20/08/2026
WHEN ADVERTISING HAD JUST ONE DESTINATION… DOORDARSHAN!
Today, advertising is everywhere.
You see a brand on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Google, OTT platforms, websites, reels and even inside the content you are watching. There are countless platforms, countless formats and countless ways to reach a consumer.
But go back to the 1980s…
There was one medium that could take a brand straight into millions of Indian homes — Doordarshan, India’s national broadcaster.
And that made advertising on Doordarshan something truly special.
In an era when television sets were slowly becoming a part of middle-class Indian homes, Doordarshan was not just another TV channel. It was the television channel. There were no hundreds of channels competing for attention. There was no remote control race. There was no skipping an advertisement. There was no YouTube button saying “Skip Ad.”
There was Doordarshan… and the entire family was watching.
That gave advertisers an extraordinary opportunity.
A short television commercial could suddenly become a talking point across the country. A catchy jingle could stay on people's lips for days. A simple line from an advertisement could become part of everyday conversation.
And that was the real magic of 1980s advertising.
The budgets, technology and production facilities were nowhere close to what advertisers have today. Yet the creativity often had to do much more with much less.
A memorable idea.
A simple story.
A familiar face.
A catchy tune.
And a few seconds on Doordarshan.
That was often enough to make a brand memorable.
One channel. One screen. Millions of viewers. And an entire nation watching together.
Which Doordarshan advertisement or jingle from that era do you still remember?
Tell us in the comments.
You might just bring back a memory someone hasn't thought about in decades!
