Nostalgia For a Past That Never Was: Marketers and the Invention of Tradition

Abstract

To create a pan-Indian, national marketing campaign is especially difficult because of the huge cultural diversity existing in India. What is Indian tradition when most rituals and symbols are tied to specific communities and geographies in India? Drawing from ethnographic work in the world of Indian advertising, we show that marketers are playing an active role in defining and reinventing tradition. This paper contributes to scholarship on the globalization of the marketplace and the role of marketing in redefining national identity. [to cite]