Lose the 'baggage', keep the Maharaja: Adland to Air India

The Air India Maharaja is one of the greatest legacies of Indian advertising. Created by Air India executive Bobby Kooka in 1946, the cherubic mascot has been synonymous with the great Indian hospitality for decades. The Maharaja helped Air India carve out a distinct identity and stand out among the Trans World Airlines, Pan Ams and Air Frances of the world. 

But if recent reports are to be believed, the Maharaja may soon be retired by Air India, which is in the midst of a rebranding exercise, and the beloved royal with his beatific smile may not fit into the flag carrier's scheme of things. Given the Maharaja's rich legacy with Air India, the airline's decision to sever ties with its mascot came as a shock to many in the brand and advertising world.

Sources told e4m that although the Maharaja will no longer be the airline's mascot, the iconic image will continue to be showcased in the aiport lounges and premium classes.

Is the icon, a symbol of India's monarchial past, a mismatch in the present times? Is the mascot becoming an albatross around Air India's neck as the brand looks to adopt a more contemporary image? We asked our experts. 

A sign of the times

The Maharaja has often been compared to the Amul Girl; however, the latter has managed to stay relevant even today with Amul doling out a topical on current affairs with the mascot as its focal point. The Maharaja has not exactly kept up with the times with the royal playing a now-show in the brand's communication; however, that's no reason to exile the mascot, according to Santosh Padhi, CCO at Wieden+Kennedy.

“Maharaja has not been continued the way Amul girl has been continued with their communication with topical advertising. Maharaja is a fantastic property for various reasons. It comes with a class as it has a very wonderful connotation to the foreigner. These days brands are looking for brand property and assets, this goes with the services provided by the airline, the customer is the Maharaja. So it lands very beautifully with the offerings of the brands. We also have grown up seeing how Maharaja has been changing the avatar with different flights," he said. 

We asked experts if they could advise the agency as well as the brand about making changes to the legacy brand while keeping the authenticity the same. KV Sridhar ‘Pops’ shared an interesting as well as hilarious take while speaking with e4m. He said, “For 30 years, I have been involved in working with Airline companies and I have also worked on Air India. Maharaja is not relevant in today’s time as people don’t want to live like a Maharaja, things are different. There is a new India that buys IPL teams for themselves and then feels good about it. The era of becoming CEO at the age of 50 is gone, children of the age of 12-18 are the CEOs, Founders of their companies.”

According to Amit Wadhwa, CEO of Dentsu Creative India, “I don’t think there is anything called dated. The brand’s name is strong. It will be wrong to say if the mascot is removed Air India will be shaken. It is a very strong brand in India. The mascot can be used very well in today’s time also. I don’t see a reason for revamping the Maharaja."

After Tata Group of Companies took over, the company recently gave Air India’s creative and communications duties to McCann Worldgroup India. Since then, the talk of revamping the brand has been doing rounds.

Pops said, “My advice to the brand is the essence of Air India is the hospitality, keep the essence, not the outer symbols. We are living in a very different world. Hospitality means something different in this age and they must understand it and should keep the core intact. Create a brand personality that echos today’s hospitality. Air India has a unique symbol as it represents the country. Tata has a gateway to be the symbol of modern India. They should capitalize on this opportunity and show this to the world -the face of confident and modern India.”

Abhik Santara, Director & CEO, ^ a t o m network, advised the brand again to keep the ethos of the brand intact. He said, “Air India has suffered from its baggage which is the efficiency of services. If it has to rebrand itself keeping in mind the expectations of the consumers. But I’d say you cannot move away from your pedigree which is Royalty and Pride in the case of Air India, you should move away from that. I would advise the agency and the brand to reinvent the work, keeping the brand ethos in mind.”