The genesis of advertisement starts with the onset of any commercial activity and as soon as the market is flooded by monotonous products the process of branding takes off. We often encounter advertisement depicting common sense like girls running behind a man just because of deodorant.
But if we analyse the role of advertisement in the rise of Hitler we can see how a short , black eyed man planted the idea of a tall and blue eyed Master class. In order to achieve this he changed the typography from lengthy German phrases to shorter ones. Colors like red and black, which are masculine in nature were used widely. Imagine 16 cameras giving full footage at Nuremberg rally resulting a full media presence. The impact was such that if parents talked against Hitler the child would call police. The Nazi agenda was all in the air.
Similarly, Gandhi also advertised himself in a more indigenous way rather than a barrister by wearing dhoti and changing his accent . He tried to connect with people on one on one basis. Even today we can see that a huge amount of taxpayer’s money is used on the advertisement. It can be identified as one factor behind BJP’s recent victory but the amount spent on it cannot be justified. We should remember that advertisement can change the spirit of nation and should be used in a more judicious way.