MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • In the scramble for a piece of the small screen, brands need to remember that the big screen gives them advantages that TV cannot

    The Anchor: 6 reasons brands should not ignore cinema advertising

    By Girish Gupte

     

    #1 When brands advertise in cinema, they get to target a niche audience compared to other traditional media. Niche audience, here, implies people who have purchasing power. Out of a 100 crore population, 40 percent normally spend on weekends in multiplexes and single-screens.

     

    #2 Fair amount of ROI for brands who have advertised in cinema. The cost of a cinema ad and TV ad is almost the same. When you calculate, per-viewer cost in cinema will be slightly higher than that of TV but it is still worth it since your revenue and ROI stood up 2.5-3X.

     

    #3 ‘Jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai’ (what is seen, is sold). If you want people to at least go and have a look at your brand and when you are not targeting every Tom, Dick and Harry, cinema advertising is a platform that the client should be using. Simply because you are targeting a different set of consumers.

     

    #4 People who are brand-conscious prefer knowing about a brand through screen. ITC, which has lots of brands, prefers cinema advertising, and off-screen branding, to reach out to a wider range of people. In case of Blackberry, people know of the brand but how many are ready to spend on it; and how many are aware of the Blackberry stores in their city? They only way these brands can make themselves visible on cinema screens.

     

    #5 Cinema advertising is focused. Audiences cannot change channels or turn it off.

     

    Girish Gupte is General Manager at Nest Media

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad

    AdStrat: What hunger can do to you

    Navneet Virk, Senior Partner-Creative, RK Swamy BBDO

     

    Name of the Campaign/Ad: Snickers- ‘Hunger Acche Acchon ko Badal Deta hai’

     

    The Brief: Launch the Snickers brand from Mars International India Pvt Ltd with the new communication.

     

    Research insights: Part of the global Snickers ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ campaign, this ad delivers the message of Snickers being the ultimate hunger satisfier. The idea stems from the universal truth that we are not quite ourselves when we are hungry. And this story of transformation told with quiet exaggeration with the appearance of Rekha in her first ever ad and the comeback shot with Urmila Matondkar.

     

    The thought process behind the creative: Navneet Virk, Senior Partner-Creative, RK Swamy BBDO added, “In a country where every other ad features a celebrity we had to make sure we had a list of never-befores … and the magic is in the concept. It allowed us to do that – to cast a celebrity never seen in an ad, and certainly not expected to be seen in an irreverent advert trying to sell a chocolate bar to hungry young guys! We wanted to make sure the ad is as unique as the taste of the Snickers bar itself.”

     

    Media vehicles chosen: Television / Print / Radio

     

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad: The film opens on a group of young lads en route to a cricket match. As they exchange banter about the sport, they are interrupted by an annoyed woman’s voice. Startled, they look back and see Rekha in the car with them. She goes on to chastise them about how their constant chatter is irritating, what it will take for them to shut up and she goes on to attack her fellow passenger with his stinky gloves. The driver asks if she’s gone mad, to which she mockingly responds that she has and continues with her ranting. That’s when one of the guys offers her a bar of Snickers. Why should I eat this, she asks as she grabs it. He tells her that when she’s hungry, she turns into a ‘heroine’. She bites in. Are you ok now, the friend turns and asks. In Rekha’s place is one of their friends, who has transformed back to his normal self. Ok, he says, nodding in relief.

     

    We come back to see that the gang has reached the cricket ground and are rushing towards the field when they are interrupted by incessant honking. In place of the driver is Urmila Matondkar, throwing a tantrum and asking them whether she is their driver and then refuses to play with them. As the friends come up to offer another Snickers to their hungry friend, we see the packshot and line ‘Hungry? Grab A Snickers!’.

     

    The treatment of the idea strikes fine balance between global idea and local connect with the context – to leverage our love for cricket but in a newer way, to leverage a Bollywood Indian-ness, and yet keep to Snickers’ tonality. The idea was to tell the story in a less ‘addy’ way…hence the choice of a film director like Imtiaz Ali.

     

    What is the differentiating factor about the ad? Virk said, “Many many things are different about this ad. The idea is in itself quite unique – it’s simple but surprising. It’s different in the kind of celebrities we have casted. When every other ad we see features a celebrity, we had to make sure we brought in actors who have never been seen in ads before. And thanks to the concept itself, it allowed us to cast people you would not expect to see in an ad targeting young men. The other truth is that the story is not about the celebrities – it’s about the brand’s unique benefit.”

     

    Client comment: Punyabrata Dashsharma, Brand Manager, Mars International India Pvt Ltd, “Our core proposition is that when you’re off your game, nothing sorts you out better than a bar of Snickers. And we had to say that in an Indian context, with communication that is simple and distinctive and clutter breaking.”

     

  • I am fully with the rest of the journalists who believe that Zee did the right thing. Even if the case is in court, the janata has every right to hear the man's version

    Anil Thakraney: Zee News’s coup

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    There are two distinct points of view on whether Zee News did the right thing with their one-on-one interview with the Delhi rape victim’s friend, who accompanied her on the bus. The Delhi cops are naturally pissed off and have threatened legal action against the channel. That’s because the cops came out quite pathetically in the said interview.

     

    Some media folks believe that Zee should not have carried this story. One, because the case is sub-judice and the friend’s (he’s the key witness) testimony in public may affect the trial. Two, they believe it wasn’t morally correct to exploit an injured victim for TRPs and make him relive the tragedy all over again, that too just a few weeks after it happened. While there might be a point in this line of thinking, I smell something burning out here. Because this was a journalistic coup for the channel.

     

    I am fully with the rest of the journalists who believe that Zee did the right thing. Even if the case is in court, the janata has every right to hear the man’s version. Because he had lived that very unfortunate situation, he knows better than anyone else on what exactly transpired that night. And what he said is pretty alarming. It was not just the criminals who did the rape victim wrong, the hangers-on who stood and did nothing and the cops who took their sweet time to react are also party to the girl’s death. These issues have to be exposed and discussed in public, because only then will real change happen. It won’t happen just by punishing the culprits.

     

    I also liked the way the anchor handled the interview. It was professional and to the point, minus the hysteria (unusual for a Hindi news channel). And the anchor very rightly kept away from the rape itself. In fact, the victim wasn’t discussed much, and this we must appreciate. All in all, full marks to Zee News. This was a much needed effort after the channel’s senior personnel had been accused of trading news for money on another story.

     

    And Zee News should ignore the nay-sayers. Every single media brand in this nation would have killed for this interview.

     

    ***

     

    PS: I am a little confused on why the media chose to keep the rape victim’s identity a secret long after she had passed away. This not only doesn’t make sense, it’s unfair to Pratibha Murthy, Nayana Pujari, Jyotikumari Choudhary and many others. And if you are wondering who these girls are, then that saddens me. It is the loss of public memory that one finds most depressing.

     

  • Coca-Cola launches campaign with real characters in winter to encourage consumption all-year round

    Coke gets real to boost drinking of ‘thanda’ in ‘thandi’

    By Rajiv Singh

     

    Coke’s New Year resolution, it would seem, is to go ‘crazy’ in its quest to spread happiness. The beverages major last Thursday rolled out its latest TV commercial for India, its second successive winter campaign in the country; but, for the first time, it features real-life characters.

     

    Conceptualized by McCann Erickson, the campaign titled ‘Crazy for Happiness’ showcases people who are committed to doing good deeds. It is an extension of Coke’s ‘Ummeed wali dhoop, sunshine waali aasha’ campaign that rolled out in December 2011, exhorting people to believe in a better tomorrow.

     

    The TVC has a teenage singer from Indore who has been performing stage shows across the country to collect money for treating sick children.

     

    She is followed by a Mumbai lad who loves stray dogs, and spends a chunk of his salary to feed over 30 dogs every day.

     

    Prasoon Joshi

    “Coke has always been called the Real Thing,” says Prasoon Joshi, CEO and chief creative officer of McCann World Group India. So, it’s no surprise that it has used real-life characters, he adds. “When the values of helping and being kind have taken a backseat, why not celebrate being nice to each other,” he says, explaining the theme of the campaign.

     

    Not only is Coke determined to make people happy, it also appears keen to improve their lives. In today’s world, people have become more insular and self-focused, says Anupama Ahluwalia, vice president, marketing, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia. “The ‘I’ has stopped caring for the ‘WE’ and doing something good for a stranger is often considered crazy,” she points out.

     

    But why has Coke chosen the chill of winter – the ad hit the small screen a day after New Delhi recorded its coldest day in decades – to drive home its altruistic messages? After all, traditionally it’s the onset of summer that sets the cola majors into overdrive with fresh war chests and mint-new campaigns.

     

    “It’s not about seasonality anymore,” contends Ms Ahluwalia. “With changing lifestyles, consumption of cola happens round the year, and we have been looking at various occasions for connecting with the consumers.” She, however, refuses to divulge the sales figures for Coke during winters.

     

    Marketing experts agree that the new campaign could be a deliberate attempt to de-seasonalize the brand and give it a distinct brand personality.

     

    While the ‘Open Happiness’ ads effectively set the stage in this context, the latest campaign infuses life into the brand by way of giving it a distinct personality, says Smitha Sarma Ranganathan, a brand communication specialist who teaches marketing management at IBS Bangalore. “After all, every brand is a story and every story needs a well-defined stage and attractive characters that come alive with every narration,” she adds.

     

    Analysts say typically 40% of cola consumption in India happens during summer, and the rest takes place during the festive season, starting with Diwali.

     

    With per capita consumption of Coca-Cola beverages in India at 12 servings a year, as compared to 403 in US, the Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered beverages maker has been trying to create occasions to push its brands and, in the process, close the gap with arch rival Pepsi, say marketing experts.

     

    The ‘Coke and meals campaign’, which talks about happiness around mealtimes, is one of the ways in which the brand is trying to do a Cadbury – which has its ‘kuch meetha ho jaaye’ slogan – and encourage consumption on virtually every occasion, says Subrata Chakraborty, a Delhi-based brand expert and head of ad agency Brand Curry.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • In its third year, the Olive Crown Awards from the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) is inviting entries from across Asia

    Olive Crown awards call for entries from across Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its third year, the Olive Crown Awards from the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) is on its way to becoming a global award for creative excellence in communicating sustainability. The added feature this year is that the Olive Crown will invite entries from across Asia.

     

    The Olive Crown Awards were launched by IAA at the Goafest 2011 two years ago. It blossomed into a large well-attended stand-alone event in Mumbai last year. With the entries expected to be received from many countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia etc in Asia this time, winning an Olive Crown is likely to be even more prestigious.

     

    Srinivasan Swamy, Chairman, R K Swamy BBDO and President IAA, stated, “These awards which salute creativity in green advertising really serve to bring sustainability to the top of the strategic agenda. Marketers have been realizing that sustainability is a key differentiator these days and this has helped make these awards popular.”

     

    MG Parameswaran, Executive Director DraftFCB Ulka and Chairman Olive Crown Awards Committee, added, “The Olive Crowns have found universal acceptance amongst the creative community and this year too, we would be having a jury consisting of some of the finest and most respected names in the creative fraternity. Keeping in mind that these awards are treated almost as a cause, we do not charge any fee for the entries. We are glad we have a mature sponsor in the form of 9X Media.”

     

    The Call for Entries form can be downloaded from http://www.iaaindiachapter.org and the last date for entries is 31-1-2013. The presentation ceremony will be in the first half of March in Mumbai.

     

  • Havells, which usually does funny or caring ads, has decided to jump onto the public service bandwagon for their new wires commercial. And they have failed to generate any electricity

    Debrief: Havells Wires: Creative spark missing

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Okay, so Havells, which usually does funny or caring ads, has decided to jump onto the public service bandwagon for their new wires commercial. And they have failed to generate any electricity.

     

    The TVC features a living room, with a dad and his little kid watching a Hindi news channel. A neta is seen ranting about the various burning problems facing the nation. Hatred, corruption, unemployment, etc. The same garbage that’s dished out to us during TV dinners. The maha bored kid gets a brainwave. He wraps the national flag around a ‘fire-proof’ Havells wire and proudly presents it to his impressed daddy. The nation is saved from ‘fire’!

     

    Now, I am quite aware what the Havells team is trying to do out here, and their intention is noble. Which is to ensure that a low-involvement product gets quickly noticed through smart alec advertising. However, this particular treatment lacks fire. For one, the association of the Indian flag wrapped around the wire with the efficacy of the wire is tenuous. It took me some exposures to comprehend what was going on. Then, using ‘burning’ national issues as a metaphor for fire protection is a bit childish, to say the least. I hate silly puns anyway. Puns are usually used by writers when an idea is missing. Lastly, I am quite tired of the precocious child thingy, it’s getting on my nerves.

     

    Yup, this commercial is basically burnt-out creative work.

     

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

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 1. Stupid pun. Forced association.

     

  • Nakul Chopra, CEO – South Asia, Publicis who was part of the 11-member core committee team in 2012, will take over as chairman of the organising committee for Goafest 2013

    Nakul Chopra to lead Goafest organising committee

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nakul Chopra
    Arvind Sharma

    After achieving great success as chairman of the organising committee of Goafest 2012, Arvind Sharma, chairman, Indian sub-continent of Leo Burnett and president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) will be passing on the mantle to Nakul Chopra, CEO – South Asia, Publicis.

     

    While a press meet has been convened on January 10 this week to announce details of the festival and also introduce the committee in-charge, according to sources, the event is scheduled to be held in the latter half of April 2013.

     

    As chairman, Mr Sharma has had a remarkable stint heading India’s premier advertising festival. To bring about a differentiation, the organising committee for Goafest 2012 had announced the launch of a unique programme called ‘Marketing Wizards’. The programme was a first-of-its-kind initiative for facilitating inclusion of young marketers (under the age of 30 years) from the member companies of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA). Apart from this, Arvind Sharma and team had heightened the excitement levels last year by including SAARC member countries comprising Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to partake of the festival offerings.

     

    It will be interesting to see what the new festival committee members have in store for delegates for 2013, especially what will be the underlying core theme of the festival. Mr Chopra  was part of the 11-member core committee team in 2012.

     

  • Triton Communications has reintroduced Ralco Tyres, one of India's largest manufacturers of bicycle and automobile tyres, into the competitive tyre market, with wrestler Sushil Kumar as its champion

    Triton makes tyre brand Ralson flex its muscles

    By A Correspondent

     

    Triton Communications has reintroduced Ralco Tyres, one of India’s largest manufacturers of bicycle and automobile tyres, into the competitive tyre market, with more grip than ever.

     

    Announcing this, Yogeshwar Sharma, DGM – Advertising & PR, Ralson India Limited, underlined that brand Ralco/Ralson and champion wrestler Sushil Kumar complement each other quite perfectly; with strength, endurance and grip as attributes that qualify both the champions. Speaking about the association, Sushil Kumar added, “Aji hamare India ki sadkein akhade se kam thode hi hain.” – Indian roads are no less than the wrestling ring. “Ek akhade ka toh champion main hoon. Aur sadak wale akhade ka champion hai Ralco.” – I am the champion of the wrestling ring. And Ralco, the champion of the Indian roads.”

     

  • Roy Menezes joins OgilvyOne, Mumbai, as Senioe Creative Director. He will partner Burzin Mehta to lead digital creative for OgilvyOne, Mumbai

    OgilvyOne names one more Senior CD for its Mumbai team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Roy Menezes and Burzin Mehta

    Roy Menezes joins OgilvyOne, Mumbai, as Senioe Creative Director. He will partner Burzin Mehta to lead digital creative for OgilvyOne, Mumbai.

     

    Mr Menezes has close to 14 years in building truly integrated and engaging communication on brands such as Audi, Hippo and Idea Cellular and Reliance Mobile. He has led interactive teams in Tribal DDB, Creativeland Asia and Commonwealth before joining OgilvyOne.

     

     

     

    Kunal Jeswani

    Kunal Jeswani, Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy India, said, “With an award portfolio of digital work that cuts across The Abby’s, The Effie’s, The Yahoo Big Idea Chair Awards, The Asia Mobile Marketing Awards and The Campaign India Digital Media Awards, Roy is expected to cement OgilvyOne’s position as the leading digital creative agency in India.”

     

     

  • How long will we allow ourselves to get fooled by these frauds? How long will we allow the world to laugh at our expense? How long will we let these charlatans use us?

    Anil Thakraney: Block the gas bags

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Every second day, since the Delhi rape and murder, a deranged neta or a phony baba rears his ugly head. And lets off a wind blast that smells pretty foul. It’s okay, I guess. The Constitution allows every individual the right to free speech, and that includes farting, one might presume. The problem is: I am now beginning to suspect these dolts aren’t really crazy, they are using the gassy opportunity to acquire instant infamy. And notoriety sells too, we know that. It’s much more valuable than oblivion.

     

    So, the familiar pattern unfolds: The man farts. The social media goes into a tizzy. The news channels go ballistic. Arnab Goswami and gang find juicy fodder to feed on. Screaming and jostling happens on TV debates. Next day, the newspapers do cover stories on it. The international media now gets interested; anything that makes Indians look like medieval fools sells like hot cakes in the west. On the weekend, the news mags dutifully carry forward this trash. And Mr Gas Bag, within a single week, turns into a huge celebrity. Phony babas acquire more followers. And opportunistic netas get quick OTS. And this sequence repeats itself.

     

    How long will we allow ourselves to get fooled by these frauds? How long will we allow the world to laugh at our expense? How long will we let these charlatans use us? In fact, I must add here that some of the farts belted out by these buggers are criminal in nature, they abet rape. The media needs to ponder on this subject. My own view is that it’s time to put a stop to this crap. These gas bags must be banned from the mass media. Not able to air their stink, these sods will quit farting. As simple as that. That indeed might be the best way to stop this weekly nonsense.

     

    And all the media time and space must be devoted to the rape trial itself. Even if it’s being held in-camera. We take our eyes off the ball, and the rotten system will slowdown once again.

     

    ***

     

    PS: I couldn’t stop sniggering at this one. It appears the western world has decided to ape our desi ad guys. This is Brad Pitt endorsing Chanel No 5. Don’t miss the usual ad clichés, the ultra boring script and zero brand relevance. We get to watch this sort of rubbish celeb advertising all the time. People, our ‘talent’ is spreading far and wide.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF8NAyqxGfk[/youtube]

     

  • Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer and co-founder of Taproot India, is joining Adfest as Jury President of the Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus at the 2013 Lotus Awards, which run from March 17 to 19 in Pattaya, Thailand

    Paddy joins Adfest 2013 as jury president, Design Lotus & Print Craft Lotus

    By A Correspondent

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer and co-founder of Taproot India, is joining Adfest as Jury President of the Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus at the 2013 Lotus Awards, which run from March 17 to 19 in Pattaya, Thailand.

     

    “The Asian region has had a love affair with craft for years. We have witnessed some wonderful marriages of the modern and the ethnic. Asians have a sea of traditions to delve into, and this region does not shy away from fearless experiments when it comes to art, craft and design,” says Padhi.

     

    Popularly known as ‘Paddy’, Padhi started his advertising career 18 years ago. After a 10-year stint at Leo Burnetthe startedTaproot India, which ranked amongst the Top 20 Independent Agencies in the world in a recent Cannes Survey, and was the Best Performing Agency from India at Adfest 2010.

     

    “Paddy’s credentials as an art director and designer are formidable. He has been involved in some of India’s most celebrated print campaigns, which makes him our undisputed choice as Jury President of Design and Print Craft in 2013,” says Jimmy Lam, President of Adfest.

     

    Taproot’s campaign for Conqueror Papers was the 11th most awarded print campaign in the world in the Gunn Report 2011.

     

    Padhi also holds the record for the most number of Cannes Lions won by an individual Indian creative from India, and was also voted the 3rd Best Art Director in the World in a survey conducted by Campaign UK in 2009-2010.

     

    “Adfest is one of the oldest, most reputed and celebrated award shows this region has. It values all things uniquely Asian – be it Asian culture, traditions, insights or behavior. Its delightful venue near the beaches of Pattaya just adds to its charm. To have one’s work applauded in such a vibrant atmosphere is amazing indeed,” he says.

     

  • R K Swamy Media Group has won the media duties for Fortis Hospitals (South) in a multi-agency pitch

    R K Swamy Media Group wins Fortis Hospitals

    By A Correspondent

     

    R K Swamy Media Group has won the media duties for Fortis Hospitals (South) in a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Confirming the news, Karthik Rajgopal, Chief-Sales & Marketing (South & East) Fortis Hospitals, said, “We welcome R K Swamy Media Group as our media partner and look forward to their superior media solutions in helping build our brand value further. We are poised for the next level of growth with major expansion plans and we are confident that R K Swamy Media Group will add value in achieving our goals”.

     

    Sandeep Sharma, President, R K Swamy Media Group, said, “We are extremely delighted and excited to be the chosen partner of Fortis Hospitals. We thank the management of Fortis Hospitals for their faith in us and are confident of adding disproportionate value to their media investments. We also believe this is a testimony of our passion to deliver the best for our clients. Our Bangalore and Chennai teams will spearhead this partnership.”

     

    With 39 hospitals across the country, over 5,000 beds and 48,000 surgical procedures done in the last one year alone, Fortis is one of India’s largest and Asia’s fastest growing healthcare networks.

     

    R K Swamy Media Group comprising Media Direction, Hansa Media Services, Hansa Outdoor and Digital Direction is a part of R K Swamy HANSA, a leading Marketing Communications and Services Group, serving over 150 companies in India and the USA. With around 1200+ professionals, the Group offers Creative and Media services, Market Research, Direct/CRM & Advanced Analytics, Events and Activation, Healthcare Communication, PR, Social & Rural Communication and more.