financing Locations Message

Brand Leasing Logistics Media

options
Warranty Service levels Budget

Service/Suppor
t

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Product

The product list in the fairness cream market is long. There are many small and big players
competing in the market for their share. The over all fairness cream market can be segmented
in to broad three category i.e.

 Low End
 Middle End
 High End

Low End

Fair and Lovely

 Godrej ‘Fair Glow’ and ‘Fairever

 Freschia
 Vicco Turmeric

Samara
Fairness cream

Middle End

 Lotus Fairness gel

 Avon VIP Fairness cream
 Oriflame Natural Northern Light
 Biotique Coconut Milk
 Oriflame Love ‘A’ Fair

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High End

 L’Oreal Plenitude White Perfect range

 Lancome’s Blanc Cristal range
 YSL’s Blanc Absolu Serum
 Clinique’s Active White Line
 Elizabeth Arden’s Visible Whitening Pure Intensive capsules
 Estee Lauder’s White Light.

As one goes through the product line it is observe that product recognition diminishes
as we go up the level. Products in the lower end have more market coverage and also more
recognition then the product in the middle end and higher end.

This also stresses the point that Indian market has more preference for product lower
in price. As we go up the product ladder the product gets more costly as they are in premium
range. Although there is a general feeling among the people that if the product has a high cost
then it will be more effective.

The branding in the various ends of the product is also different. Product in the low
end tends to be more local and common as it will appeal to the majority, but as we go up the
ladder the names of the product becomes uncommon or to say more sophisticated. One
reason for this could be that product in the higher end are not meant for the masses but only
for a selected few, and also it has some esteem value to it. So it has to be diffentiated form the
lot and hence the names.

Off late there has been a new category of fairness creams (ie) Natural or Ayurvedic.
Products like Naturally Fair (Emami), Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic (HLL) and also Himalayas
Ayurvedic creams which have intensified the market competition These products differentiate
themselves from other product on the basis of it being 100% natural. It has no chemical base
and that it is skin friendly.

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But the list doesn’t end here. We see a product innovation in

the form of Fairness soap. The first to do this was Godrej
Fairglow. This product was followed by many other market.

The latest in the treand is the Fair & Lovely fairness gel for oily skin.
So one can say that a consumer has a wide range of products to select
form in various ends, but this can be dangerous for the companies as
they can face the problem of brand switchers. But overall the market is
flooded with fairness creams that ensures Fairness.

Price

Prices are important part in the fairness creams. Prices are highly variable across the
various segment of the products. Products in the low category are in the price range of about
15-100 Rs. They vary according to the size (50gm, 100gm, 200gm)

In the Middle end the prices are between the range of 150-300 Rs. In the High end the
prices vary anywhere between 350-800 Rs. Prices are crucial in the lower end as they target
the mass crowed and hence they have to keep the prices competitive. As for the middle end
and higher end product the prices are more on quality as they are not targeting the masses but
concentrate on effectiveness and quality of the product.

Pricing decisions should take into account profit margins and the probable pricing
response of competitors. Pricing includes not only the list price, but also discounts, financing,
and other options such as leasing.

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Place

It refers to the distribution network, place of availability of the product, intermediaries, and
outlets. To understand it better here I have taken example of the HLL, which is the FMCG
giant in India and is the bench mark for other FMCG companies.

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

HLL has a well planned network which ensures that its product are always available
in the market and that there is no shortage of the products in the market. It ensures break free
supply.This is one of the factors behind the phenomenal success of HLL. It has 80
manufacturing units in India which ensures continues flow of its products. Apart form that its
has about 150 outsourced units, which also undertakes manufacturing but on a lower scale.

And to distribute the product manufactured in these factories they have a highly
effective distribution channel. Products manufactures are taken form factory by the Carrying
and Forwarding agent. These C&F agent then distribute these products to Redistribution
Stockiest at regional level. There are about 30-40 such stockiest in each region.

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These stockiest then distribute the products to wholesaler, who further sends it to
retailers in Urban and Rural Market from where it finally reaches the consumers.

The redistribution stockiest also supplies to urban and rural retailers directly where
the wholesales are not present or are unable to reach. So by this they ensure a smooth flow of
products. They have a huge network in form of 7000 stockiest and they directly cover entire
urban population through 1 million outlet and 50,000 villages.

This distribution channel is much the same for most FMCG companies. Most fairness
creams have the above distribution channel but the difference being in the availability of the
creams in the lower/middle and higher end. Lower end creams like Fair & Lovely, Fairever,
Fair glow are widely available in almost all medical general stores.

The reason for this is high demand and low price of creams of this segment. But in
the middle and high end the availability is not the common. The are available in selected
shops as the demand for it is less and prices are high as compared to lower end.

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Promotion

Promotion strategy is an activity by which an company can promote its product in the market.
With the help of promotion a company can create an awareness of its product in the market.
Promotion can be done through various means such as through television ads, ads in
newspapers and magazines, banners and hoardings, distributing free sample, etc. In today’s
world the amount of competition that is generating is extremely high. So there is a need of
aggressive promotion strategy. Therefore main aim of the promotion strategy should be
create maximum awareness of a company’s product and should have a positive impact on
consumers mind.

Major promotion of Fairness creams are done in the form of T.V advertising, banners
and radio advertising. Apart from that there are many other schemes that comes up with one
or the other such creams like buy a particular cream, scratch a card and you could win a gold
pendent, or get 20% free.

Here we will see the T.V ads and Print ads of various fairness creams and analysis them.

T.V. Adds

The following ad is of Fair & Lovely fairness cream of HLL.

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Next Add is of Fairever

What is it that is common in both this ads?

In first ads it is shown how a girl aspires to be a cricket commentator but is not
confident enough to make it because she is dark skinned. So the solution was there, Fair &
Lovely. As she uses the cream she become fair, and with it grows her confident. She sends
the audition tape and there she is, selected and commenting for a cricket match.

In the second ad the situation is slightly different. Here the girl aspires to become a
doctor. This ad goes even far saying that the use of this particular cream will change her
destiny. “Fairever hai na maa, meri takdeer badalde” This ad goes over the limit to suggest
that becoming fair can change your destiny.

What both the ads are trying to project is that looking dark may result in failure. Dark
skinned people are low in confident and have less chances of becoming successful. So the
solution to the problem is there fairness cream which will make you fair and boost your
confidence and help you reach you goal and you will be successful.

Both the above ads make an emotional appeal to the audience. The target audience of
the above ads is females in the age group of 15-25. That is the prime target market, however
the cream is used by females in general irrespective of the age.

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Print Media

Headline: Nine out of ten fairness cream users don't know what they put on
their faces.

Body copy: If you could only read the list of ingredients on your fairness
cream pack, chances are, you would never use it again.

You see, most chemical fairness creams contain hydroquinone, hydrogen

peroxide and ammonia.

Harsh whitening agents that impart only a temporary whiteness and rob the skin of its natural
moisture leaving it dull and lifeless.

With continued use, your skin breaks out in blemishes and shows signs of premature ageing
even before you realize it. No wonder most chemical fairness creams don't list their
ingredients on their packs.

Naturally Fair. Long-lasting fairness.

Emami Naturally Fair, however, is a breakthrough intensive formulation made from the
extracts of 11 rare herbs.

A blend of Ayurveda and international herbal science, it is the only fairness cream that works
gently from within. To give you a long-lasting fairness without any side-effects.

The wonder herbs in Naturally Fair don't just make you fair, but nourish, revitalize and
protect your skin to give it a natural, healthy glow.

100% natural. 100% safe. Milk, cucumber, and coconut extract moisturize it. Sandalwood
soothes and clears blemishes. Liquorices, a natural fairness agent lightens it and Aloe Vera
protects it from the damaging and darkening effects of UV rays. Change to Naturally Fair.
Get a look that's so natural, people will think you're born with it.

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 Fariness Creams In India

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FAIRNESS CREAM

Cosmetic companies are spending thousands of millions of rupees on research for ingredients
that block melanin production. Star ingredients like which act on the color cells and reduce
their function to a small extent are Hydroquinone, alpha hydroxy acids especially glycolic,
some vitamin A derivatives, Vitamin C derivatives, tourmaline etc. However, these are all
very mild.

There are some natural ingredients like Kojic acid, green tea, arbutin, etc, which also
claim to lighten the skin to some extent. Most of these works because they have a strong
UVA/UVB filter, which prevents sun damage thus improving the complexion to some extent.

Hydroquinone prevent the formation of melanin-producing cells, and ‘kills’ the

existing ones to make the skin lighter No fairness cream can make you fairer than the skin
with which you were born. What they can do is reverse the damage done by unprotected long
exposure to the sun and protect you against the harsh sunrays.

Hydroquinone however is a strong ingredient and dermatologists advise individuals to

discontinue its use after three or four month of continuous use to switch to a non
hydroquinone cream. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restrict the use of hydroquinone
to just two percent in cosmetic creams.

A word of caution: authorities in most of Asia, Europe and parts of Africa, prohibit
hydroquinone in skin care preparations. This is due to the reports of an epidermic of
exogenerous ocronosis – a progressive darkening of the skin – in South Africa after patients
used high concentrations of hydroquinone for several years.

The latest buzz is sun is not the only cause for skin darkening. Other factors like stress,
extreme climates, exposure to smoke and other pollutants can trigger the darkening reaction
on our skin. What we need is realization! Realization that color is also beautiful. Often we ply
on the creams wishing for a white skin and are left with more problems due to excess use of
cosmetics. A sunny disposition, good clear skin, the right attitude and loads of personal style
contributes a lot to one’s beauty

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 Fariness Creams In India

ADDING FUEL TO FIRE

So what has made this demand shot up. “Competition”, “want of looking good” or
“society”?. Certainly all of these. They all have contributed their bit in adding to the demand
for the fairness. We live in a society where dark skin people (specially females) are looked
down upon and often termed as “Kali Kaluti” adding to the situation are the T.V stars who
look picture perfect and someone who is everybody’s dream. This has resulted in a
desperation among the crowd for looking good and fair.

Beauty Queens and Beauty Cream

Beauty pageant winners in India have become national icons who peddle Western
ideals of beauty in an increasingly consumerist culture. Their huge, glowing faces smile
down from billboards on the mere mortal residents of big cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Each
tooth in their wide grins gleams with perfect whiteness; each strand of their shiny hair lies
smoothed flawlessly into place.

Their likenesses plaster the covers of women's magazines and the scores of
advertisement pages within. Turn on the television, and you'll be sure to encounter at least
one of them expounding on the virtues of the latest shampoo or beauty product. A quick
glance at the front page of some of India's biggest newspapers on any given day will yield
another glimpse of their tall, toned figures or their playfully pouting faces gracing wide
expanses of space below some bold headline announcing their latest accomplishment.

They star in the biggest Bollywood movies, they shake hands with the most famous
public officials, and their names are foreign only to those denizens of the most remote
villages. Welcome to 2004 in India, where these women have become some of the country's
most celebrated public figures and symbols of national pride.

In recent years, the list of Indian successes in the global beauty contest arena has been
impressive: Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994; Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994 (1994 was
a beauty pageant Grand Slam year for India -- Miss Universe and Miss World); Diana
Hayden, Miss World 1997; and Yukta Mookhey, Miss World 1999. Most recently, Priyanka

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 Fariness Creams In India

Chopra, Miss World 2000 and Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000, making for yet another grand
slam year. Quite a lineup.

Trick question: What do these women have in common? They are Indian, yes, and
they are all beautiful. But it is a particular type of beauty that truly unites these women. They
are all extraordinarily tall by Indian standards, breathtakingly slim, and are possessed of a
light honey-colored skin tone, a characteristic that is possessed by a very small percentage of
India's population.

India is an enormous and diverse country, and its citizens encompass a wide range of
ethnicities and exhibit a range of physical characteristics. The Miss Universe-primed stars of
the silver screen, television advertisements, and domestic beauty pageant scene never include
women with the lovely dark skin and thick, curly hair of the South or the high-cheekboned,
East Asian-featured residents of the North East. The most-recognizable woman in India today
-- the national pride and joy, ex-Miss World and current Bollywood megastar -- Aishwarya
Rai has creamy, translucent skin, but she also has brown hair and piercing blue-green eyes. In
other words, hardly representative of India's ethnic variety. While corporations are making a
killing in the fairness cream market for the moment, perhaps they might be well instructed to
look ahead to the next buying trend.

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 Fariness Creams In India

CASE STUDY OF FAIR GLOW

The following case study revels how Fair Glow was launched in the market. What are the
various factors that were looked at while launching the cream.

Background
Fair Glow was launched in 1999 in the popular category of soaps. It was not only a launch of
a new soap but also the launch of a new category in soaps i.e. ‘fairness soaps category’. It had
a very clear value-added benefit of fairness through a new form. There was a huge credibility
factor for a soap that claimed to offer fairness. Therefore the launch strategy was to establish
the benefit with the product form in the most credible manner.

PHASE 1 - LAUNCH

The focus for this stage was to establish fairness through a soap and use the ingredient as the
support. The communication talked about this being the first time in India that fairness was
available through soap and this was because of a unique breakthrough ingredient called
Natural Oxy – G. This communication clearly defined FairGlow as the only fairness soap in

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India. The consumers felt that now they could gain a very evolved benefit from their regular
bath. This product was one of the most successful launches in the already over-crowded
soaps market.

PHASE 2

Key Issue

Once fairness was credible through a soap, an opportunity was identified in laddering the
benefit and finding an emotional platform that was more relevant to the consumer.

Target Audience

Using comprehensive understanding of the typical prospect – a small town teen girl and her
mindset that fluctuates between the need to belong and the new wave of selfdetermination –
FairGlow recognised and focussed on the most crucial event of her lifemarriage. Quickly
owning this often ignored trigger, the communication gave her choices to fulfill her new age
ambition.

Communication strategy

Consumer Insight: Beautiful people (equated with fairness) have more opportunities in life.
Based on the above insight, the reward arrived at was - ‘When I use FairGlow I become fair
and fair people have more opportunities/choices in life’. By owning this, FairGlow started
owning the platform of choices and opportunities. The creative output was ‘When I use
FairGlow I look beautiful and therefore I am in a position to choose my life partner’. This
provided the brand with the core value of ‘choices and opportunities’ in the relevant aperture
of marriage giving the consumer a good ‘reason to buy’ the brand.

PHASE 3

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 Fariness Creams In India

Background

Launching a cream with a fairness benefit and no value-adds in the face of Fair & Lovely
which has a strong equity on this benefit and form, was no easy task. Due to sluggish
economic growth, only subpopular soaps available on ‘schemes’ had registered some growth.
Even Lux, the market leader was forced to get into schemes. The spurt of new launches and
re-launches by well-entrenched players in this category made the battle even more intense.
The advent of Fair & Lovely and Emami in the soap segment resulted in:

 Increased choices for the consumer.

 Redefining the fairness benefit.

Hence there existed a need to redefine fairness to the consumer and launch it in an established
form i.e. creams.

Key Issue
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 Fariness Creams In India

The offer of fairness through soaps or creams was no longer sufficient. The consumer was
looking for value-adds that were both relevant and credible.

Communication Task

Redefine fairness to blemish-free fairness. Research substantiated that this was both relevant
and credible to the consumer.

Communication strategy

Based on this insight the reward arrived at was ‘When you use FairGlow you feel socially
confident’.

Target Audience

A small town teen girl who is currently using Fair & Lovely and is looking for a product that
is better then her current one.

She is slightly insecure about her appearance and is looking for a product that would boost
her confidence amongst her peer group.
Social Confidence
Beautiful Complexion
Blemish-free fairness

Phase 4

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 Fariness Creams In India

Background

FairGlow is seen to have a very loyal base of users. However the new trials rate seems to
have stagnated. This was worrisome in a brand that is still in its growth stage. The blemish-
free fairness benefit was still not synonymous with FairGlow. Besides, the disbeliveability
factor needed to be tackled with a stronger communication. The soaps market being very
fragmented and highly competitive, all brands need to be re-launched every two to three
years in order to keep the interest alive.

Key Issue

Though users were happy with the product’s performance, they were unclear about Natural
Oxy-G and how it works. Non-users were still wary of the product being able to deliver on
the promise of blemish-free fairness.

Communication Task

To provide complete confidence about the product’s performance. To explain the Natural
Oxy-G process in a convincing and appealing manner.

Target Identified

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 Fariness Creams In India

Core Audience: Users of beauty creams and soaps and fairness products. Young girls in the
age group of 18+, who currently use products to enhance their complexion. They are very
rational in their choice of products and would try new products only if they are completely
convinced about them.

Communication Strategy

Based on this insight, the communication had to be very rational and convincing. The
creative output was The FairGlow Challenge – blemish-free fairness or your money back and
a product window that was both appealing and convincing. This showed that the company
had great confidence in the brand’s capabilities and would therefore convert non-users to
FairGlow users.

Media

TV is the main medium. Women-oriented subjects and soaps (serials) with high TRP ratings
are consistently used. FairGlow sponsored the serials Sas bhi kabhi bahu thi and KBC when
the TRP of the shows had just started to skyrocket. This proved very beneficial for the brand.
Press, Point of Sale and Outdoor were judiciously used during the brand launch stage to give
a surround media effect for the brand.

FairGlow Today
In spite of Fair & Lovely launching a soap and pushing heavy media spends, it has been
unable to become the market leader. FairGlow has had an impressive second year – as India’s
largest selling fairness soap. It has become a Rs.100 crore brand in a span of 2 years.
FairGlow has started a trend in launching benefit-specific soaps that cater to a very well-
defined segment.

SURVEY FORM

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1) Do you use fairness creams

o Regularly
o Sometimes
o Never

2) Are you happy with your skin colour, or you want it to be a lighter Shade
o Yes, I am happy
o No, I want to be more fair

3) How important is looking fair to you

o Very important
o Not that important

4) Do you think fair people have more chances of success, then dark skin people
o Yes
o No
o Can’t say

5) Do you think it is more important for women to look fair then it is for men.
o Yes, very much
o Up to certain extent
o No, its not so

6) Various advertisement of fairness cream which appear on T.V tends to create gender bias,
do you agree?
o Yes, they do
o No, they don’t
o Can’t say

7) Fashion models, Heroes, Heroines have created complex among people regarding there
skin colour. What is your opinion?
o No , they don’t make much difference

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 Fariness Creams In India

o They are only one of many other factor

8) Fair people are also beautiful, how true is it?

o Yes, its true
o No, its not so always.

9) How important is the Price Factor in fairness cream

o They are very important
o Not that important

10) What according to you are other factors that are contributing the urge of people to look
fair.

A Detailed Analysis Of Each Question Is Given Here

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 Fariness Creams In India

1) Do you use fairness creams

o Regularly
o Sometimes
o Never
60
50 o
Regularly
40
30 Sometime
20
Never
10
0
Male Female

53 people (51 female, 2 males) were the one who used the cream regularly, 35 people (12
female, 23males) used cream sometimes and 12 people (7 female, 5 males) never used the
cream.

This shows that women dominate the Fairness cream sales. They are the major contributor.
Males are not regular user of the cream, but use it occasionally.

2) Are you happy with your skin colour, or you want it to be a lighter Shade
o Yes, I am happy
o No, I want to be more
fair
Yes
No

47 people were happy with there skin colour while 53 people wished to have a lighter skin
shade.

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 Fariness Creams In India

3) How important is looking fair to you

o Very important
o Not that important

60
50
40 Very imp
30 Not that
imp
20
10
0
Males Female

While 67 people said that it was very important for them to look fair, 23 people were of the
opinion that it was not that important for them to look fair. Of the 67 people who agreed that
looking fair was important females were the majority (55 female, 12 males). This also
supports the fact as to why females dominate the fairness cream market.

4) Do you think fair people have more chances of success, then dark skin people
o Yes
o No
o Can’t say

Yes
No
Can't
Say

On closely observing the patter of reply of people it was observed that all people in Yes
category (47) also believed that looking fair was important. There were 25 people who said
‘No’ and 26 couldn’t decide.

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 Fariness Creams In India

5) Do you think it is more important for women to look fair then it is for men.

o Yes, very much

o Up to certain extent
o No, its not so

Yes Up to some extent

No

1 2

6 8
21
11

13 41

Male Female

The ‘yes’ category which consist of 54 people is dominated by females (41 females to 13
males) which shows that women are more conscious about looking fair then males. 32 people
agree to the question to some extent. While talking to them they said it holds true specially in
case of marriage. Only few (14) seem to disagree with it.

6) Various advertisement of fairness cream which appear on T.V tends to create gender
bias, do you agree?
o Yes, they do
o No, they don’t
o Can’t say
Femal
100% e
Male
50%

0%
Yes No Can't
say

This was one question where people had very mixed response. They gave more time self-
analyzing the question before answering the question. Very few were of the opinion that the
ad did not create gender bias, most either agreed of were not sure about it.
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 Fariness Creams In India

7) Fashion models, Heroes, Heroines have created complex among people regarding
there skin colour. What is your opinion?
o No , they don’t make much difference
o They are only one of many other factor

No, they don’t make much diff

One of many other factor

In this question very few seemed to disagree that the above mentioned people don’t make
much of a difference. Majority of them believed that they do make a difference but they are
only one of the many other factor that contribute to the urge of looking fair.

8) Fair people are also beautiful, how true is it?

o Yes, its true
o No, its not so always.

70
60
50 Male
40
Femal
30 e
20
10
0
Yes, its No, not so
true

This question provides a solid base to

the fact that people have a pre-conceived notion of equating Beauty and Fairness. For them
its “fairness = beauty”. Most of the people in the survey believed that all people who have a
lighter shade of skin or say fair skin are automatically beautiful.

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 Fariness Creams In India

9) How important is the Price Factor in fairness cream

o They are very important

o Not that important

Very Important Not that important

Reaction of people to this question was quite mixed. Though majority believed that price
played an important role in Fairness cream, there were some who believed that price is not
that important as it provides benefits which can raise a persons self esteem.

10) What according to you are other factors that are contributing the urge of people to
look fair?

Some of the common answer that I got to this question included, ‘Family’, ‘Friends’,
‘Marriage’, among married women ‘husbands’ was one the factors that was common.
Although among young crowed ‘attracting opposite sex’ was one of the prime reason for
looking fair (so using fairness cream), showed that people still do believe that looking fair
can be a attractive factor.

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 Fariness Creams In India

SURVEY ANALYSIS

The basic objective of survey was to closely study the attitude of the consumers towards
fairness. For the survey a sample size of 100 people was taken. It consisted of both Male and
Female. Including male in the survey was important for 2 reasons. First being that there is
and marked increase in the number of males using Fairness Cream. In a recent survey
conducted by CavinKare for its fairness cream brand Fairever, about 27% of their consumers
are male. In the overall market Males contribute to about 25% of total sales. Hence including
was important. Second reason is that Males contribute to a great deal in increasing a women’s
urge to look fair, as is a commonly observed fact the males like fair women. So it was very
important to analysis the psychic of males.

Of the 100 people surveyed 70 were females in the age group of 17-35 and males in
the age group of 18-30. Survey has brought many interesting facts. Most people believe that
fair people have more chances of success and they are generally more successful then darker
skin people. While most of them agreed that Fairness Cream do create gender bias they also
agreed that it was more important for female to look fair then males. This implies that what
we see in the ad is actually a reflection of our mentality. Most people think that Heroes,
Heroines and Models do influence people but only up to certain level which meant that there
were things other then this which also played a role in contributing to the demand for
Fairness Creams.

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 Fariness Creams In India

CONCLUSION

So what to make of the hidden connections between the sheer force of the beauty
queens and the fairness cream explosions? It's clear, most of all, that while these intertwined
phenomena are obvious products of globalization and exposure to new cultural and economic
norms, they could never be written off solely as examples of Western cultural imperialism
and economic hegemony.

First, Indian culture has long carried within itself the ugly capacities for female
objectification and devastating color-consciousness. Second, and just as important, it is
Indians who are making a killing in the new skin-bleaching and cosmetic markets, not, for the
most part, American or European corporations. Who, then, is to blame? Hindustan Lever?
Consumers? Magazine editors, shopkeepers, television producers, politicians? Aishwarya Rai
herself?

The answer, of course, is all and none of the above. We all pay attention to skin color,
whether we admit it or not. We all admire beautiful women, and we all want to be desired.
Finally, we're all consumers, and we all contribute in some way to the ravenous machinery of
mass-produced commercialism. The point of such an exercise of recognizing collective
responsibility, though, is not to make us despair and turn all helpless and jellylike in the face
of the monsters of human shallowness and greed.

Rather, in learning to avoid displacing the blame for such embedded social stains onto
abstract notions like "globalization", we should be learning to think harder about our roles in
the world. In this case, that means remembering that other people's notions of beauty sell, but
only if we buy them.

Does globalization have to mean the inexorable growth of cultural homogenization

and insatiable consumerist appetites? Of course not, and neither does the "international face
of beauty" of the future have to be a single, packaged physical incarnation of melting pot
(read: assimilation) ideology. Instead, it seems like there's no better time than now to remind
ourselves that beauty is difference, and we have the power to decide what we desire. And our

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 Fariness Creams In India

desires, ultimately, are what give us, mere consumers, the power to determine the shape of
our world as it rockets into the post-modern future.}

So let me get back to what I wanted to convey when I started this review. According
to me buying these fairness creams at the exorbitant prices they are sold is a mere waste of
money. Also I am told by many of my friends who use these products that they have to be
used on a regular basis to maintain the fairness they give. Its not like, you use it, become fair
and forget it. If you are dark/ dusky and you feel low about it, then probably what you really
need is:

i) a good book written by any famous author on how to get over your complexes or
how to search for a winner within you. (fair and lovely says it will make you a more
confident person in 6 weeks, a good book can do that in 6 days)

ii) good friends who can tell you that a skin fairer than what you already have is not
going to make you any better person than you already are within. Good friends can make you
more confident in 6 hours (maybe even lesser)

iii) some serious thought about all those people who are born with greater physical
and mental handicaps and still living their life to the fullest, enjoying every minute of this gift
called LIFE. (good positive thoughts make you believe in yourself almost instantaneously)

.....and trust me none of the above has any negative side effects nor do they have a recurring
cost.

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 Fariness Creams In India

BIBILIOGRAPHY

Books Referred:
 Facts of India Advertising & Consumer Behavior: An Imperial Approach
 Positioning: The Battle for your mind

Web Sites:
 www.timesofindia.com
 www.hinduonline.com
 www.indiainfoline.com
 www.cavindia.com
 www.mouthshut.com

Search Engines:
 www.yahoo.com
 www.google.co.in
 www.rediff.com

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