MxMIndia

Category: DEBRIEF

  • It looks like the kids are living a life of hell, and the Rajya Sabha MP designate is chilling inside an air conditioned studio. This kinda puts you off

    Debrief: Coca-Cola: Zero Freshness

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Interestingly, there’s a new commercial on air from Coke, and it’s based on cricket. A bit strange that, because summer’s coming to an end and the IPL is done and dusted.

     

    Anyway, the TVC features some rural kids playing the game in extremely hot, dusty and inhuman conditions. It looks like a desert. They seem to be enjoying themselves all the same, since the kids are passionate about the game, like everyone else is in this country. And that passion is what Coke wants to ride on. However, all of a sudden, towards the end of the commercial, Rajya Sabha MP designate, Shri Sachin Tendulkar, appears on the screen. He ‘opens happiness’ and happily gulps it down.

     

    I have two huge problems with this one. For one, cricket has been heavily flogged in Indian advertising, and for the game to carry any further appeal, the execution has to be seriously fresh. We are done with watching kids play street cricket, surely that’s become ultra boring in circa 2012. So on this count, the TVC fails miserably, despite a good voice-over and a decent script.

     

    Secondly, Sachin looks like a cut-paste job in the film, an after-thought. Would it not have been a little nice if the hero lands up in those hot conditions and offers the poor kids some Coke? That would not have injected any freshness to the commercial, but it would have brought in some warmth at least. Currently, it looks like the kids are living a life of hell, and the Rajya Sabha MP designate is chilling inside an air conditioned studio. This kinda puts you off.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Thakela idea. And it makes Sachin look bad. 

     

  • The classic before/after trick may just have worked for a tea brand, but for a deo brand, the idea sucks, writes Anil Thakraney

    Nivea Fresh Active: Totally off-putting

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I want to congratulate the Nivea brand manager for finally smashing that done-to-death route of men’s deo advertising: There are no hot babes in hot pursuit of our Nivea dudes. What we see in the new commercial are only men. So far so good.

     

    But from hereon, things go horribly wrong. There are many ads in India (and am sure the whole world) which bore and irritate us. But there will always be a few that piss us off so much, it leads to a rise in blood pressure with a burning desire to demolish the television set. Sadly, Nivea has managed to achieve that.

     

    In the commercial, a group of men yawn very loudly, offensively and repeatedly. And then they use Nivea Fresh Active and starting aaahing, as if suddenly refreshed. This classic before/after trick may just have worked for a tea brand. For a deo brand, the idea sucks. And as for the execution, it never occurred to the ad’s self indulgent creators that listening to men yawn crudely is NOT entertaining or funny in the least. In fact, it’s extremely annoying.

     

    Disastrous advertising. Guaranteed to get you agitated. I keep the remote control on the ready the moment I hear the first bloody yawn.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 0.5 Rubbish deo ad. But half a mark for not using swooning babes.

     

  • Anil Thakraney reviews the Fox Movies ad which he says will not work in India where the average Indian male’s eyes are fixated ‘out there’ in any case

    Debrief | Fox Movies: Brilliant!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Haha. Real cool ad. Will keep you in splits and very entertained because it’s delightfully salacious. FOX Movies decided to offer cinema dubbed in regional languages for the Thai market, and their ad agency turned it into an idea for subtitles-free communication.

     

    The fun commercial features a young male exec whose eyes are shamelessly trained on his pretty lady boss’s breasts. And the dude gets a couple of tight slaps as his just reward. Poor chap, not his fault. He’s used to reading subtitles in the foreign language movies he watches. And is unable to kick the ‘bad’ habit.

     

    Yup, it’s super stuff. The TVC packs in all the ingredients of a good ad film. It is entertaining, surprising, engaging and single-minded. And there’s cool lateral thinking at play to highlight what is otherwise a very uninteresting product promise. Full marks!

     

     

    As a naughty aside, this particular treatment will not work in the Indian market. Only because the average Indian male’s eyes are fixated ‘out there’ in any case, and it has nothing to do with watching foreign films that carry subtitles. 🙂

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 5. Fabulous advertising

     

  • Would the sight of a woman fooling around with the car appeal to them? I doubt it. In fact, I was left with the impression this is a woman's-only car, ergo, not for me

    Debrief: Skoda Laura RS: Totally off the mark

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I am assuming RS is a new upgrade of Laura, and that the car packs in some new features. What those features are I have no idea after watching the commercial because the ad goes on a bizarre tangent.

     

    In the TVC, a sexy woman pulls some silly stunts with her Laura outside what looks like a night club. She then wears the ‘scent’ of the burnt rubber, and has all the men swooning. That’s pretty much all that happens.

     

    Now, to be fair to the makers of Skoda Laura RS, they have at least stayed away from the thakela shots of macho men speeding the machine. That they have used a woman as the motorist is quite a brave move because ladies at the wheel don’t really inspire much confidence (militant feminists to please excuse). Or at least that’s the popular perception inIndia. But what they have done with this idea sends the brain for a toss.

     

    Many problems out here. The expensive luxury car Skoda Laura RS is most likely to be bought by rich Indian men. Would the sight of a woman fooling around with the car appeal to them? I doubt it. In fact, I was left with the impression this is a woman’s-only car, ergo, not for me. Next: Smell of burnt rubber. I don’t know if that’s a turn on for men in the upper income bracket, but a burning tyre puts negative imagery in my head. It subliminally tells me this is a fragile car. Add to that a woman driving it, and it confirms that Skoda Laura RS isn’t my scene. And lastly, the script is loose, it leaves you with a feeling of incompleteness. Maybe a little story was called for out here.

     

    Nopes, this won’t work at all. Back to the drawing board, I say.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Tries to be different but loses focus.

     

     

  • Another maha boring before/after ad. The creative lacks spark, the script is contrived and the youngsters featured in the ad are very irritating

    Debrief: Airtel Digital TV: Big promise, poor delivery

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Airtel has launched a new TV campaign to promote their digital TV service. The idea is: ‘Sirf cable nahin, life badlo’. The core thought is that in today’s world, the idiot box not only entertains, it changes your life. A bit far fetched? It is. I think the only way TV has changed some people’s lives is by turning them into lazy couch potatoes.

     

    Anyway, now that they have chosen to travel this exaggerated path, the commercials have to be truly sensational for the idea to get wings. But sadly, the one ad I watched left me flattened. There’s this always chilled out bloke who never gets angry at anything in life. Not even when his pal smashes his car. But he goes ballistic and mad with rage when the TV set conks out and the local cable supplier won’t take his calls. So this couch potato switches to Airtel digital TV, and he’s back to being his chilled out self.

     

    Another maha boring before/after ad. The creative lacks spark, the script is contrived and the youngsters featured in the ad are very irritating. Here’s a suggestion for Airtel and all other advertisers: When you have to show slothful people, it’s critical that they look a bit cute and charismatic. Else, the combo of laziness and ugliness repels the viewer. And you’ve lost the battle even before it has begun.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Weak and uninteresting creative

     

  • There's a basic problem with this creative treatment: It's kiddish. Cadbury has failed to replicate the magic they create with their chocolates

    Debrief: Cadbury Gems: Not really a gem

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    After ‘upgrading’ their chocolate brands to adults, Cadbury is trying out the same trick with the totally kiddie Cadbury Gems. And I must say this is a very brave move. While one can understand and accept the fact that adults do indulge in chocolates, uncles and aunties gorging on Gems is pushing things a bit.

     

    The strategy is that Cadbury Gems brings out the inner bachcha in you. And that the brand makes you behave in a childish manner in adult situations. ‘Raho Umarless’ is the creative interpretation. I watched two commercials. In one, an oldish aunty sitting on a park bench notices a Cadbury Gem. She can’t resist it and sets off a volcanic eruption of candies. In another ad, a man spots an artifact inside a museum. It’s created out of Cadbury Gems. He plucks one candy out, and this action dislodges the entire structure and the creation is destroyed.

     

    There’s a basic problem with this creative treatment: It’s kiddish. Cadbury has failed to replicate the magic they create with their chocolates. For the latter, one is shown adult situations in which adults behave like adults. This creates empathy, and the brand wins. In the case of Cadbury Gems, adults behaving like silly kids will draw zero empathy from adults, there is no emotional connect. At best, the kids, who are the core consumers of Cadbury Gems, will love these commercials, and laugh their little heads off watching adults make fools of themselves.

     

    In other words, all that Cadbury has done is to reach out to the bachchas once again, this time showing adults in slapstick situations. And because of this, despite the ads being entertaining, they will score no points with the adult market. In any case, I think it’s a bad idea trying to promote a hardcore kiddie candy to adults. It’s not going to work.

     

    [youtube width=”325″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ink9lAkrcxY[/youtube] [youtube width=”325″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjV91ZRqu-o[/youtube]


    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. Dicey strategy. Flawed creative.

     

  • Not only is SRK over-used and over-abused, by no stretch of imagination can I visualize a brand match out here, writes Anil Thakraney

    Debrief: Hyundai i10: Same old, same old

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In my books, the worst celebrity choice in Indian advertising has to be Shah Rukh Khan endorsing the poor man’s Santro. It’s a cruel joke, really. The multi-billionaire hero would want to be caught dead inside such a ‘down-market’ vehicle.

     

    Well, Hyundai has cast him again, this time for their i10 car, which is one level above Santro. But is still an aam aadmi ki gaadi. I often wonder what SRK does with such a car, assuming one ‘sample’ is sent to him gratis. I suppose he gifts it off to one of his security guards. Anyway, let’s get to the task at hand: The commercial has a strange idea – something called ‘the helping hand’. And this mystery hand blesses the i10 owner with good things in life. Like a hot babe, great weather, etc. But frankly, all I recall is shots of SRK primping and preening throughout the ad. The same old Bollywood expressions of his that the junta is tiring of.

     

    Nope, this isn’t working at all. Not only is SRK over-used and over-abused in media and advertising, by no stretch of imagination can I visualize a brand match out here. Therefore, he neither brings in freshness nor salience. The i10, if they must used celebs, would be far better served with fresh new faces from the showbiz. In addition, there’s no story, no narrative in the TVC. Same old boring lifestyle shots that most car ads use.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9q_6214N_8[/youtube]

    It’s a flop show. The people who need a helping hand out here are the brand manager and his/her ad agency.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Poor casting. Weak creative.

     

     

  • The young gen, at who Britannia Bourbon Cappuccino is targeted at, will connect with this stuff

    Debrief: Britannia Bourbon Cappuccino: Power of insight

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Britannia has launched Bourbon Cappuccino biscuits. And the key ingredient, also the USP, is the coffee flavour. Nothing really exciting about this, but the advertiser has used a cool consumer insight and this helps inspire good creative work.

     

    What they have done is to give ‘coffee’ a sexual touch. As in, after a date, when the guy is dropping his partner home, and if he’s really lucky, the girl invites him in for a cup of coffee. Naturally, this is less about coffee and more about some rocking fun on the couch.

     

    The TVC plays on this angle, adds in a little twist, and the ad works out pretty nicely. What is just another biscuit brand now gets wings, and along the way the coffee USP gets suitably highlighted. Mission accomplished.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjbkkut1dKY[/youtube]

    Yes, good work. The young gen, at who Britannia Bourbon Cappuccino is targeted at, will connect with this stuff. It’s simple, entertaining and effective. And most importantly, the product attribute is smoothly communicated, without ramming it down our throats. A good example of how critical consumer insight is to the advertising business.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 3.5. Good insight. Entertaining ad.

     

  • Now while the insight is cool and the execution funny, there is a basic flaw in the communication. Monster.com is only a job finder, they can't help you do well in an interview

    Debrief | Monster.com: Misplaced communication strategy

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Monster.com believes that more than talent, Indian candidates rely on luck to make it through in a job interview. This is true. Many of us do have our superstitions. The lucky tie, the lucky socks, the lucky underwear, and so on. It may or may not work, but the illogical superstitions go on. In that sense, Monster.com is on to a good consumer insight.

     

    So these two blokes are waiting to be called in for the interview. And they spend the time competing with each other on who is more superstitious, and therefore luckier of the two. Eventually both get egg on the face as the job goes to the third chap who doesn’t believe in luck, but uses Monster.com.

     

    Now while the insight is cool and the execution funny, there is a basic flaw in the communication. Monster.com is only a job finder, they can’t help you do well in an interview. Ergo, if luck is what Monster.com is riding on, then this ad doesn’t make sense. Because even the superstitious candidates DID land the job interview. So on pure logic, the commercial derails.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbrzc8-w6SY[/youtube]

    This would have been a sound strategy for, say, a grooming shop, one of those that help you create a favourable impact in an interview. For Monster.com, this doesn’t work at all. Funny that the managers of the job portal overlooked such an important factor. I suspect on the day the brand manager came up with this strategy, he/she wasn’t wearing his/her lucky charm. 🙂

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. Entertaining ad. Based on a wrong promise!

     

  • What would have been even better is, if they had weaved in entertaining situations around the hand motion, that would have added adrenalin to the TVC

    Debrief: Hero: Desh Ka Vroom Vroom!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The advertising promise is quite simple: Because Hero’s bikes offer terrific mileage, the entire nation rides out more often. And in the creative interpretation of that, Hero has done one boring thing and one interesting thing, so I have mixed reactions to their new TVC.

     

    Boring, first. They have gone ahead and done that same old, tired ‘Desh Ka Hero’ number. The commercial features people cutting across social, economic and religious divides. Wonder when Indian advertisers will evolve and avoid this route like the swine flu. It’s no longer interesting, really. However, the one good thing Hero has done is to use the hand technique needed to ride a bike as the central creative idea, and this device unites all the people featured in the ad. I like this touch. Because this particular hand motion is unique to bike riding (unless you are a plumber!), and it can and should become a neat memory hook for Hero. This is smart thinking.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j7BkAOtbFE[/youtube]

    However, what would have been even better is, if they had weaved in entertaining situations around the hand motion, that would have added adrenalin to the TVC. And it would have made it watchable on repeat exposure. But this issue can be dealt with as the campaign moves forward, so that’s fine. Also, must say the jingle is peppy and fun.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Old route. But an interesting creative device.

     

     

  • Wouldn't it be better to go full-on on your Japanese lineage and expertise? As a bike purchaser, I would actually find that a lot more appealing

    Debrief: Honda: No need for desi flavour

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    On Tuesday we examined what Hero is up to. Today let’s see what’s happening with their estranged partner, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI). I suppose the key task Honda set for itself is to establish a bond with the desi youth, now that the ‘Hero’ moniker is gone. And they have rushed to macho hero Akshay Kumar for help.

     

    The idea in the TVC is that every Indian is in a great hurry to make his/her dream come true. And that the Honda bike imparts acceleration to those dreams. The voice-over is provided by macho ‘dood’ Akshay Kumar (decked up in a horrendous hood), who claims to know all about chasing dreams because he’s been there, done that. Or some such words. And the ad is peppered with Indian symbols and attitude to further embellish the local flavour.

     

    An entirely boring commercial. It features nothing that we haven’t seen before. In fact, the ad re-hashes all the usual Indian advertising cliches. Worse, Akshayji’s non-stop drone gets on the nerves, and what saves your life is the biggest tech boon known to humanity: the blessed remote control.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz6Zxh7rbH4[/youtube]

    Apart from the TVC being a complete flop show, here’s a thought for Honda: Now that you are on your own, and now that your only USP is the Jap connection (and it IS a positive connection), why do you want to desperately bring out the Indian touch? Wouldn’t it be better to go full-on on your Japanese lineage and expertise? As a bike purchaser, I would actually find that a lot more appealing.

     

    Bring out the kimono, guys. And chuck the dreadful hood.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Boring and misdirected.

     

  • Love this ad. The humour is solid and the treatment outstanding. (Not easy to re-create that era in an ad… ads usually have limited budgets.)

    Debrief: Maruti: ‘Kitna deti hai?’ continues to rock

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I have always been a fan of Maruti’s ‘Kitna deti hai?’ campaign. Okay, the phrase has an erotic ring to it (admittedly that’s my dirty mind at work), but its single-mindedness of purpose is admirable. And also the fact that it’s totally relevant; Indians tend to be obsessed with mileage. There’s one more reason for my liking this campaign: The commercials are always entertaining.

     

    Well, Maruti is back with yet another ‘Kitna deti hai?’ ad. And the timing could not have been more appropriate. With petrol prices going through the roof, this is the one question on top of every middle class car buyer’s mind. The new TVC re-creates the thirties. A firang lady called Amelia Johnson is the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. She’s arrived for a ‘stop-over’ in Mumbai, and crowds have gathered to meet her. Amelia excitedly boasts about the various technical features of her aircraft when a desi jumps her with that most important question: Kitna deti hai?

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AyynrjP3EM[/youtube]

    Super stuff. Love this ad. The humour is solid and the treatment outstanding. (Not easy to re-create that era in an ad… ads usually have limited budgets.) And most importantly, I simply adore Amelia’s expression when that deadly question is fired at her. It’s a cross between amusement and astonishment. And it’s not an easy expression to deliver. A huge pat on the back to the film’s director just for this.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Wonderful idea. Lovely execution.