Branded in History, By Ramya Ramamurthy, a Hachette Publication: Review – Loads of Brands, Lots of History

While reading Branded in History, you often wonder how in heavens could she squeeze in so many brands, dates, statistics and quotes, in a mere 292 pages? That achievement lends itself to a text-book or thesis format, rather than a compilation of the highlights in the fields of brands and branding in pre-independence India, which she says she aims to chronicle. It eventually emerges as a reference book for students and academicians, and, consequently, the layman, for whom it is not intended, might find it heavy going.

Ramya Ramamurthy goes as far back as the first millennium to inform you that a Japanese business that was established way back then, in the sixth century and lasted some fifteen centuries. But largely, she confines herself to the period when India was under British colonial rule, roughly 1857-1947 (she qualifies the period by adding three years at the end, since India gained full independence only in 1950), and deviates into present day data only as an exception and for updates. She calls nostalgia, “… a double edged sword,” in her introduction to the book, and on the same page, cites examples of Paper Boat, Bajaj Auto, Rooh Afza, Amul dairy products and Parle G, brands that used marketing based on nostalgia. Little wonder then that the sub-title she has given the book is Fresh Marketing Lessons from Vintage Brands.

Demarcating her thrust into eleven territories (chapters), she zooms in on Soaps, Beauty Products, Snacks and Biscuits, Tonics and Pharmaceuticals, Cigarettes and Match-boxes, Banks, Textiles, Steel and Other Heavy Industries, Cements and Paints, Shipping, Automobiles and Cycles. That is how diversified her ‘portfolio’ is. There are success stories and fatal failures, tales of rags to riches and riches to bankruptcy. And remember, she is largely concentrating on an era where there was no TV, and film and radio advertising had just begun. Innovation was the name of the game, and there must be a score of entrepreneurs who would have bagged packaging, marketing and advertising awards, had they been instituted in the 19^th century.

It is heartening to note that she acknowledges the impact of Binaca Geetmala (BGM), the weekly film song popularity countdown show that ruled the air-waves for over 40 years in the last millennium. BGM was sponsored by a toothpaste called Binaca (since bought over and phased out). But it is sad that she does not mention the living legend, Ameen Sayani, who started writing and presenting the show in 1952, when he was 19 going on 20, and presented it for its entire run. He is still doing the occasional commercial recording, at 88 going on 89. Incidentally, she spells Vividh Bharati as Vividha, on page 10. On the same page, at the end of the transcript of the jingle of J.B. Mangharam biscuits, she uses ‘ki’, whereas it should be ‘ke’ or ‘key’.

When it comes to sources and quotes, Ramya laments that there was scarce archival information available to her. Yet, the route she has taken to circumvent those lacunae is commendable. Not looking for the obvious, she has sought out publications that were not about brands, but had so much of incidental material available on the subject. Of course, there are a few personalities around, who must be in their 70s/80s/90s now, and have talked freely about their experiences and memories. Some would have departed in the four years since the book first came out, and some would have left us even as the publication was being compiled. If anything, the quotes are an indulgent excess.

Red is the dominant colour of the cover, with an oil-lamp glowing, supposedly lit by a brand of matchstick, the picture dating back to 1933. There are very few illustrations, all in black and white, and all are text heavy. Don’t blame Ramya; the ads those days used to look just like these. There is an introduction, but it is not called Prologue, though, at the end, there is an Epilogue. Each chapter has some references marked numerically, which can be found at the end of the book. The paper-back printing paper is… well, paperback printing paper. Though the text is heavy, with no extra space for easier reading, either between lines or as margins, the contents are sufficient to hold interest, for those who are interested.

As an educative collateral, Ramya uses words and terms like polymath, laddering, twee, phillumeny, haremized, etc., that might not be part of everyday vocabulary. I would suggest you refer to a dictionary, or googlionary, and enrich your word power. Even better, she explains some of these terms where they occur. Thank her for increasing your vocabulary. She also uses the American z instead of the British s, in words like haremized, and uses ‘artists’ for both singers and painters, whereas, the more common practice is to use ‘artiste’ for singers and actors, while ‘artists’ is reserved for painters, sculptors, and their kind.

Priced at Rs. 499, it is not out of reach for professionals in marketing and advertising. However, if this is to become a text book for students studying Brands and Brand Building, which I want it to become, a price of Rs. 250 seems more affordable. Some of my students say that they bought it around the same price.

Author Ramya Ramamurthy is a documentary film-maker, broadcast journalist and communications specialist. I plan to move on to build-up my library of her work by next reading her earlier book, Rebuild, published in 2018 with another edition in 2019, which was her first effort to ‘get booked’!