IGNCA to create vintage ad vault, seeks archives from agencies and firms

New Delhi: From vintage print ads to classic TV spots, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) hosted an exhibition from March 25 to 30, highlighting the art of Indian advertising from 1950 to 1990. 

Titled 'Ad Art Exhibition: Four Decades of Indian Advertising', was held at the city-based IGNCA, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.

The exhibits include images of several print ads drawn from private collections. From food items to ceiling fans and footwear to bicycles, these ads depict an era gone by.

"These advertisements were published in Indian magazines during 1950-90, and we approached people who had these old magazines and procured them. While initially we have culled out the ads that were printed in them and made scanned copies for the exhibition, now we also plan to preserve these magazines too in our archives," a senior official of the IGNCA said.

These magazines of yesteryear include 'Dharamyug', 'Madhuri' and 'Filmfare'.

Some of the rare print ads include those of Lux soap brand, depicting its endorsement by Nimmi, a heroine of the black-and-white cinema era.

Other film stars of the era such as Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Anita Guha and Shashikala also endorsed this famous soap brand.

The print ads depicting their endorsement of Lux soap, such as the one carried in Filmfare in the 1960s, portraying Rehman, also show the early use of colours in print advertising.

"We have seen Shashikala in movies across the decades largely in negative roles and as a vamp or villainess, but the old ad shows a different side of her when the brand celebrated her as a symbol of beauty. So, ads can tell a lot, beyond just its commercial value," said Media Centre's Controller of IGNCA Anurag Punetha.

The exhibition also highlights the artistic value of advertising and its evolution over the decades.

"Advertisements, crafted for the promotion of products, services and information, have gradually assumed the form of an art," reads a panel displayed at the exhibition venue.

Other famous print ads on display were of brands such as Khaitan and Bajaj fans, Cherry Blossom shoeshine, Bata shoes and Brooke Bond's Taj Mahal tea with its tagline 'Wah Taj!'.

"Now, we are planning to go a step further and create a repository at IGNCA of such old advertisements, both for print and audiovisual formats.

We will reach out to ad agencies and companies too so that copies of both print and audiovisual ads can be shared with us to house them in the planned archive, which later can also help in research work," Punetha said.

At the exhibition, a digital screen display of old video ads such as Dhara oil brand, Nirma soap, Bajaj scooter, among others, was created.

Asked how advertising has changed today vis-a-vis earlier decades, the IGNCA official said today a celebrity endorses everything from soap and hair oil to jewellery brands, and it seems the audience really doesn't have a meaningful connection with the brand.

"Today, the brand of celebrity has gone up in advertising, while the celebrity of brand has gone down, I feel," he rued.

The exhibition also showcases other rare advertisements of that period, such as ads of Fanta and Gold Spot cold drinks, of dental care products by Binaca, Kissan squash, Hero cycles, among others.

Along with a collection of old advertisements, the exhibition also portrayed the transformations of Indian society, culture and consumerism and provided an opportunity to witness bygone advertisements that deeply influenced India's markets, emotions and identity.