As America slapped 50% tariff on Indian goods, homegrown brands and business leaders are turning trade tension into bold statements and campaigns. Let’s have a look at Indians making most of the challenging time:
1. ‘TARIFF KARO’
Indian dairy giant Amul tapped into its iconic cartoon advertising to campaign for ‘Made In India’ products amid American tariff hike. It shared a photo of its beloved mascot, the ‘Amul Girl’, with the caption ‘Made In India’. The witty campaign also played on the word ‘tariff’ with the line ‘Amul – Iski tariff karo’ (translation- Praise Amul). It cleverly used ‘tariff’ as a pun on the Hindi word ‘taareef’ (which means praise). With humor and national pride, Amul made a subtle yet sharp statement.
While sharing the campaign on social media, the Indian brand proudly wrote, “Amidst tariff imposition by the USA, India stands strong.”
2. ‘TARIFFYING’
Back in April, Amul delivered another witty campaign when American President Donald Trump announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on what he called ‘Liberation Day’.
Responding to the looming threat, the dairy brand used its campaign to feature a cartoon Trump holding a list of proposed tariff percentages. The campaign used the caption ‘Tariffying Scenario!’ The clever pun blended “tariff” and “terrifying”, using humor to soften the grim outlook of Trump’s announcement for Indian exports. Amul turned geopolitical tension into light-hearted commentary.
3. STRONG RESOLVE
As Trump refused to consider lowering the tariffs on Indian goods, Amul made yet another bold campaign to motivate the national resolve. This time the brand used the lion logo of Make in India campaign and showed its steady growth. The cartoon was captioned ‘Na Jhukenge, Na Rukenge’ (We Won’t Bow Down, We Won’t Stop).
While sharing the campaign on social media, the homegrown brand wrote, “India strengthens resolve to serve its interests!”
4. WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE?
Indian brand Dabur marketed itself as ‘The Swadeshi Choice’ and apparently attack American toothpaste Colgate. Sharing an image of an unnamed toothpaste resembling Colgate’s packaging, Dabur asked, “Do you know your favourite toothpaste brand in American?” It added, “Born There, Not Here.”
It then presented its toothpaste as ‘Made in India, For Indians’. Showing the contrast between the two toothpaste, Dabur asked the public, “What will you choose?”
Colgate is a dominant brand of toothpaste in India, loved and used by Indians since decades. With its campaign, Dabur challenged Colgate’s dominance by evoking nationalism amongst the public.
5. BOYCOTT PEPSI, KFC, MCDONALD’S
Yoga guru Ramdev Baba, who is also the Founder of homegrown brand Patanjali urged Indians to boycott all American brands. He called the tariffs “political bullying” and “dictatorship”. He said no Indians should be seen on counters of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, KFC, Subway or McDonald’s. “If this happens, chaos will ensue in America. Inflation will increase in America to the point where Trump himself may have to retract these tariffs,” he claimed.
Over the years, Ramdev Baba’s Patanjali has produced several products ranging from shampoo, soaps, medicines, toothpaste, oil, biscuits, honey and noodles.
6. INDIA BOWS DOWN TO NONE
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asserted that India will “never bow down nor appear weak” despite high U.S. tariffs.
Billionaire Harsh Goenka also hit out at Trump. He said, “You can tariff our exports, but not our sovereignty. Raise your tariffs- we’ll raise our resolve, find better alternatives, and build self-reliance. India bows to none.”
7. GOVERNMENT’S PUSH
PM Narendra Modi has been vigorously encouraging ‘Swadeshi’ goods. He said, “I…encourage businesses to refrain from selling items sourced from other countries. These small yet impactful steps can play a significant role in driving our nation’s progress and prosperity.”
He has called for a Swadeshi Mass Movement and has asked MPs to organise ‘Swadeshi melas’.
8. MADE IN INDIA- A GLOBAL OBSESSION
Manish Chowdhary, who is the Co-founder of India’s WOW Skin Science, urged people to support Indian farmers and startups.
Taking about Indians using foreign goods, he said, “We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don’t own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country.”
He urged the public to make ‘Made in India’ a “global obsession”.
9. LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS
There were reports that locals traders in New Delhi markets had put up signs like ‘We Sell Swadeshi Products Here’. Some business owners also appealed to the public to adopt the culture of buying ‘Swadeshi’ goods.
This came after PM Narendra Modi asked businesses to proudly display “Mere yahaan swadeshi bikta hai (I sell swadeshi)” outside their establishments.
10. WHICH AMERICAN BRANDS DOMINATE INDIAN MARKETS?
While the ‘Make in India’ campaign is an optimistic way forward for Indians, the reality remains that a majority of markets in India are dominated by American brands.
Google, Netflix and Amazon are some of the brands that are used by majority of Indians. Although there was a social media campaign to boycott Amazon, it failed to gain momentum. Indians are hooked to these brands and the public are not going to abandon them anytime soon, at least not till there are no other homegrown brands that can compete with them.
Apart from these tech giants, there are American brands that Indians are so familiar with that they mistake them as Indian brands. Household staples like Tide detergent, Vaseline, Colgate, Pepsodent, Gillette, Dove and Lay’s chips are all American.
The food and beverage industry is also dominated by American brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Domino’s, Mountain Dew, Starbucks, Subway and Taco Bell.
Almost every sector in India tells a similar story. While several Indians are sharing calls to boycott American products on WhatsApp, they tend to forget that Meta’s WhatsApp is also American.
Hence, not trade war, but a trade agreement, appears to be the only practical way forward.
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