Showing posts with label Lintas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lintas. Show all posts

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The ad world

Barkhurdar, padhenge nahi to bheekh maangege aap. Maths mei zero, English mei andaa, saraa din chicks k peechay bhaagna, ye kahaa ki tameez hai?



Recent Mentos TVC (2015) grabbed eyeballs with the hilarious script and voice over of comedian Sunil Grover, who dubs for an angry rooster. The rooster is seen scolding his chick, then his wife and eve teasing, supposedly a sexy hen. Audience fell off their chairs watching the witty ad. I really don’t mind watching this ad, even if it interrupts my favorite movie or TV show. Super comical interpretation of rooster in a brand like Mentos, got a good brand recall. But did that enlighten the customer about the brand message? Apparently No. The message got lost and the audience almost forgot that Mentos is now bigger and softer. Just like this message did not get effected the rooster, the audience overlooked it too. The brand score card? 50-50 (50 for innovation and newness, negative for lost messaging)

There are funny ads, action packed ads and emotional ads. And then there are no sense ads too that fill the channel with junk and moralize, traumatize and terrorize the audience. Don’t believe me? Watch the Chaini Khaini ad or Pataka Chai ad starring yesteryear's starsMalaika Arora Khan and Urmila Martondkar. These hurt, alright! The brands could have made posters or web ads, considering their huge budget to fit into electronic media. Please spare the TV audience for God sake. These are useless commercials similar to movies like “Deshdrohi” or “MSG” with no audience or sense.






There are commercials for which you need brains and ‘eye for details’ to notice the alphabet formation that ‘makes you click’. I am talking about Canon powershot camera, starring Anushka Sharma. It was innovative and very creative indeed. There is a lot that goes into photography, from capturing emotions to getting the right environment. True, anything can make you click, as the ad starts with A- Anushka Sharma, B for a pair of spectacles and so on in an alphabetical order. The Canon ad balances it beautifully. Anuskha Sharma was a rising star at that time with quite a few blockbusters to her credit. The brand cashed on the popularity and freshness of the actor and went on to make a catchy campaign. Who does not like clicking? Canon Power shot nailed it. Yeah, I sound like an ad guru, but I am not.

Ads that I have loved since childhood are of brands like Boost, Complan, Parle-G biscuit to name a few. As a child I adored the Lux bathing bars advertisements featuring Madhuri Dixit, Karishma and my favorite Juhi Chawla. The brand endorsed itself as a luxurious one. Surprisingly, I loved the ads more than the TV serials, given that we did not have many options to watch in the absence of cable TV. Liril ads generated a stir in the market with its freshness! Come summers, my sister and I would jump into the shower, humming the Liril “la la la la”. Liril signified freshness & fun. The ad showed bubbly girl who would enjoy in the waterfall singing, dancing and playing virtual instruments. My sister & I loved to mimic her. Good job done by Padmasee and Lintas indeed! Preity Zinta made a storming entry into media with this ad. The newness worked well and Liril did not change the hum for more than 35 years. It’s the TVC I miss now.

However, in a nail biting match between India and Pakistan or World Cup Finale, ads are only a break to grab a glass of water or take a leak. Nobody really cares about these ads. But, ads keep the show running. So even if you hate them, you can’t ignore them.

Ad which I never understood was ONIDA, where a green faced horned monster scares the audience. It took me years to grab the essence “Neighbor’s Envy”. Frankly, it was a little mature ad for the Indian audience at that time. Had it been me, I might have given a simpler punchline like “The pride of every house”. Not that creative, but simple to understand, right?

Commercials these days have become difficult to understand. Body Spray ads resemble condom ads and the latter feature porn star, making it look like a promo of a Blue Film. Strange is our world!

I am joining in on all the Pepsi IPL action in my own style with the #CrashThePepsiIPL activity at BlogAdda