Air India, eight decades of being the

‘Maharajah’ of advertising
Jul 1, 2021

From introducing us to the iconic

Maharajah to creating the ‘Truly
Indian’ brand image, the Air India
advertising journey has been a
major part of the airline company’s
success story.
Travelling has taken a backseat since the pandemic hit the world and definitely should

not be a priority, given the crisis. However, that doesn’t stop us from reminiscing the

good old days from India’s flag carrier, Air India’s chapter and how the airlines soared to

great heights. An expedition that started in 1932 has its wings spread across continents

and continues to contribute to the aviation industry. All of it was backed by the

company’s strategic approach towards advertising and consumer-centric marketing

efforts. This week’s Brand Saga dives into the Air India advertising journey spanning

more than 80 years.

A Flight of History…
J.R.D Tata in October 1932 himself flew Tata Airlines’ (now Air India) first single-
engine de Havilland Puss Moth, carrying air mail from Karachi’s Drigh Road
Aerodrome to Bombay’s Juhu aerodrome and later continuing to Madras (now Chennai).

The foundation for Tata Airlines was laid in April 1932 when J.R.D. Tata scored a
contract from Imperial Airways which lead to the formation of the aviation unit of Tata
Sons. The airline launched its first domestic flight from Bombay to Trivandrum with a
six-seater Miles Merlin and later in 193 was renamed to Tata Air Services which got re-
christened to Tata Airlines.
Once World War II ended and regular commercial aviation service in India went back to
normal, Tata Airlines changed its name to Air India and became a public limited
company in July 1946.

A year after India became independent, the Government of India took control of 49%
stakes of the airline and in June 1948, Air India’s first international flight to London’s
Heathrow Airport took off from Bombay (now Mumbai). In 1960, with the introduction of
the first Boeing 707-420 aircraft, Air India became the first Asian airline to foray into the
Jet Air services and a couple of years later also became the world’s first all-jet airline.
With each passing year, Air India kept introducing various destinations across
continents.

Air India Advertising Journey

Air India adopted an aggressive approach when it came to advertising and marketing.
For an airline that breathed the independent years and was introduced much before the
war eruptions, Air India eyed newspaper advertising and radio as viable options to reach
out to the not-so-modernized Indian population.
An advertisement of Air India in 1947 talked about how an Air India flight would cost INR
140 if fliers wanted to catch the festivities real-time at the time of India’s Independence.

The print advertisements were created in a way that the message containing information
about the various flights, operations on the ground, discounts on fares, and offers are
conveyed in a simple yet bold manner.

Yesteryear actors and actresses like Zeenat Aman and Bill Fox were featured in
magazines and newspapers to lure in the attention of the readers towards the
information disseminated by the airlines.
From showcasing the air stewardess and hostesses clad in traditional Indian sarees
along with the rebranding news in the ’70s to communicating the exotic and luxurious
stay that the airline offers with the tagline ‘Air India Has Something Money Can’t Buy’ –
Air India’s print advertising strategy in the initial years formed the crux of its further stints.
Cut to the present days of digital, the Airlines is equally active and continues to invest in
print advertising trusting.
The Tale of Logo & Taglines
Over the years Air India has experimented with its taglines – from endorsing its
‘Indianness’ through ‘Truly India’ to the ‘Unbeatable Service’ slogan which harped on the
seamless consumer experience that the airlines claimed to offer to keep its desi avatar
intact keeping attached to the ‘Soil of Bharat’ and its traditions with ‘We raise our hands
only to say Namaste.

Air India has kept its identity and color scheme Red and White since day one
symbolizing the lavish palace-style carvings; their windows were painted in a similar
archaic manner and were designed in line with the slogan Your Palace in the Sky.

Online data suggest that the very first logo of Air India was chosen by the business
tycoon J.R.D. Tata himself and was launched in the year 1948. It was a centaur, a
stylized version of Sagittarius shooting an arrow in a circle representing the wheel of
Konark- the logo represented the airline until 2007.

Air India underwent a rebranding excerise in 2007 wherein the new logo imbibed a red-
colored flying swan with the ‘Konark Chakra’ in orange, placed inside it. The flying swan
was morphed from Air India’s characteristic logo, ‘The Centaur’, whereas the ‘Konark
Chakra’ was derived from Indian’s erstwhile logo.
The new logo features prominently on the tail of the aircraft. While the aircraft is ivory in
color, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other are the
orange and red speed lines from the front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the
individual identities merged into one. The brand name ‘Air India’ runs across the tail of
the aircraft

Tale of ‘Maharajah’ – The mascot

“We call him a Maharajah for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He
may look like royalty, but he isn’t royal,” said Bobby Kooka, the man who conceived the
Maharajah.

The iconic ‘Maharajah’ first made its appearance way back in 1946 in Air India when
Bobby Kooka as Air India’s Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, an artist with J.Walter
Thompson Ltd., Mumbai,(now Wunderman Thompson) together created the Maharajah.

Adorning a mix of red and yellow ensemble and the typical Indian style turban, this now-
familiar lovable figure began merely as a rich Indian potentate, symbolizing graciousness
and high living. Considering the true desi connect with a dash of sophisticated looks, his
creators gave him a distinctive personality: his outsized mustache, the striped turban,
and an aquiline nose.

Air India’s brief for the agency was to create a mascot design an inflight memo pad
which owing to its familiar approach towards the fliers grew to take Air India’s sales and
promotional messages to millions of travelers across the world.
In 2015, the mascot was given a complete makeover, the brand being represented by a
younger version. The stout-looking figure clad in the royal avatar was now donning
modern attire that jeans and sneakers and the age-old turban were ditched for the
spiked and stylized hairdos.

outed to be no less than a world figure flying millions of passengers across the globe,
Maharajah has completed more than 60 years of existence and has become the most
recognizable mascot, thereby being an integral part of the Air India advertising journey.

His antics, his expressions, his puns have allowed Air India to promote its services with
a unique panache and an unmatched sense of subtle humor. As per the airline’s data,
Air India has won numerous national and international awards owing to the Maharajah
for humor and originality in publicity.
Air India advertising journey – The TV
Edition
Riding high on the success of its print campaign, Air India hopped onto the television
wave that cropped up in the independent era of India. The black and white idiot boxes
were slowly getting replaced by colored devices TV commercials were becoming a rage
and an integral part of communication by brands.

Air India too rolled out advertisements within a limited budget on TV where the mascot
Maharajah accompanied the national carrier as it flew across the world.

https://youtu.be/57BcyC5EfKQ

Targeting the international in-flight comfort and services that it offered, a 1970s TV
commercial by Air India showed how flying to the States can become a pretty boring
business, which probably explains why flying an Air India 747 to New York isn’t half as
crazy as it sounds. The commercial was broadcast live in London markets.

During the 1990s, a theme song on Air India, Hum Hai Air Indian was created to bring all
employees together wherein it played like an anthem to discover pride in working for Air
India. The aviation sector was privatized and most of the crew unions were going on
strike. To keep the unity and strength of the airlines alive, the company came up with the
theme song to lift the spirits of its employees.

https://youtu.be/QdseAq4a0MQ

There were many regional versions of the advertisements promoting comfort and
unmatched services offered by Air India in terms of refreshments, in-flight offerings, and
delights.

In 2008, post the company’s rebranding activity, it rolled out a TVC displaying the first
class mode, in flight space, multiple entertainment options and WIFI facilities of the
airlines.

Further, at the end of the decade, Air India became the official airline partner of the
Common Wealth Games being held in Delhi. This TVC was created to focus on the
games and build its association with Air India.