New Delhi, India

The Indian government is set to announce a set of sweeping rules that will ban surrogate advertising that liquor brands use to market their products. Since direct advertising of alcohol is banned in the country, the major players have been relying on surrogate ads by showing less desirable items such as water, music CDs or glassware.

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Often such ads are promoted by A-lister Bollywood stars. However, once the new rules kick in, according to a report in Reuters, both the company and the actors may have to cough fines if the content of the ad is found misleading. 

"You can't take a circuitous way to promote products. If we find ads to be surrogate and misleading, then even those who are endorsing (products), including celebrities, will be held responsible," official Nidhi Khare was quoted as saying. 

Companies like Carlsberg, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and several others may face a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh ($60,000) if they continue promoting their products in the current way. 

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The new rules are expected to be issued within a month and could have a significant impact. India is the world's eighth-largest alcohol market by volume, with annual revenues reaching $45 billion. 

Currently, the per capita consumption of alcohol in the country is about five litres which is expected to rise to nearly seven litres in 2030.  

Watch | Gravitas: Indian Whisky awarded the best in the world

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According to the draft, the new rules would also extend to sponsorships and ads for products viewed as "brand extensions" that share the characteristics of an alcohol brand. 

Also read | India tells Google to stop direct or surrogate online advertisements from betting platforms

End of iconic ads?

Due to the ban on direct advertisements, liquor brands over the years have produced some of the most popular marketing campaigns in recent history in India. 

Kingfisher, the largest selling beer-maker in India, is known for its famous "Oh la la la la..le O" jingle and calendar while Seagram has continued with its "men will be men' tagline for nearly twenty years to sell its Imperial Blue whisky - which is marketed as CDs in the surrogate ads. 

McDowell sold alcohol by using club soda as a surrogate while its tagline "No.1 Yaari" (Ultimate friendship) even resonated with the non-drinkers. However, with the changes coming in, the marketing companies will have to engineer a new approach. 

(With inputs from agencies)