Google runs first TV ads in India

Jul 12, 2011 | India

Google is turning to TV advertising as it seeks to drive up awareness and usage of its products in India. The search giant is adapting an idea already used in several other countries, and utilising the tagline “The Web is What You Make of It”, specifically for Indian consumers. India constitutes a particularly attractive market […]

Google is turning to TV advertising as it seeks to drive up awareness and usage of its products in India. The search giant is adapting an idea already used in several other countries, and utilising the tagline “The Web is What You Make of It”, specifically for Indian consumers. India constitutes a particularly attractive market for the company, given the size of its population, alongside rising internet penetration and digital literacy levels.


In developing the campaign, Google asked India’s 100m web users to reveal how the net had improved their lives, making the best examples into TV spots.
Among the individual executions is “Letters from Dad”, which includes parents employing different digital technologies to record events and milestones as their children grow up.
Elsewhere, “Archana’s Kitchen” features Archana Doshi, a housewife who started a cooking blog five years ago, and now receives over 2,000 visitors per day.
This popularity has secured her a book deal, and helped Doshi expand into catering.
Online video will be used to support the organisation’s TV campaign, with the Chrome browser one of the main products to be promoted.
At present, Google Chrome takes 23% of the Indian browser category, according to estimates from research firm Stat Counter.
This leaves it behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, holding a 40% share, and Mozilla’s Firefox, on 32%.
More broadly, Google is considering creating a portal where consumers can submit footage discussing their own experiences, potentially offering fresh and engaging marketing material.

All topics

Previous editions

Get email edition