Mumbai Mirror Advertorial Commentary

An advertorial is defined by the New Oxford Dictionary as a

newspaper or magazine advertisement about a product in the style
of an editorial or objective journalistic article. This particular
advertorial is set in modern-day urban India in a metropolitan
context- it is written specifically for citizens of Mumbai. The purpose
of this advertorial is to persuade Mumbaikars to use this treatment
and argue its relevance in todays world.
The advertisement content has been planned very
strategically. The advertorial, published on the first page of the
Mumbai Mirror, an extremely popular daily newspaper local to
Mumbai has wide readership across various customer segments,
and thus addresses a large captive audience of the daily. The
advertised solution is not restricted only to balding but also to
younger prospective customers, facing stress or having a balding
gene. As such, the audience has been maximised.
Other than a mention of a country-wide baldness eradication
goal (I want to make India baldness free), the article is very
focused on a Mumbai audience. Mumbaikars in general have been
portrayed in this article as very concerned with their appearances
(Mumbaikars are now more meticulous than ever about their health
as well as their looks). Along with this, baldness has been shown to
be a chronic problem especially particular to Mumbai (chronic
hair loss and balding scalps are playing killjoy in Mumbais effort to
look chic). The audience has further been increased by increasing
age-relevance as in the lines in the last ten years, I am seeing an
increasing number of youngsters in their late teens and early
twenties going bald. Moreover, it has also been referred to as a
preventive measure which makes it applicable to every single
person in Mumbai who can afford it (Prevention is better than
cure), from their late teens onwards. It also shows signature sad
before and happy after pictures.
The advertorial has also portrayed baldness as something a
person in the metropolitan crowd should be ashamed of. Hence the
desire for consumerism is increased. The advertisement uses the
word best in its communication extensively. It is shown as the
best product developed by the worlds best trichologists and
experts in the headline, Indias best hair care brand Richfeel, brings
the worlds best hair transplants from Ailesbury, UK, at the best
price of Rs. 55,000/- in Mumbai. The repetitive use of the word best
makes it appear as the best possible investment for this particular
issue. Also, the headline Caught and bowled! Mumbais chronic
baldness problem makes it appear as though a huge problem that
has finally been brought to a unanimous and indisputable solution
by the surgery in question. However, these claims are vague and
probably dubious as there is no standard against which it can be
decided whether the price, solution and experts are actually the
best.

To attract attention of the readers, the advertorial uses catchy

and flashy headlines and highly contrasting colours. They have
made extremely high claims and added tempting offers. The
advertorial also features before-and-after photographs of people
who have opted for the surgery, and in the photographs they look
upset before, and happy after. Also, the photographs include both
men and women. This is a very simplistic portrayal of customer
satisfaction. Other aspects that would encourage readers to see the
article are the byline, which says Dr. Apoorva Shah, Worlds leading
Trichologist which increases a sense of authority about the article.
It looks as if an expert in the field has written it. Also later on, there
is a mention of 27 years of experience which increases consumer
trust.
There is a description of a test that can determine whether or
not this product is viable in the lines He emphasises that a test
called Hair DX can determine whether a person will go bald or not. If
chances of a person going bald are high, the preventive cure
involves the use of Saw Palmetto, which can control your hair
thinning for as long as 15 years. This can be monitored accurately
through the Follicular Count Test. If a person has already started
balding, Ailesbury Hair Transplants are the best solution. This gives
almost anyone who reads the article a possible option to pick out.
Also, the use of technical language adds to the sense of authority of
Dr. Shah, who has written the advertorial.
In the side editorial, there is no author mentioned. It is
reasonable to presume that this too has been written by Dr. Shah,
who is shown as the Worlds leading Trichologist, which is another
claim which cannot be verified. The editorial seems to be written by
an expert. It is brimming with technical language and shows
mastery in the subject (The finest, patented mechanised extractor
(0.5-0.8mm) closest to the diameter of an Indian hair follicle). It
mainly describes the process of the surgery advertised. The process
seems very assured, scientific and safe.
There are various advantaged mentioned (Seven Advantages
of Ailesbury Hair Transplants, No Cuts, No Scare, No Stitches) and
these reinforce the idea created, that there is no solution for balding
scalps and hair loss out there that is better than this one.
The price is written in very large print, and is referred to as
the best price for a hair solution of this sort. It is also a Limited
Time Offer which may increase a sense of urgency, as people may
believe that this so-called best price may increase, and so they must
opt for the surgery as soon as possible. Taxes applicable and
conditions apply has been written in the finest print and pushed to
the corner. It should be noted that Rs. 55,000 is not a very large
price, in a metropolitan context, and especially for the city of
Mumbai- the financial capital of India, and home to the richest crowd
in India. It should also be noted that other treatments (for example,
products which require repeated buying and usage) will, due to
inflation, cost more in the long term than 55,000 and so it is a good

price for a surgery, which is a final solution. However, this still does
not mean it is the best price.
Finally, there are two aspects to this advertorial that make the
advertorial especially appeal to the Mumbai audience- one is the
fact Ailesbury Hair Clinc, which is bringing the solution to Mumbai, is
based in London. The Indian mentality is such that we are very
fascinated and awed by anything foreign. The fact that it is a foreign
solution will sow the seeds in any Indian readers minds that it must
be of high quality. Second is the mention of the slogan Begin a new
story. Mumbai is famous as the place in India where everyone who
is anyone lives, and in hopes of joining this crowd, thousands of
people migrate from not only all over the country, but all over the
world to be a part of this great city and bring some of the success to
themselves. They come to make something of themselves and start
a new life, so that slogan is very relevant.
I would like to conclude by saying that while it is an effective
article, with clever usage of persuasion, manipulation, headlines and
technicalities. A few poorly executed attempts at manipulation are
the price and before-and-after. Also, the fact that there is no form of
risk mentioned whatsoever is suspicious.