Russian TV Ads Face a Colorful Challenge

The Communists who ran Russia for more than 70 years regarded advertising with such suspicion that they banned the word. But today, advertising is everywhere. With dizzying speed, the signs exhorting “Glory to the Communist Party” have disappeared from the cornices of big buildings, along with the inspiring “Siberia is the Lungs of the Soviet Union.” They have been replaced by huge billboards where rosy-cheeked Santas lustily drink Coca-Cola and prosperous young couples drive Chevy Blazers filled with the fruits of conspicuous consumption. On television, beautiful women lope across screens with the confidence acquired from the right sanitary napkin, and smiling housewives gloat over their whiter-than-white laundry. But advertising has its special set of challenges in Russia--like black-and-white television. Before 1990, 70% of all televisions were black and white, and though that figure is slowly declining, Russia requires ads that look as good in black and white as they do in color.