Uncle Sam too in queue for free lunch!!

Is it really a fact or we just perceive it that way. Was the USA always a superpower or it has just behaved like one, I mean here the attitude. Brand America is perceived as a very strong, individualistic and dominant economy. Such brand personality has helped Uncle Sam maintain a reverend authority (perceived or real) since decades.

We have always taken west as a benchmark in everything we do, commercial or non commercial, and consciously or subconsciously look for stamps of approvals of west, particularly USA even for our own accomplishments. We are decades past the colonial rule but the ‘white is superior’ mentality still prevails. But, now slowly the tables seem to be turning. The year 2008 saw a new version of USA. The Wall Street failed and became the fall street. Even the US Government’s enormous bail out package is not proving of much help; instead, it has won US a jocular title of being a new USSR: the United States Socialist Republic! So, watch out, all those fans of Ayan Rand (the self proclaimed salesperson of capitalism)! there is a clear proof that capitalism too is not perfect.
(NEHRU OF INDIA & LENIN OF USSR)

India adopted a socialistic model that was very heavily inspired by the USSR (now this big entity has broken down). Nehru was impressed so he cut-pasted the formula here too; it failed miserably. The corrupt government officials hampered the nation’s progress. Poor became poorer while the black money market thrived. Public sector became synonymous with bribery and corruption. Though Indira Gandhi did some things very effective, like self sufficiency in food production, looking from the marketing and consumerism point of view, the business and entrepreneurship had literally no scope in India. Sabir Bhatia, Laxmi Niwas Mittal, etc are few examples of how people became successful when they went out of India. License permit raj ruled the roost. A 5 years waiting for a phone, bribery at each step, etc were rampant. They remain even now but, if seen in juxtaposition, the once-upon-a-time humble Indian consumer now commands the market and makes the even the biggest MNCs dance to his tunes. These ‘magical’ powers have come because of the LPG- liberalization, privatization and globalization. Though I am not finding flaws in the socialism but my point is that it failed USSR and India as well.

(DR. MANMOHAN SINGH & PVN RAO)

At last, the sleepy Indian government woke up, played a gamble (we borrowed heavily from the World Bank) and luckily, won, courtesy the Narsimha Rao govt. in 1991. It was a push factor rather than a choice. So India ‘had’ to open her gates wide to the rest of the world. Thus the poor and humble Indian consumer was made aware of his magical powers and he got a choice like never before. India got a fast makeover, and faster in the later part of this decade. Thus, it can be concluded that socialism flopped but this does not means that capitalism is infallible!

The salesman for capitalism, USA saw its biggest nightmare come true. Though India struggled a lot to stand properly after independence (if we compare to Japan, then we have performed poorly) the reverend king USA has also not been an A grader. Most people do agree with socialistic model of the government but to say capitalistic model is right, I feel is not appropriate.

At last everyone seems to be turning to a mixed economy model, may be with minor modifications.

Now that's not FAIR !

It’s commonly heard that the actual beauty lies inside. But does this thing hold relevant in India today too? How many marriageable people would agree to accept a dark complexioned person as their partner for life? Hardly anyone, that too in case when that person is doing exceptionally well or hails from a healthy financial background. Ironically India is a country of wheat complexioned people. Fair girls stand fair chance of getting privileges while a similar but dusky girl would not make it to the merit list. Parents get doubly disappointed when they are blessed with a baby girl, that too of dusky complexion. And we still say women power is developing? Why are we obsessed with the white skin? Is it in the Indian genes or a colonial hang over that white skin defines beauty? The market is flooded with the skin lightning creams. There is a new category been launched: the white glow? Indians do not have such skins! The models used in the ad are all western Celebes who have this type of skin. Still the marketers are laughing their way to the bank. Why are we drooping so low to make ourselves look alike the westerners, is it the source of our self confidence? Then it’s humiliating.

Fair n lovely from HLL is another brand that has filed a gap and, has a massive 53 per cent market share. HLL has other fairness products under its Lakme and Aviance brands It has intensively studied the Indian skew ness towards the fair skin and has clearly marketed a concept, a dream to millions of Indian consumers who either because of family or social pressures, low self esteem or some personal marriage rejection experiences are longing to get the stamp of approval of society by getting fair. Star plus even runs a tele-serial on this very theme: the duskier sister is not getting married and the whole family is in tension!
Now some interesting facts:[1]

Of the Rs 3,000-crore cosmetics and toiletries market, the skincare segment accounts for Rs 1,200 crore. Fairness products account for a whopping Rs 700 crore of this segment. The annual growth rate is between 10 and 15 per cent. South is the largest market with 36 per cent contribution, with the North and West equally contributing with 23 per cent The East contributes 18 per cent to volumes. Category penetration, according to ORG, is at 11.6 per cent all over India. Andhra Pradesh is the highest penetrated with 14.5 per cent with Gujarat penetration at 2.8 per cent. Kerala, Gujarat and Bihar are the top three growing markets with Kerala growing by 40.37 per cent

Does that mean the dusky people stand no chance of getting success; at least the ad seems to convey this only. A dusky girl comes home like a lost solider, gets a complete makeover by using a fairness cream and wow! She is on the top. How many of us would like to marry a fair and lovely bimbo? Surprisingly, most of the top Indian models like Sheetal Malhaar, Carol Gracious, Noyonika Chaterjee, Dipanitta Sharma, Nina Manual, even Maliaka Arora Khan have dusky compexions.
Grooming experts say it’s not just the complexion rather the whole personality that counts. The way one talks, body language and of course the content in the head. Still, we do have two major preconceived notions that fair are beautiful and secondly beautiful people are good while dusky ones are vamps. Fair and lovely and other such crèmes do a thriving business exploiting these two major notions only. That means talent does not count at all? Being fair is a guarantee to success or dusky people in spite of talent cannot be successful till they become fair? The tag line of fair and lovely is; the power of beauty’ does beauty means only fairness?

I have seen parents discriminating kids on the basis of complexion. What can be more depressing than this? Should we conclude that Indians are schizophrenic? At one hand we are focusing on talent only while on the other we are discriminating, and what the basis is: the shade of your skin!

This is well absorbed in the Indian mentality that fair means success and attention and it is not wrong also. Fair and handsome is one such crème that exploits this notion. SRK is the brand ambassador and the success rate of this crème is phenomenal. I think it is the high time we drop all our preconceived notions and stop discriminating with those born with natural darker shades of skin. Success is not about the colour of someone’s skin. It depends on a lot more factors. I thing we all must open our eyes and make our hearts more receptive.
[1] The Hindu business line