Vintage print ads exhibited at IGNCA in Delhi

 

 

 

FROM vintage print ads to classic TV spots, a cultural body under the Central Government has envisioned creating a “repository of old advertisements” published in India, both for their archival and artistic value. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) hosted an exhibition here from March 25-30 highlighting the art of Indian advertising as it evolved over the period of 1950-90. Titled ‘Ad Art Exhibition: Four Decades of Indian Advertising’, it is being held at the city-based IGNCA, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.

 

The exhibits include images of several print ads drawn from private collections. From food items to ceiling fans and footwear to bicycles, these ads depict an era gone by. “These advertisements were published in Indian magazines during 1950-90, and we approached people who had these old magazines and procured them. While initially we have culled out the ads which were printed in them and made scanned copies for the exhibition, now we also plan to preserve these magazines too in our archives,” a senior official of the IGNCA told PTI. These magazines of yesteryears include ‘Dharamyug’, ‘Madhuri’ and ‘Filmfare’.

 

Some of the rare prints ads include those of Lux soap brand, depicting its endorsement by Nimmi, a heroine of the black and white cinema era. The advertisement, also in black and white, published in ‘Dharmayug’ in 1957 carries a portrait of the actress and the lines of endorsement, urging customer to use the product for “glowing skin”. In later decades, other film stars of the era such as Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Anita Guha and Shashikala also endorsed this famous soap brand. The print ads depicting their endorsement of Lux soap, such as the one carried in Filmfare in 1960s, portraying Rehman, also show early use of colours in print advertising.

 

“We have seen Shashikala in movies across the decades largely in negative role and as a vamp or villainess, but the old ad shows a different side of her, when the brand celebrated her as a symbol of beauty. So, ads can tell a lot, beyond just its commercial value,” Media Centre’s Controller of IGNCA Anurag Punetha told PTI. The exhibition also highlights the artistic value of advertising as its evolution over the decades.