MP Board · Class 10 · Social Science · History: The Age of IndustrialisationHow did manufacturers use advertisements to create a market for their products in India?

Manufacturers used various innovative methods of advertisement to shape consumer minds and create new needs. When Manchester industrialists began selling cloth in India, they put labels on the cloth bundles. These labels carried the name of the company and the place of manufacture, acting as a mark of quality. Images of Indian gods and goddesses like Krishna, Saraswati, and Lakshmi were frequently used on these labels. This was intended to give the product a divine association and make it familiar to Indian buyers. Furthermore, manufacturers printed calendars to popularize their products. Unlike newspapers, calendars were used even by people who could not read. They were hung in tea shops, offices, and poor people's homes. These calendars often featured figures of important personages, emperors, and nawabs, conveying the message that if you respect the royal figure, then respect this product. When Indian manufacturers advertised, the nationalist message was clear: 'If you care for the nation then buy things that Indians produce.' Advertisements thus became a vehicle of the nationalist message of Swadeshi.