Indian Tea Advertisements from after Independence
This primary source 'Taj Mahal Tea Advertisement' is an advertisement for a type of Brooke Bond tea called ‘Taj Mahal.’ The use of the reference to Taj Mahal shows Brooke Bond, as a company, claiming Indian culture and heritage. This is a huge contrast to the previous source, which is also a Brooke Bond product, but does not explicitly reference Indian culture. This goes to show how modern tea advertisements, as time after 1947 moved on, became more explicit and bolder in claiming Indian heritage in order to advertise tea. Much like the source that declares ‘Tea is 100% Swadeshi!’ this advertisement claims that tea is Indian by associating it with a world-famous Indian palace. Furthermore, the text at the bottom of the source ‘Wah Naya Taj’ translates in English to ‘The New Crown.’ The connotations of this statement are of royalty and prestige, thus presenting tea as having the ability to make whoever drinks it a member of royalty. This statement, along with the explicit reference to the Taj Mahal makes the message of this source very clear, tea is inherently Indian and has transformative powers that can make whoever drinks it royal and prestigious.
Again, one cannot be sure whether Brooke Bond produces these kinds of advertisements to genuinely assert a pro-Indian identity, or whether through reflecting the social nature of the time, the company attempts to make a profit. Importantly, for the purpose of this analysis, it does not matter too much what the deliberate goal or purpose of the advertising companies are. If they have chosen to present these kinds of images, then it means that these images are representative of something that people would agree with or subscribe to. Interestingly, the relative lightness of the man’s skin in this image perhaps implies that this company is marketing towards a larger global audience. Due to globalization and companies such as Amazon which facilitate global shipping, tea companies are no longer advertising just to the Indian population. Instead they must be aware – for they have clearly tried to establish themselves as such – that they are part of the greater global, modernized market. This image in particular was taking directly from its advertisement on Amazon. One could argue that this advertisement therefore is trying to do two things - trying to present the Indian identity whilst also marketing to a large global audience.
This primary source, 'Flavour of Unitea ... Beyond Borders,' shows a pivotal change in the way in which Indian tea advertisements were used, as it explicitly places Indian tea – and therefore India – in the context of modern-day globalization. This is important because, until this point, advertisements were used to show either how India was at the mercy of or a victim of globalization as it was ruled by Imperial Great Britain, or around the time of independence when they were used to reinforce the independent Indian cultural identity. This source shows a change from this by presenting tea as way of uniting people across borders: ‘flavour of unitea … beyond borders.’ This source was produced by the Tea Board of India, which ‘dates back to 1903 when the Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed. The Bill provided for levying a cess on tea exports - the proceeds of which were to be used for the promotion of Indian tea both within and outside India. The present Tea Board set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 was constituted on 1st April 1954.' (Tea Board of India) The Tea Board is therefore a government organization set up to promote the Indian tea business and identifies that India has attempted to take control of its identity as a tea producer nationally, arguably rejecting its British imperial heritage.
This source depicts two cups of tea touching one another and a sketch image of a map printed on the cups. Interestingly the map has the continent of Asia in the center, contradicting the well-known world map that places Great Britain in the center, therefore showing an explicit break away from India’s historical connection to Great Britain and its power. Through this map and the statement below it, the advertisement states that tea can allow unity across borders, highlighting the global nature of the tea trade as well as the progressive and developed nature of India as a country. It is as if India asserts itself as a global power who trades throughout the world through the idea of tea. Furthermore, not only does this map show Asia at its center, it specifically shows both India and China. As this is an Indian tea advertisement, it is not unreasonable to argue that the connection of these two countries hints at the origin story of tea which was skewed by the British. In some way, this could be a subtle acceptance of the fact that tea was not originally Indian, but in fact Chinese. Hence, the statement ‘#FlavourofFriendship’ could indicate that India offers some kind of truce with China over this issue and seeks to show how tea can be traded globally, without having to ‘belong’ to one country. If this is the case, then this advertisement is a clear example of India rejecting its British history and claiming its own right as a modernized country that can trade globally within its own right.
VIDEO TRANSLATION:
Father: It is a good offer! But it is a different city....why don't you ask to be posted in our city?
Daughter: The head office is there. I will have a better career.
Father: Where is your home? (implying your home is in our city)
Mother: Tea?
Daughter (looking disappointed): No
Narrator: TATA Tea Gold (name of the tea). It has both the tea seeds as well as 15% longer leaves. This gives it amazing taste and aroma.
Conversation in kitchen:
Daughter (Smells the tea)[Talking to her mother]: This amazing aroma makes my heart want some tea.
Mother: What will happen if you don't listen to your heart?
Daughter: I will regret it, ma.
Mother: Then listen to your heart.
Daughter: "Head Office"
Father (lightly smacking daughter with her offer): Come home every holiday
Narrator: TATA Tea Gold: You will regret saying no to your heart. (Argawal)
In this video advertisement, 'TATA TEA Gold - Dil Ko Na Kahoge Toh Pachtaoge' published January 4th 2019, TaTa Tea – a popular Indian tea company – uses the story of a young woman who wants to move away from home in order to get a prosperous career, in order to advertise their product. The family presented in the video are Indian and speak in Hindi, explicitly showing that the audience of this advertisement is Indian. The pro-feminist nature of this advertisement shows how this source presents India as ‘modern.’ In the last decade there has been a huge rise in feminist movements, with the onset of the #MeToo movement as well as public pushes for greater representation of women in all aspects of society, it is reasonable to attribute being pro-feminist with being modern and current. By presenting this story, TaTa Tea are using tea to promote these modern principles as the young woman in the story rejects her father’s demand for her to stay at home and give up on having a successful career. In this advertisement, tea plays the role of the mediator – the Mother offers it to calm down the father-daughter argument, as well as being the inspiration for the young woman to be independent and take the job away from home – it is only after she smells and drinks the tea that she realizes she must follow her heart. As such, tea is being used deliberately to appeal to a modern audience, arguably calling for more pro-feminist actions and policies, as well as to show Indian tea as having the power to encourage unity among the family and for the young girl to follow her heart. This advertisement resonates with the ‘Flavour of unitea’ advertisement which also tries to show Indian tea as modern, global and having the power to encourage unity.
The absence of anything explicitly related to colonialism or to a specific Indian identity shows a complete break in the way tea companies advertise Indian tea. Due to globalization and companies such as Amazon which facilitate global shipping, tea companies are no longer advertising just to the Indian population. Instead they must be aware that they are part of the greater global, modernized market. Even more importantly, India has very firmly achieved and maintained its independence and, for the most part, the physical legacy of the British Empire has been erased. That is, of course, not to say that the political, historical, social, economic, or emotional legacy has been erased. However, it is clear from the development of Indian tea advertisements up until the production of this source, that India asserts itself as an independent country with a place in the greater global, modern context.