Surrogate advertising, a practice born out of necessity, has its origins in India’s strict regulations governing the advertising of specific goods. Industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and betting applications face severe restrictions on direct advertising due to their legal, societal, and health implications. In response, businesses devised surrogate advertising as a strategic means to indirectly promote these products while ostensibly endorsing different, seemingly unrelated products. The first part would be a brief introduction to the concept of surrogate advertising. The paper would then trace the historical evolution of surrogate advertising in India. Similar to the tobacco industry, many alcoholic beverage brands embraced surrogate advertising. And, the non-alcoholic products like water, soda, or merchandise became vehicles for indirect promotion, allowing companies to maintain brand visibility despite advertising restrictions. With time, industries including gaming, lottery services, aerospace, and defence also started using surrogate approaches to get around restrictions on advertising while preserving their brands. In the third part, the paper will identify and analyse the prevalent forms of surrogate advertising across various industries. There are various forms of surrogate advertising that include product substitution, lifestyle and experience marketing, nationalism and patriotism, and so on. Furthermore, the regulatory landscape governing surrogate advertising in India will be examined in detail. In the last part, the researchers would provide insights into challenges and prospects associated with regulating surrogate advertising.
