There’s something interesting about the way things are marketed to an

Indian audience in a mega-mall.

Most models are western while almost all shoppers in the mall are Indian.

Clothing marketed to women is often traditional….

…While the clothing options for men are highly westernized.

Women in advertisements are highly sexualized, but the female shoppers are

very traditional.

This strange dichotomy presents an interesting area of exploration.

• Who shops in malls? What is their socio-economic status? • If we assume they are of a relatively high socio-economic class, does

that mean affluent Indians value western society over their own?• How do more traditional Indian shoppers reconcile their traditional,

religious identity with the hyper sexualized, western ideal presented in advertisements?

• How do conservative women understand these sexualized images? Do they want to buy the product being advertised?

• Is there a way to make marketing more culturally relevant or does the western ideal “sell”?

• How does an Indian company address its Indian audience and how might they use observations such as this to create better marketing strategies?