Brands
HUL & responsible advertisement: Going beyond Fair & Lovely’s name change
MUMBAI: It took Hindustan Unilever (HUL) 48 years to realise that the term Fair & Lovely has racial connotations. After coming under criticism world over for promoting racial stereotypes, the company decided to drop the word ‘fair’ and replace it with ‘glow’ for both its women’s and men’s product range.
As per a report, Fair & Lovely instituted a series of campaigns centred on “the fairer girl gets the guy” theme which ran from December 2001 to March 2003, but after the backlash, the company discontinued the ads. To revive its image, HUL launched Fair & Lovely Foundation to encourage economic empowerment of women across India.
Will the rebranding to Glow & Lovely see HUL become a more responsible advertiser? Mirum India executive creative director Naila Patel explains, “The reason HUL has withdrawn its current positioning is to add to its image as a responsible advertiser. They take the responsibility narrative seriously and carry out enough sustainability initiatives for the very reason. The fact that we are having this conversation means it has made an impact by withdrawing its current strategy.”
Despite all it says, ‘fairness leads to success’, whether it be in marriage, career or any other field of life, has been the trope portrayed by Fair & Lovely ads over the years.
Business strategist and angel Investor Lloyd Mathias says, “By dropping the word ‘fair’ from Fair & Lovely, they have taken cognisance of the sensitivity associated with skin colour. But, they will need to do a lot more than just renaming the brand to Glow & Lovely, to genuinely address the colourism issue so widely prevalent in India. How they roll out the new positioning will need to be observed.”
It’s interesting to note that the prompt for the change was not Indian but rather the response to the #BlackLivesMatter protest in the US which saw Indians protesting against Fair & Lovely too. Additionally, competitor Johnson & Johnson decided it would discontinue its fairness products entirely.
Mathias asserts, “HUL will have to show genuine intent in what they do in the market with the new rollout. The brand's franchise is far too entrenched to move away from the category it defined with the mere change of the name. The new packaging, logo and communication stance will have a big role to play.”
Patel believes that it will lose the sharp targeting but might end up attracting a more varied audience as millennials prefer to “buy brands that have integrity and stand for a purpose.”
It could also mean a shift in the ad slots to a more enlightened audience. Patel opines, “Yes, they might move the slots from traditional to modern content as they will cease to be relevant to the typical saas bahu …chand jaisi dulhan narrative.”
Mathias differs. He says, “I think in media terms there will be no change in the slots HUL picks for Glow & Lovely. The target audience for the brand essentially remains the same.”
Even as HUL said it would look at more inclusive models, Zirca co-founder and director Neena Dasgupta shares, “I don’t believe a dark-skinned model will replace the word 'fair' at a subliminal level. Their choice of model should continue to be the same. Any special effort would be against the act of rebranding.”
HUL’s product Fair & Lovely leads the skin lightening market in India. The market stands at Rs 10,000 crore, with Fair & Lovely enjoying an 80 per cent market share. Over the years the brand has focused on a deep distribution model. The company made sure the product is available across the country right from kirana shops to malls with higher demand in the rural market.
If HUL truly wants to show its seriousness on the matter, it will have to do more than just a rebrand. It will have to also act on what it says.
Brands
PeopleStrong appoints Adishri Charla SVP marketing to drive global growth
Former UiPath marketing head to scale brand, demand and expansion across regions
NEW DELHI: PeopleStrong has brought in marketing heavyweight Adishri Charla as senior vice president, marketing, tasking her with sharpening the company’s global brand and fuelling its next phase of growth.
Charla steps in with nearly two decades of B2B marketing experience across both fast-moving start-ups and global technology giants. She joins from UiPath, where she served most recently as director and head of marketing for India and Saarc, playing a key role in the automation firm’s rise to category leadership in the region. Her work there ranged from revenue-driven marketing strategies to building strong customer and community engagement programmes.
At PeopleStrong, Charla will oversee global brand strategy, demand generation and customer engagement as the HR tech firm expands across India, Asia, the Middle East and other emerging markets.
CEO Sandeep Chaudhary said the company was looking for a leader who could connect brand storytelling with measurable business outcomes. “Adishri brings global marketing experience and strong team leadership. We are confident she will help sharpen our positioning and support our next phase of expansion,” he said.
Charla previously held marketing roles at Oracle India and IBM India, working across cloud, systems and product marketing. An MBA graduate from Symbiosis Centre for Management and HR Development, she has also completed executive programmes at Columbia Business School and ISB.
Sharing her excitement about the move, Charla said PeopleStrong has the potential to reshape how organisations across the region think about HR technology. She added that her focus will be on building stronger brand connections while driving measurable business impact.
Backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, PeopleStrong today serves more than 500 enterprises and has won several industry recognitions, including honours at the ET Human Capital Awards and the People Matters Infini-T Awards. Charla’s appointment signals the company’s intent to strengthen leadership as it scales its global ambitions.
