Abstract

In August 2009, the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Reliance ADAG) launched an advertising campaign comprising a series of print advertisements alleging that the policies of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had favored Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) at the cost of the profits of state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the government. The controversial ads prompted RIL and the government to react. Media experts felt that Reliance ADAG had taken corporate lobbying to a new level by engaging various stakeholders in a debate over the gas price formula. They felt that Reliance ADAG might have set a new trend for other companies to emulate.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Marketing communication
• Public relations
• Corporate lobbying
• and Ethics.

Keywords

Advertising, ethics, Corporate lobbying, RIL, Reliance ADAG, NTPC, Production Sharing Contract, Capital expenditure