MxMIndia

Category: DEBRIEF

  • Still, the TVC does deserve good marks. Because it's (thankfully) not even trying to project BombayTimes as an intelligent read

    Debrief: BombayTimes = Lokhandwala Times?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I like the Bombay Times commercial. Mainly because it’s entertaining and the musical score is nicely languid and quite catchy. The ad also has an idea: People in Bombay like to dress well and like to get noticed for their glam quotient. The TVC features aam aadmis and aurats wearing bling and lagaoing style: a government daftar babu, a fisherwoman, a rick driver, etc. So unlike the colourful supplement, the ad isn’t air-headed and that’s great.

     

    However, there are a couple of problems I have with this treatment. The ad doesn’t really gel with the product. The commercial features people who would NEVER be seen in the pages of Bombay Times. And this creates dissonance in the head. Because every morning, all I spot in the supplement are pics of the hundred usual suspects. And I must add here that I would actually like to see pics of the shining aam junta in Bombay Times. Would make it a little interesting.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUjhPjGw8DI[/youtube]

    Secondly, I am not sure all Bombayites like to glam up on the streets. Most are forever stuck in the worst sort of traffic jams, or packed inside the ultra-crowded public transport. And surviving the city is all that goes on in the mind. Therefore, it doesn’t really capture the ethos of Bombay. This ad would have worked wonderfully for Andheri’s Lokhandwala Complex, the one street that’s swarming with glam wannabes.

     

    Still, the TVC does deserve good marks. Because it doesn’t bore you even on repeat exposures. And because it’s (thankfully) not even trying to project BombayTimes as an intelligent read.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5. Strategically off the mark but very entertaining.

     

  • Waku Doki adds no value whatsoever to the communication, and to think it’s the central idea! Worse, they are using it for multiple brands

    Debrief:Toyota: Yeh Waku Doki kya hai, bhaiyya?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It took me a lot of time to figure what in hell Waku Doki means. It sounded like Japanese to me, so I called a Jap pal for help. And he said it roughly means: ‘Excitedly waiting for something cool to happen’. Toyota has unleashed this Japanese colloquial phrase as the umbrella positioning for two of its brands: Fortuner and Etios. And the other common factor is cricketer Virat Kohli.

     

    In the ad for Fortuner, Kohli says Waku Doki to a kid who’s bored of playing video games. In the ad for Etios, the young cricket sensation plays the same trick on a heart-broken gal. And no prizes for guessing that in these ads Waku Doki means hitting the road in a Toyota. And once the car comes into the picture, it’s back to the usual shots of interiors and exteriors. And speed and dirt tracks, etc, etc.

     

    This is dicey stuff. Indians aren’t going to run around looking for a Jap-English dictionary to figure what Waku Doki means. And without that knowledge, the phrase means nothing, it’s pure nonsense. Which means Waku Doki adds no value whatsoever to the communication, and to think it’s the central idea! Worse, they are using it for multiple brands, so each individual brand story gets lost as we are left scratching our heads over Waku Doki.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWSrRYJHwl0[/youtube]

    I suspect Toyota opted for a Jap phrase to highlight the Japanese association of the mother brand. Where was the need for that? Bachcha bachcha in India already knows Toyota is a Jap car maker. They would have been better served by coining a desi expression, something like ‘Jhingalala’. So that at the very least the communication doesn’t go over the head. Though frankly, these gimmicky phrases are suitable for low-involvement products like wafers and candies. And not for vehicles which will set you back by lakhs of rupees.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Incomprehensible and irrelevant.

     

  • While the intent is right… Maggi is an old brand and it needs to build bonds with consumers to stay relevant in their lives… the execution left me totally unmoved

    Debrief: Maggi: Weak stories

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    ‘Spreading happiness’ is an interesting platform for Maggi. Going beyond just the fast food narrative, the new ad tries to bring out people’s happy association with Maggi noodles. So as to build an emotional connect with the brand. The theme is: ‘Meri Maggi – 2 minute mein khushiyan’.

     

    The commercial features Amitabh Bachchan as the host, as we watch vignettes of junta’s happy Maggi moments. A hungry biker is fed Maggi by a stranger woman. Some kids use candles to cook Maggi. A bahu wins over her in-laws’ affection by serving them Maggi (really?). These are supposed to be authentic consumer stories. And Big B dutifully invites viewers to send in their own Maggi tales, which will be shared with everyone.

     

    While the intent is right… Maggi is an old brand and it needs to build bonds with consumers to stay relevant in their lives… the execution left me totally unmoved. The Maggi tales/moments/whatever need to have some adrenalin, some energy and most importantly, a surprise element. If they remain at the basic level, which currently is the case, the communication isn’t able to do its job. Because the emotional quotient is very weak. And yes, Bachchan plays an over-paid prop in the commercial.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmE4xnWoTQ4[/youtube]

    We need touching, heart-felt stories, dear Maggi. Cook them up if you can’t find real ones. And take your time, you don’t need to do it in two minutes. Just like good food, good things take time to happen. 🙂

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. Right idea. Let down by very average execution.

     

  • This commercial works for me. Mainly because Mr HCL isn't shown using technology to provide a solution, he uses ingenuity

    Debrief: HCL: Fresh and entertaining

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    HCL is back with its Mr HCL and Mr Banker campaign. The positioning is the same as before: ‘Technology that touches lives’. But innovation is at the heart of the new commercial.

     

    This time the two dudes are marooned on a remote island. The banker plays the bumbling idiot, and Mr HCL is, of course, the smart one. The latter uses the banker’s dead cell phone to light a fire on the beach. The smoke is detected by a rescue helicopter, and the two are saved. But not before the banker has made a fool of himself for some quick laughs.

     

    This commercial works for me. Mainly because Mr HCL isn’t shown using technology to provide a solution, he uses ingenuity. Imagine if he had used techno magic to perform the rescue act, the TVC would have become literal and therefore boring. At the same time, this approach projects HCL as an innovative company that’s ready to think out of the box. Ergo, message delivered.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAASVe09VM[/youtube]

    I didn’t much care for the ‘ass on fire’ slapstick stuff, it is much too forced, but our cold techie friends will find this funny, so that’s fine. But why make fun of investment bankers? Are they such morons? This is the only part I don’t quite get.

     

    All in all, an entertaining ad that delivers the message. Also, the Discovery Channel type of a setting, of being rescued from wilderness, adds to the freshness of the communication.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Focused message. Cool delivery.

     

  • Completely stupid work this is. While I appreciate Raymond’s attempt to expand their market share by positioning the brand for all occasions, the ad is totally dull and trite

    Debrief: Raymond’s boring celebration

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The Raymond shop wants the suits to celebrate everyday. Even if they are stuck on potholes or the share prices have crashed or the babus are sitting on their business proposals or their wives have walked out on them. (Okay, all that is my nasty two-bits!). Nothing wrong with the concept per se, so then it’s all left to the execution.

     

    The TVC lives the life of a suit through the week, from Monday to Sunday. It shows how, by wearing the Raymond suit on different occasions, the man makes his life rock. Whether it’s work, partying, chicks… and of course, spending time with parents. The Raymond man is a complete man, you see, and until he obediently touches the feet of the elderly, his week is incomplete.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf5R_fIyZb0[/youtube]

    Completely stupid work this is. While I appreciate Raymond’s attempt to expand their market share by positioning the brand for all occasions, the ad is totally dull and trite. Same old suits, same old corporate meetings, same old moving and shaking… this looks like a commercial from the sixties. And the thakela jingle only manages to pull things down even further.

     

    A complete wash-out in my books. However, I shall add a rider: I am not a suit, so perhaps I don’t understand these pin-stripes. It’s quite possible they like such floozy stuff. In any case, with the general dumbing down that’s happening with Young India, perhaps such work is the order of the day. And I feel very saddened to state this.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Tired and jaded.

     

  • Good, fun stuff. Kids will enjoy it, but more importantly, so will the moms, who are the target audience for Surf Excel

    Debrief: Surf Excel: The power of idea

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Surf Excel is back with another commercial in the long-running ‘Daag achche hain’ campaign. Before I get to the new TVC, must say the idea has worked marvelously for the brand over all these years. It has allowed Surf Excel’s advertising to be different, and it’s quite extendable. A very good example of the importance of idea in advertising.

     

    The commercial features a group of kids playing on a cricket field. A turf war breaks out between two teams (and this is quite usual!). The team consisting of older kids bullies the younger ones. One of the lads is pushed into a dirt puddle. But instead of crying, he smartly uses his dirty clothes to drive the older boys out of the field. Elated, his team mates join in for a dirt fest.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7VyizsCss0[/youtube]

    Good, fun stuff. Kids will enjoy it, but more importantly, so will the moms, who are the target audience for Surf Excel. Also, I like the idea of directly using the stains to win the day; this makes the communication quite powerful. Clearly, ‘Daag achche hain’ is on a roll, and the way it’s panned out since inception, I believe this property will live for a very long time.

     

    My own favourite ad though is still the original brother/sister commercial, but the continuing ads have been cool too.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Smart and humorous

     

  • Reliance needs to ask Anushka Sharma to tone things down. Sooner the better. Let her be spunky, not offensive

    Debrief: Reliance Comm: Girlfriend from hell

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Reliance Communications has been running a campaign to hawk their various mobile products/services. All the ads feature their brand ambassador, movie actress Ms Anushka Sharma. And she does what she does best in every single commercial for all the brands she endorses: to play the feisty, high attitude chick. No issues with that, it’s a persona the actress has created for herself, so it makes sense for brands to exploit it. But in the Reliance campaign, they have gone totally over the top.

     

    What Ms Sharma does, in order to establish Reliance’s superiority over their competitors, is to insult her boyfriend (who uses rival brands). She does this in every single ad in the campaign, but the one for the 3G Tab has pushed things too far. She projects her boyfriend as a total loser; she humiliates him, and then to screw him even more, broadcasts her feelings to all her friends and family members. Any self-respecting chap would want to bury himself in the closet hole.

     

    Let’s get one thing out of the way: I am all for feminism, and girl going one-up over her man is fun stuff, so no issues with that. But I have reservations on militant feminism, where the woman abuses her man, treats him like shit and walks all over him. That’s repulsive, not cute. I am sure there are some wicked women like that out there, but must a mass advertiser feature such a sadistic creature? Does this generate brand goodwill? I seriously doubt it. In fact, I have read quite a few tweets (from women!) that express rage over these ads.

     

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

    Reliance needs to ask Anushka Sharma to tone things down. Sooner the better. Let her be spunky, not offensive.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Nasty, off-putting campaign.

     

     

  • In principle, this is a good concept. However, the execution fails to replicate the magic of ‘Har Ek Friend’

    Debrief: Airtel Internet: Lacks the magic of ‘Har Ek Friend’

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I was looking forward to see what Airtel does to extend their superb ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai’campaign. It was a maha cool idea, and enough has already been said about it. So let’s cut to the new ad for Airtel Internet.

     

    The TVC carries a brand new friendship message: ‘Jo mera hai woh tera hai’. It features youngsters riding around Mumbai on an open-top bus, singing, bonding, enjoying and sharing. The ad also, in a sing-song manner, talks about the constant sharing of pics and updates that happens in the social media. Sharing is at the root of today’s friendships, and that’s the insight the idea rides on.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIuGHTAwi1g[/youtube]

    In principle, this is a good concept. The consumer insight is correct; kids, who are perpetually sharing stuff in the virtual world, would connect with this. However, the execution fails to replicate the magic of ‘Har Ek Friend’. This time the creative is a bit too literal, and ‘Jo mera hai woh tera hai’doesn’t pack in the natural charm of the earlier ad. And the song isn’t catchy. I think the creative team faltered at the last mile on this one, they needed to go a few steps further to weave in magic around sharing.

     

    Anyways, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So let’s see if youngsters get hooked to the new song, and are found sharing it excitedly on the net. Personally, I doubt that’s gonna happen.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2.5. Good insight. But the communication disappoints.

     

  • This campaign will work. Because it's rooted in desi culture, it features situations that are relevant to the lives of those who live in the heartland of India

    Debrief: KBC: The power of knowledge

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Well, yet another season of Kaun Banega Crorepati is on the way. And the ad campaign has already gotten underway. I have always believed that for an old and established show like the KBC, the advertising needs to be really fresh and exciting to generate viewer interest. Especially so, because all things are likely to remain constant with the show’s format, including the host.

     

    This time the ad positioning is ‘Gyaan’. KBC promotes the show on the contestant’s knowledge skills. And on how it serves as the great leveller in life. While the idea doesn’t excite me much – it’s much too close to the previous ‘Koi bhi insaan chhota nahin hota’ – the execution of the new ads shines, and the script is very well written. There are many commercials on air, I watched the one featuring a vernacular lad called Bhaskar, who keeps getting dissed by friends and foes alike for his poor English speaking skills. And of course the girls avoid him as if the chap suffers from deadly measles. The TVC ends with Bhaskar winning 50 lakh rupees on the show, purely on the strength of his general knowledge. And haanji, he goes one-up on all those people who had trashed him all his life.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNGT4mQE92I[/youtube]

    This campaign will work. Because it’s rooted in desi culture, it features situations that are relevant to the lives of those who live in the heartland of India. And indeed these are the folks who form the bulk of KBC’s viewers. In that sense, the campaign is highly focussed and will score big on empathy.

     

    I applaud the ad agency for lifting what is actually a very generic and obvious concept with cool advertising and witty writing.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5 Focussed and funny.

     

     

  • The correct thing would be to construct fairy tales around specific features of Birla Sun Life's plan

    Debrief: Birla Sun Life: What’s different??

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The good thing Birla Sun Life has done for their new ad to promote ‘Recurring Savings Plan’ is to stay away from celebrities. Usually they use excessively wealthy cricketers, but for a middle class (and lower) product like a recurring savings plan, that would have been a huge stretch. However, the creative route they have chosen doesn’t work for me.

     

    The TVC features a combo of live action and animation. A father tells his little son the classic tale of the thirsty crow, who thought differently to fish out water from a pitcher. And by extension, the message is that Birla Sun Life also thinks differently for their customers.

     

    There are two problems with this one. One, most of us have heard of the thirsty crow fable, and therefore there’s zero novelty. And this directly hits the entertainment value of the ad. There are enough fascinating tales in the Jataka series, and many are not known by the masses. Would be a better idea to release a series of animation commercials featuring these little known stories. That would keep the viewers engaged. In any case, this is a low cost approach, therefore production budget should not be an issue.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrG9oF1yUaY[/youtube]

    Second, exactly what makes Birla Sun Life’s scheme different isn’t told to us at all. The correct thing would be to construct fairy tales around specific features of Birla Sun Life’s plan. Right now, I am left tearing my hair out, like in those ketchup commercials: ‘Isme different kya hai, bhaiyya?’ And, er, there is a huge difference between tomato sauce and investment schemes.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. Too broad based and unengaging

     

  • It's single-minded on beauty. It's a surprising solution. But most importantly, the commercial puts jaan into an entirely boring product category

    Debrief: Greenlam: Ati sundar!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Greenlam Laminates is a fun account to work on. The client is quite creative savvy, and this is obvious from the sort of offbeat advertising that happens on this brand. I had the good fortune of working with them during my stint with Lintas,New Delhi, and must say I have a lot of respect for these guys.

     

    Greenlam has released another cool TVC. This one features a gentleman called Shri Saundarya Premi, whose life’s mission is to make this world a more beautiful place. He goes around making sure women get their make-up right, he teaches some rural belles the art of carrying a water pot sensuously, and so on. Finally, when asked what will happen after he’s gone, Shri Premi says the job of beautification will be carried forward by Greenlam Laminates. And that’s when the brand enters the story.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Td9z0g7S2Y[/youtube]

    I like this one. It’s single-minded on beauty. It’s a surprising solution. It’s humorous and entertaining. And the jingle is pretty catchy too. But most importantly, the commercial puts jaan into an entirely boring product category, something that the makers of Greenlam ads have been doing repeatedly.

     

    One really wishes Shri Saundarya Premi pays a visit to dirty Mumbai. We can do with some beautification.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Single-minded and entertaining.

     

  • When the slogan is weak, it’s all left to the interpretation, which has to dazzle, else the ad is sunk.

    Debrief: Lazy creative work, BlackBerry

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    BlackBerry is out with a brand new campaign. The message this time is ‘Action starts here’. I don’t much care for this slogan, it’s too generic and boring. Just about any product can use it, including televisions, cars, deodorants and condoms. Now, when the slogan is weak, it’s all left to the interpretation, which has to dazzle, else the ad is sunk.

     

    After watching the TVC, I was left confused. So I watched it again, and was left even more confused. The treatment is the same old – an array of youngsters doing their individual number. One girl wants to turn the world green, another wants to lose some weight. One dude wants to patao a blushing chick, another wants to be a rock star (wow, how original is that!). And so on and so forth. Finally, the voiceover arrives and grandly declares: Whatever be your action, it starts here.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuE2fzL8nXg[/youtube]

    Totally ridiculous stuff. How exactly does BlackBerry help these guys achieve their objectives, is a mystery. How did the girl change the world? By chatting on BBM? And how did someone lose weight? By reading Shashi Tharoor’s tweets on her slim BlackBerry? Like I said, I am confused. And the treatment is so very sixties. A whole lot of shiny, happy people, with a tired jingle playing in the background.

     

    Dear BlackBerry: I want to remove corruption from this country. How do I do that? By sending a text message to Anna? By asking my pals on Facebook to congregate at Ram Leela maidan? Why can’t I do all this from my Nokia? How will you help me differently? Please do explain!

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 0. Same old, same old stuff.