From Don Draper to Digital DMs
- Siya Girisaballa
- Oct 19, 2025
- 3 min read
Sri City: At the fear of sounding like a nostalgic parrot to my friends reading this, back in my first year, the campus culture was very different in many ways. But one of the most profound ways definitely has to be the way that information was passed about events, i.e. marketing. There was a film club then that would host events like movie screenings and discussion circles, and they had one rule- no whatsapp messages, or stories, or any form of digital communication. Their way of spreading information regarding the event was purely through word-of-mouth. They wanted to encourage communication with a personal touch, and stray away from the digitalization of marketing.
Fast forward to our current culture, social media communication stands on top- with instagram reels and stories, and whatsapp posters (an on campus event notification channel) and essentially any form of digital marketing. While of course, each of these clubs and societies are doing a fantastic job with their creativity and skills, one can’t help but look back to that personal communication that added such a intimate element to events. When Rangasthala (the theatre club) held a day in memory of Saadat Hasan Manto, the prominent Urdu playwright and author, the entire campus came together with events and festivities following the theme of ‘Manto Day’. Rangasthala had produced and directed three plays that day, each performance a masterpiece etched into our memories- and not just the day itself, but the idea of Manto day had created such a creative atmosphere across campus. The Design club Rachana had hand designed posters to be put around for all events, and Rangasthala would have random flash mobs and bouts of chanting and marching with a speaker across campus, to spread word about this event. That entire month preceding Manto Day was always filled with some charm and excitement in the form of non-digital marketing.
While I love watching the incredible edits and designs, I wish marketing could be more than just social media content. Marketing is powerful- it has the ability to inspire, encourage, and involve. An event becomes a movement, a culture, when it has that touch of marketing to it- just the way the Mad Men envisioned it. For those unfamiliar, the Mad Men era was the advertising craze that took place in the 50s and 60s where ingenious and inventive campaigns, often controversial, were used to draw customers to products. Each idea more creative and breathtaking than before, the Mad Men (as the advertising agencies were referred to) commercialized advertising and made it a movement. While this was also digital to some extent, there was creativity, and more importantly, personalization added to the art of communication. Advertisements became the foundation of digital marketing as we know it today, from the 1960s 7up’s “Uncola” to 2004’s Pepsi Gladiator commercial to Queen’s We Will Rock You, and Warner Bros.’ Barbie selfie generator used to promote the Barbie Movie in 2023. Marketing was creative from pitch to promo, and each idea more innovative than the other- creating not just great revenues for companies, but nostalgic memories for customers.
Marketing also has the power to do good. Nike’s ‘Just do it’ took inspiration from thousands of sportspersons, both amateur and professional, giving a chance to those less fortunate to share their stories. Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign challenged beauty standards, and promoted diversity in the notion of beauty. Apple’s “Creativity goes on” campaign also encouraged people to create and engage with content during the pandemic. The movements created by Marketing ventures, shaped cultures and challenged the “current” when done right, a power that is shared by both creators and consumers.
So this is my urgent call to action to the Krea community, to challenge the confining to digital platforms, and make marketing more personal, and more powerful. To help shape campus culture, and make communication more personal, and more importantly, more involved. I think we will all be fairly surprised with the way our student body interacts with events and extra-curriculars, when they are involved with the shaping of it. From something as simple as word-of-mouth communication about a movie screening, to something as elaborate as flash mobs, our community holds the key to turning the tides, and reshaping our campus into a more involved, enthusiastic, and creative one- just the way Don Draper would have envisioned it.
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