Fair Ness Cream

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
1
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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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
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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
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the Media Researchers Users Council (MRUC) found that

32% of 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,
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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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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.
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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. 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.
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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
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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.
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
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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
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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
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.
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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.
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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’
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
14
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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.
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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.
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 &
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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
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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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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
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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
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where anyone even remotely affected by color, will have no

choice but to use our products."
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
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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."
MARKETING OF FAIRNESS PRODUCTS
The Marketing Mix

(The 4 P's of Marketing)
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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
Target
Price Promotion
Market
Place
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
25
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 Advertising
members
Appearance Discounts Personal selling
Channel
Quality Allowances Public relations
motivation
Packaging Financing Message
Market
Brand Leasing coverage Media
options
Warranty Locations Budget
Service/Suppor Logistics
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t Service
levels
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
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 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
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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.
But the list doesn’t end here. We see a

product innovation in the form of
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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)
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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.
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.
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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
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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.
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.
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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.
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
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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.
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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.
39
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.
40
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.
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FAIRNESS

CREAM
41
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
42
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
ADDING FUEL TO FIRE

43
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
44
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
Chopra, Miss World 2000 and Lara Dutta, Miss Universe
2000, making for yet another grand slam year. Quite a lineup.
45
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
46
for the moment, perhaps they might be well instructed to look

ahead to the next buying trend.
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
47
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.
48
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 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,
49
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
50
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.

51
 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
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
52
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
53
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
54
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
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
55
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.
56
SURVEY FORM
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
57
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
o They are only one of many other factor
8) Fair people are also beautiful, how true is it?

58
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
10) What according to you are other factors that are

contributing the urge of people to look fair.
59
A Detailed Analysis Of Each Question Is Given

Here
1) Do you use fairness creams

o Regularly
o Sometimes
60 o Never
50
40
Regularly
o
30 Sometime
20
Never
10
0
Male Female
60
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
Yes
more fair
No
47 people were happy with there skin colour while 53 people

wished to have a lighter skin shade.
61
3) How important is looking fair to you
o Very 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
Yes
No o Can’t say
Can't
Say 62
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.
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 63
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
Femal
o Can’t say
100% e
Male
50%
0%
Yes No Can't
say
64
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.
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.
65
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.
9) How important is the Price Factor in fairness cream
o They are very important

66
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
67
cream), showed that people still do believe that looking fair

can be a attractive factor.
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
68
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.
69
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
70
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.
71
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 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
72
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.
73
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
74

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Fariness Creams In India

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” that’s what we have

Marketing of fairness cream has been under a lot of

Companies are making whooping profits in the cosmetic

crore, the competition is getting intense with more and more

Through this project I have made an attempt to learn as

It is believed that Indians are emotional and marketers make a

“Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is fairest of the

Not to mention the scores of inputs coming from a

towards women in India, with the underlying idea that the

It's no major revelation that the skin-lightening obsession

Men, on the other hand, have never had to obsess over

The situation may be changing though - and not

the Media Researchers Users Council (MRUC) found that

Most users of fairness creams probably consider

Underneath the entire propaganda lurks the phallocentric

THE INDIAN COSMETICS market is seen as a huge area of

FOR players and target customers, the market for cosmetics

Multinationals woke up early to the Indian opportunity

Despite some initially difficulty, they have learnt the

The belief that cosmetics are harmful to the skin and

Healthcare Companies Test the Water

This trend has attracted a host of new entrants, including

With the acquisition of the Life spring chain of health

The cosmetics industry, traditionally believed to target

Men account for about 25 per cent of fairness cream use

"Nearly 27 per cent of Fairever's users are men," says a

Aditya Agarwal, director of Emami group, says that men

The men's personal care segment is estimated to be worth

in the skin-care segment. Modicare is coming out with its

Market Segmentation for Fairness Cream

(Aug07 – July08) (Aug05 –

North Zone 185.55 184.32

East Zone 129.92 108.02

West Zone 163.73 145.83

South Zone 232.13 203.65

Metro 135.30 118.50

What's the reason behind this? The number of men-only

The Indian cosmetics industry appears to have considerable

Fairness creams account for around 60 per cent of the

This segment has some of the big names such as

Other players such as Emami (Gold Turmeric and

Specialty creams such as sunscreen lotions, moisturizers,

The colour cosmetics segment, worth around Rs 300

This segment can be further segmented into lipsticks,

The Lakmé brand is the market leader with a 50 per cent

Here again Hindustan Lever dominates with its Lakmé

‘Fairness creams lead in skin care market’

Volume & value contribution by skin cream segment

(for the 12 month period ending July 2008

According to the latest AC Nielsen India Retail audit,

The volume contribution of moisturizing lotions and

In terms of value, the contribution of fairness creams and

In the last 12 months ended July 2007, a total of 30 new

During the same period, 30 per cent of new stock

Fairness creams and lotions achieved double-digit

The mother of all fairness creams on the subcontinent is

Lovely Fairness Reviving Lotion and Fair & Lovely Fairness

Fair & Lovely brand continued its stranglehold in the