The South Indian ‘Anna’ is on the march, and if recent television commercials are anything to go by, the Indian marketing industry is welcoming him with open arms. From Kareena Kapoor’s ‘Romba Nalla’ approach to selling the Mahindra Duro, Dhoni’s missing pillow in the Gulf Oil commercial, the Rajnikanth look-alike in the Finolex commercial and the Idea commercial featuring a South Indian dad enjoying Holi — South Indian characters seem to have replaced the Sardarji and Punjabi Munda stereotypes that have so far been the stock-in-trade for Indian commercials.“Over a period of time, even stereotypes start getting predictable. So the advertising industry is always on the lookout for a fresh stereotype and the south Indian character is the latest in that series,” explains Partha Sinha, managing partner, BBH India. What’s prompted this detour down South? Brand consultant Harish Bijoor believes that marketers are simply trying to tap into those markets. “Marketers have realised that there are still enough opportunities to pick and choose strategies for the south,” he says.Projecting a diverse and culturally inclusive brand image can only help national brands, of course. “Advertisers are looking to implement more cultural representation and diversity and South Indians make for a good opportunity as they have so far been under-represented in the advertising world,” says Santosh Desai , CEO, Future Brands That is changing though. From viral hits like Kolaveri Di , to movies like Endhiran, Northern India is now being exposed to more South Indian inf luences than ever before and that is something that marketers are keen to capitalise on. “It’s because of the impact of the media from the south. Today almost 50% of the movies and content that Bollywood produces is derived from South Indian sources,” says KV Sridhar, CCO —India Subcontinent, Leo Burnett . However, while their increased popularity might be a good thing, the advertising industry still tends to treat South Indian characters as stereotypes.“Advertisers are still caricaturing South Indians based on their idiosyncrasies, their language, behaviour and spending pattern,” says Anand Halve, co-founder of brand & communications consultancy, Chlorophyll.Take the Centerfruit commercial by Ogilvy India. It shows a Tamil eatery looking to hire a waiter. The winner is the candidate who starts off clearly enunciating each item on the menu, but then, much to the eatery owner’s delight, his speech degenerates into a tongue-wagging garble on seeing Centerfruit chewing gum. The ad may be trying to live up to its slogan, kaisi jeebh laplapaayee but it also seems to be propagating the stereotype of the South Indian as one whose language sounds alien and incomprehensible. “Interesting characters are what makes an ad engaging. South Indian characters have become the most popular because they have interesting accents, attires just like the Sardarjis used to. In a funny ad, we will exaggerate these characteristics; while in a normal ad, we will try to portray them normally,” justifies Rajiv Rao , national creative director, Ogilvy India.While the industry may still believe that stereotypes serve a purpose, as more and more South Indian characters gain popularity, it remains to be seen if they’ll opt for diversity in their personalities as well.