Masked Marketing in India: Money, Manipulation, Media and Morals.

The phrase feels like a warning, a signal that something is being hidden in plain sight. As someone who has watched Indian advertising evolve over the years, I can't help but feel uneasy about how brands, celebrities, and even media platforms are complicit in this subtle but powerful form of manipulation under the guise of brand building.

What Is Masked Marketing?

Masked marketing, or stealth or undercover marketing, promotes a product that cannot be advertised directly, often due to government regulations or ethical concerns. Companies create alternative products, like flavored water or apple juice for alcohol or mouth fresheners for tobacco, that are technically legal to advertise. But let's be honest: these products are not the real deal. Their sales are so minuscule that they barely register in the company's accounts. The real goal is to keep the brand alive in the minds of consumers, especially the youth, until they're old enough-or curious enough-to try the restricted product.

Beyond Water, Fruit Juice, and Mouth Fresheners: Other Examples.

This isn't limited to water for alcohol or mouth fresheners for tobacco. The creativity of masked marketing knows no bounds. I've noticed so:

• Energy drinks for alcohol: Popular alcohol brands launch "energy drinks" or "club sodas" with identical branding, making it easy for young minds to connect the dots.

• Non-alcoholic malt beverages for beer: Beer brands introduce non-alcoholic versions, using the same bottle shapes and colors, blurring the line between what's legal and what's being consumed.

• Cardamom (elaichi) for pan masala: Tobacco companies sell cardamom seeds in tins and pouches that look precisely like their gutka or pan masala packaging, making the transition from a harmless mouth freshener to a harmful habit almost seamless.

• Sweets and chocolates for gutka: Some brands have even introduced sweets or chocolates with similar branding to their tobacco products, targeting children and rural markets.

• Lifestyle accessories for restricted brands: Caps, T-shirts, and other merchandise bearing the logos of restricted brands are sold or distributed, keeping the brand visible and desirable.

Who Really Benefits?

Let's not kid ourselves. The only people who benefit from these ads are the brand owners and the celebrities who endorse them. The rest of us, us-especially our youth, pay the price. These advertisements are nothing but paid endorsements, and the money flows only in one direction: toward those at the top. Meanwhile, the population suffers both in the short and long term.

A Trail of Breadcrumbs to Harm.

Masked marketing or stealth advertising is like spreading breadcrumbs for a flock of unsuspecting birds. The harmless product is just the first crumb. Each ad, billboard, and celebrity endorsement leads the audience closer to the real product- the one banned or restricted for a reason. The damage is already done and the goal achieved by the marketing companies when the audience becomes the consumer before they reach the trail's end.

The Legal Contradiction.

What frustrates me most is the contradiction in our system. On one hand, the government mandates warnings-"Cigarette smoking causes cancer," "Tobacco chewing can kill," "Drinking alcohol is injurious to health" -and on the other, we see glamorous, clickbait ads for these brands everywhere: on billboards, OTT platforms, and even news channels. How can we expect our youth to make healthy choices when the message is so mixed, so confusing?

The Long-Term Impact: A Nation at Risk.

We're setting ourselves up for disaster if we continue down this path. The short-term impact might be curiosity or experimentation. Still, the long-term effects are far more serious: addiction, disease, and a weakened society. We are making our nation sick, weak, and hollow from within. Only time will tell how deep the damage goes, but the signs are already here.

A Personal Plea for Responsibility.

I'm not here to name and shame specific celebrities or brands. That's not my role. But as a citizen, a parent, and a member of this society, I feel compelled to ask: where do we draw the line, or I call it the laxman rekha? We have heard it many times that with great power comes great responsibility. Movie stars, Players, Social Media Influencers, and Celebrities are role models for millions of fans. Shouldn't they think twice before endorsing brands that harm people who look up to them?

As if the glamourization of Violence, Drugs, and adult content in the entertainment industry has not damaged our young generation enough, now we have this type of marketing reaching every household with ease. It is time for all of us- brands, celebrities, regulators, and consumers- to reflect on the intersection of money, marketing, media, and morals. My child has asked me many times why her favourite stars are promoting goods they shouldn't be promoting, and all I could say was that it was for "money". Even though it is the truth, somehow this answer hurts many kids if they come to know that the values of their idols can be twisted at their convenience.

We deserve more transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct from them. The future of our next generation depends on this. Masked advertising is a clever business strategy that helps the advertisers and endorsers. Still, it is a threat to our collective well-being. Let's not wait for time to reveal the cost. Let's act now, before the trail of breadcrumbs leads us somewhere we can't return from.

If you agree that this kind of clickbait marketing is hurting us and making India hollow and weak from within, then please share it with people you care about and also with the people who care about it and can do something about it.

Regards.

Dr. Deepak Chaturvedi, MD, Internal Medicine

9987002515 drdeepakchaturvedi.com

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