Under the radar love for brands

A study of advertising embedded in Indian reality television examines how stealth, or subliminal, advertising, affects brand recall in a media environment saturated with promotional messages. The work, published in the International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, looks at how audiences exposed to thousands of brand impressions daily are affected by this approach to advertising. The findings have implications for marketing departments, which are increasingly using subtle product placement to familiarise potential and known customers with brands.

The research used within-subject experiments where participants viewed 12-minute clips from five Indian reality programmes containing embedded brand appearances. Recall was measured using standardised questionnaires assessing brand memory after exposure. Across 20 brands, most achieved moderate recall through this form of advertising.

The team found that two factors most influenced brand recall: whether the placement was spoken or visual and whether it meshed with the premise or arc of the segment. The results showed that verbal references were more effective than visual placements, but higher congruity between brand and the storyline of the segment improved recall.

Perhaps paradoxically, visual prominence of a product did not affect brand recall significantly. This challenges the marketing assumption that visibility drives effectiveness. The researchers concluded that embedded advertising depends largely on more subtle cues than straightforward visibility in the segment. Product placement is on the rise across TV, streaming platforms, and in digital content. Marketing departments hoping to familiarise consumers with their products need to understand these findings to benefit the most.

Dua, G.G., Vaidya, R.D. and Bapat, G.S. (2026) ‘Unveiling the recall power of covert advertising: a study on stealth advertising in Indian reality shows’, Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp.68–93.