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!
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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
Today morning my maid asked for a loan of a thousand bucks. And when I gently enquired about the reason behind the urgent need, she very sadly replied: “Sir, set-top box lene ka hai. Nahin toh TV band ho jaayega.”
Yes, she’s alarmed. Because the threatening ads keep pouring in. And as the D-Day gets closer, their frequency has shot up. We in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are warned that if we don’t go digital by the end of this month, there will be a black out on the idiot box. And as you can imagine, there’s a mad scramble for the set=top boxes. Given the wayIndiaoperates, there will be mayhem in the last week of June, because most of us do things at the last moment, that’s our culture. And I shan’t be surprised if cable operators start hawking the boxes in black. That too is our culture.
Here’s the link to the detailed story on this subject done by mxmindia, which indicates the threat may be pushed by a few months:
On the face of it, the government is desperate for a switch from analogue to digital for technical and aesthetic reasons. And because the very sensitive government of ours (ROTFL!) wants us to enjoy better picture quality. (To be honest, it’s best to watch most of our heavyweight netas via inferior quality transmission.) And all this even as a vast majority of the people in this nation is quite cool with the analogue signal. Not just that. The poor are struggling to pay for the set-top boxes. And the elderly citizens are worried about having to learn new tricks in their sunset years.
Now, I don’t quite understand the technological reasons behind digitization becoming mandatory. What I do want to know is this: Why can’t the citizens of this free country be given the option? So that people desirous of better picture quality can switch to the digital mode. And those who are happy with analogue, can stay with it. As far as rate structures goes, surely the concerned ministry and TRAI can work out rate cards in consultation with the various cable operators.
Here’s my own feeling: I suspect digitization is being made compulsory because the set top-box makers are about to run into some serious dosh. How all that moolah will be divided, I leave for you to imagine.
PS: A fantastic way to demonstrate the might of the aam junta. Created by TBWA Paris for Amnesty International, the film highlights how signature campaigns work effectively in fighting crimes committed by those in positions of power. Hard hitting!
Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist, commentator and adman. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.
You just cannot ignore the impish Amul girl with her chubby cheeks and red-polka dot dress. Don’t go by her diminutive form as the li’l one has a take on everything that is going around her. Being created in 1966, the Amul girl is still going strong after more than four decades. It is the perfect example for all those following advertising how a simple idea and even simpler words can catch the fancy of a nation. Not to forget that the Amul ads are not a critique of a nation but also a masterpiece in advertising for people across the globe to study and understand.
It all started in 1966 when Sylvester da Cunha was entrusted with the responsibility of working on Amul and they came up with the Amul girl which actually was in answer to the rival brand’s mascot. When it started, Amul hoardings which grace the skyline of many cities today were intelligent play of words that got the people intrigued and wait for the next hoardings. However, slowly these ads changed and morphed into being mouthpiece of a nation and bringing a take on happenings not just in India but across.
When asked if he ever expected that what he was creating in 1966 would become an advertising icon and continue for so long, Mr da Cunha says: “I think in 1966, we knew that we had created something special in both the Amul girl as well as the tag line, Utterly Butterly Delicious – but a good creative product requires inspired clients to believe in it – Dr Kurien believed in this campaign in 1966, and Mr RS Sodhi believes in this campaign in 2012. That’s why this campaign has lasted as long as 47 years!”
So what is it that when in today’s advertising people are always bringing in new faces even if the message remains the same but the Amul girl never seems dated.”I think the Amul Girl, has never seemed dated, because we invest time and creativity in her,” reasons Mr da Cunha. “Plus we can see what a universally loved cartoon character she is. We strive every single day, to keep her young and relevant.”
Rahul da Cunha
Rahul da Cunha, the Managing Director and Creative Head, daCunha Communications who has taken over from his father Sylvester and has been working on Amul advertising for a while added, “No, I don’t think the Amul girl will be dated as long as we keep her contemporary and keep the topics covered relevant. One thing I’ve learnt, you are only as good as your last creative.”
The launch of Amul’s India
The Amul ads are no less than a study on modern day India thus DY Works and Harper Collins along with daCunha Communications has come out with the Amul book titled Amul’s India which is an anthology of Amul advertising plus eminent people giving their take of the advertising.
Says Rahul da Cunha on the reason behind coming up with the book, “As an agency we’ve been wanting to bring out book tracking this amazing campaign, its history, controversies, anecdotes and the rest associated with the book. Attempts with several publishers failed and then DY Works and Harper Collins came along, and the fit seemed right.”
The book took about a year to take shape and be published. The objective is to track the amazing history of the Amul outdoor campaign from its inception to its present avatar thereby tracking the history of India
Alpana Parida, President, DY Works commenting on the design aspects that were kept in mind while working on this book, said, “The book had to be accessible to a large number of readers and thus we had to keep it a paperback. But we were clear that we needed a unique design element that would hold the diverse essays from different personalities on various topics together. The polka dots were a clear winner as a continuity device - as they are unique to the Amul girl. You do not see another brand in India using these red dots. The design had to do justice to the hoardings and not over power them. Eventually, we believe the design has enhanced the content of the book greatly.”
She added that for her the chasing up all the celebrity contributors was the toughest part. She said, “There were many who refused as there was no remuneration for the writers. There were many who were so difficult to get hold of. We would have loved to get Aamir Khan, SRK, Ratan Tata and Rahul Gandhi - but our attempts to reach them were unsuccessful. To our utter delight, Amitabh Bachchan was the easiest to get hold of - and he agreed to contribute to the book immediately. Rajdeep Sardesai wrote a beautiful piece with a personal memory about an obituary to his dad. Harsha Bhogle was all over the map and it was hard to pin him down - but he graciously obliged somewhere between London and Australia. And there were many days spent with Santosh Desai to shape the definitive content for the essay that would be central to the book. Without doubt - the book had more moving parts than pages! We pulled it off eventually.”
The book will be officially launched on June 11 in Mumbai and June 13 in Delhi.
While Amul advertising is being continued for decades has there been a change in the way the advertising is being done today? Mr Sylvester da Cunha points out that there are two main differences that he can clearly see. One is that the hoardings are being created at a much faster pace. In the ’70s there was one hoarding every month or so and now they are done almost daily for some city or the other. Another is that as we live in rougher, edgier, more controversial times, the hoardings and the messages too are reflecting these times.
Adds Mr Rahul da Cunha, “I think two things have changed one definitely is our speed of response to an event has become faster. And the tone of our hoardings has become edgier. We are not scared to take on an issue however controversial. We are careful however not to be malicious.”
On the periodicity, he says, “Actually it’s not every week, it’s now almost every two days. So much is now happening in our crazy country – be it politics, sport, Bollywood, popular culture and we’d like to comment on all of it. So one new hoarding leaves the agency almost every day.”
Recalling one of the recent incident that happened, Mr Sylvester da Cunha says, “The funniest incident was in 2009, when we ran a hoarding criticising Satyam for the terrible scam it had wreaked on the Indian public, to the tune of Rs 7000 crore. We said ‘Satyam Sharam Scandalam’ and we got a letter from the Satyam board, telling us how ‘wounded’ they were, and if we didn’t withdraw the hoarding, they would advise all Satyam employees to stop using Amul products! We were at a loss of words.”
Mr Rahul da Cunha picks up his three favorite Amul ads which include ‘Victoria Termianted” when VT got renamed, the obituary we did recently for cartoonist Mario Miranda and the one done recently on Mamata Banerjee’s response to the controversial cartoon ‘KOLKARTOON!”
Giving her take on Amul ads, Priti Nair of Curry-Nation, says, “I feel they take a nice lopsided view of the mess we face day in and day out. They at least put a smile on hopeless situations because quite frankly there is nothing you can do but feel angry and frustrated by the stupidity you fall prey to. Their potshots at least lighten you up most times.”
“Also as advertisers we know if Amul picks on a topic it is the hot topic or for instance if they pick on your ad you feel quite happy. I know we felt damn good when they did a spoof on Balbir Pasha and Manjula. That’s the power of the communication medium they have chosen and stuck to for years,” adds Ms Nair.
Says Anil Nair, CEO and Managing Partner, Law & Kenneth India, “Amul is the only brand which has truly done what many brands have preached about, ‘connecting with consumers life beyond making transactions’. Advertising is applied anthropology and hence (should) reflect the society as it evolves. Amul hoardings have done that for years, consistently. Amul hoardings bring huge credibility and pride to an otherwise frowned upon industry. Am a fan… No, am an eternal fan.”
Prathap Suthan, Founding Member of Bang in the Middle, believes Amul manages to always come up with a perspective that brightens up the subject. “There is an innocence that is welcome no matter the event or subject. A spot of optimism that works like charm, and often disarms the audience,” Mr Suthan says. “With its almost topical and quick changes, it adds to the daily relevance that butter is all about. So much so, like the butter it sells, its advertising has grown to become almost a habit for India.”
FMCG companies managed to rationalize their costs this March quarter. And one of the areas where they have managed to cut corners is the area of advertisement and promotion expenses.
For 24 FMCG companies, the selling expenses as a proportion of net sales stood at 12.1 per cent – the lowest in at least the last ten quarters. This proportion stood at 12.9 per cent in the December quarter, 12.6 per cent in the September quarter and 12.7 per cent in the June quarter. Lower spend on advertising has helped companies to fairly protect and in some cases boost their operating margins. Most companies focussed more on below-the-line marketing activities rather than above the line ones.
HUL has managed to bring down its ad spends by 100 bps from the previous year to 12 per cent of its total domestic sales for the quarter ended March 2012. ITC’s other expenses (comprising its expenditure on advertisement and promotion) stood at 22.6 per cent of net sales – lower than 22.9 per cent in the preceding December quarter.
Another MNC, Colgate spent 8.5 per cent of its revenues on advertising – the lowest in the last four quarters. It spent 16 per cent and above in the first three quarters of this fiscal on advertising and promotion. Marico was one of the few companies whose advertisement and promotion spend was exceptionally higher at 14.3 per cent of its net revenues.
Bharti Airtel recently announced that it has bagged exclusive video rights on the mobile platform for the biggest soccer extravaganza of the year, UEFA Euro 2012. With this, 183 million plus Airtel mobile customers acrossIndiawill have exclusive access to mobile and video content from UEFA Euro 2012 and choose from a wide range of services such as Go! Go! Go! Contest, live feeds, SMS or MMS score updates, games, mobile magazine and so on.
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship or UEFA Euro 2012 will be held from June 8 to July 1, 2012. Europe’s top 16 soccer teams (including Germany, England and Portugal) will be fighting for the Euro 2012 winner’s title during 19 power-packed matches that will span across 21 days.
The exclusive video rights for UEFA Euro 2012 continues to reinforce Airtel’s long term commitment to soccer and other sports that appeal to discerning urban youth audience.
92.7 BIG FM recently announced the BIG Tamil Melody Awards 2012, a platform which will honour singers and musicians in various categories who crafted the year’s super hit numbers. Music directors Bharathwaj and James Vasanthan, along with singer Unnikrishnan will be the jury members for the BIG Tamil Melody Awards 2012.
The Award lineup will have a total of 16 categories of awards. 15 popular categories will be nominated by the jury and thereafter decided by listeners through a multi-media voting campaign. The remaining award will be conferred by the honourable Jury directly.
The radio station has put together a package called the ‘BIG Karaoke Station’ for its listeners who will nominate their musicians of the year not by voting, but by singing the year’s super hit songs.
As an added incentive to its passionate listeners, 92.7 BIG FM has provided them an opportunity to sing along with the top singers and music directors at the BIG Karaoke Station, and the top 5 listeners, selected both on-air and on-ground, will get an opportunity to be mentored by the nominee musicians of the year for the music awards. The winner will sing along with the mentors at the BIG FM Studio.
Renowned singer and actor SP Balasubramanian has been announced as the face of the Awards, which are part of the premier radio station’s national initiative across seven regional markets.
Brandlogist, a boutique digital branding consultancy, has just won the digital mandate for RC Cola and social media mandate, including aspects such as social platforms, Bloggers program , social@mobile and influencers outreach, for Zee TV’s ‘Phir Subah Hogi’.
For RC Cola the Indian market is literally a challenge with a far smaller market penetration, low awareness and smaller budget. They have decided to approach this challenge with an interesting perspective, taking digital as the primary driving platform and have chosen Brandlogist to help them strategize and execute this strategy.
As Saurabh Parmar CEO, Brandlogist said: “That’s where we come in with an active engagement on the digital medium through which the communication extends to consumers across platforms and mediums.”
Commenting on the reason for choosing Brandlogist, Mohit Khattar, Brand Head, Iceberg Foods Limited said: “It was the company’s strategy to build on a wider consumer base with the involvement of its audience and to create an experiential marketing environment by sharing the heritage and essence of the brand RC Cola. We as a company were looking for young, creative, fresh and intelligent team who are among our target audience and would represent the sentiments and can draft the likes of the consumers. With Brandlogist we ascertained their passion for work, free flow of ideas and a sense of responsibility.”
Phir Subah Hogi, Brandlogist’s second recent win is Zee’s new prime time show. Looking at the nature of the content, social media plays an important role to connect with people around the cause.
Commenting on the two wins, Mr Parmar said: “It’s been 5 months but the idea of communication strategy which is new age yet not constrained by mediums is definitely having an impact. When we go to a client and say that it’s not about having x number of Facebook likes or people filing in a lead generation form without psycho-graphically analyzing that customer set or even getting a certain number of people to tweet your hashtag, but rather about doing something interesting, relevant enough so that they actually connect with you does raise a few eyebrows but has also got us the right accounts where clients have been perceptive enough.”
The online travel & tourism industry is set for unprecedented growth, provided payment and logistic issues are resolved. Speaking at the 4th IAMAI Travel & Tourism Summit, Himanshu Singh, Managing Director, Travelocity India & Chairman, Digital Commerce Committee, IAMAI, said: “The total travel market is around $800 billion and the online share is growing rapidly. Payment and logistics still pose a challenge and success parameter of business is about cracking these problems. These problems that we are facing today have to be countered by all players of the industry together, and this will help the market grow exponentially.”
As per IAMAI ‘Internet Economy Watch’ data, e-ticketing continues to grow with irctc.com recording 5.56 million bookings in April 2012 as compared to 2.26 million bookings in April 2011. Airlines recorded 1.92 million bookings in April 2012, as compared to 1.01 million bookings in April 2011. The data for online travel is based on absolute numbers captured from nine websites.
Speakers at the summit were united in their view that while, at present, group travel is the key to growth, the future will be more for the individual traveller. Sharing her thoughts, Swati Moha, Vice Pesident – Programming & Operations, Fox International, said: “While group travel is in vogue, there is a huge spurt in customized individual travel interests. People are looking for less explored destinations than before and with internet penetration on the rise, the industry is set for robust growth.”
Globally travel & tourism market is pegged at about US$ 800 billion but the online market share has not reached its optimal point. With internet users inIndiaat around 121 million, focus is now to create a solution for travellers to plan travel online. “Innovative marketing strategy coupled with value additions will sway travellers to book hotels and tickets online”, said Devdutta Banerjee, Regional Director – Revenue Management, India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He added: “Online is the platform for growth. Integration of logistics and services is necessary to fuel further growth.”
BBC Knowledge has launched a new campaign -‘There’s no telling what knowledge can do’ – directed at parents. The crux of the campaign hinges on the fact that the magazine – with its focus on science, history and nature – gives the child a head-start in today’s competitive world. It has been timed with the reopening of schools in major metros.
This is the first BBC Knowledge campaign targeted at parents; the campaign will run across mainstream dailies, magazines, outdoors and digital. There will be dedicated parent-child contests run by the magazine for this campaign.
“The campaign, which is targeted at parents, reminds them that knowledge is the only edge they can give their kids. And that it’s not an option, but a prerequisite today, when it has become as important to outdo the competition as it has to outdo yourself ,” said Ayesha Bedi, Creative Group Head, DDB Mudra Group.
Soela Joshi, brand publisher, BBC Knowledge said: “Marketing to parents is much more insight-driven. Parents as central role models have the responsibility to bring knowledge into their children’s life. By targeting parents, we are opening doors for their kids too. ”
Do you know what is similar between terrorism and technology? It’s impossible to control either. You can do all you can to put curbs on them, but these folks will eventually find a way to outwit you. We have all heard about how a banned terror outfit in Pakistan simply changed its name and returned (literally) with a bang. The same thing is happening with the movie download sites that were recently blocked. The pirates have changed the site URLs, and are back in roaring action. I am not kidding about this… you can download the latest Bollywood film, Shanghai, which got released only this weekend! Such is the audacity of technology. Which is why this whole ‘site blocking’ business is a bloody sham.
Likewise, you will recall, very recently, the portly Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Shri Kapil Sibal, was threatening to curb the social media. What triggered the mantri’s outrage was not that people where generally misusing freedom of expression, but that some sods had been busy illustrating funny cartoons of his bosses, Soniaji and Manmohanji. So, not law and order, but loyalty seems to be at the core of Sibal’s anger. Well, the debate immediately died down because as Sibal (and everyone else) knows: It’s just not possible to gag technology. It’s seamless and flows like a river across the world, continuously re-inventing itself.
In a sense, I suppose it’s a battle between the old world and the new world. The old worlders, used to living a controlled existence, aren’t able to deal with the rapidly changing world. And the new world, armed with its technology weapon, is determined to smash the shackles the old world is desperate to impose. And this is one battle the oldies are bound to lose. Because technology has outsmarted them. And sooner the fossil ministers of India accept it, the better. Now there’s no going back.
So deal with it, people! This is the new world order. Where videos, opinions, news, cartoons, etc, flow like a smooth stream, across the globe. And no dam will be able to control their movement. The various mantris only make fools out of themselves when they talk about curbs. They should instead spend all their energies monitoring terror activities. Though even there they will find the going very, very difficult.
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PS: Interesting read on which book to rush to when you feel creatively burnt out, and want to throw in the towel. When the ideas aren’t coming. Some of the global ad industry’s best minds tell you which book inspired them and made them start firing on all cylinders all over again.
Creativeland Asia has bagged the creative mandate to revamp Cinthol, one of legendary personal care brands in India. As part of the mandate, Creativeland is required to approach Cinthol with their fresh new thinking while making it relevant for today’s consumer and their needs.
Commenting on this development, Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia said, “Godrej has shown immense faith in Creativeland Asia. Working on Godrej Expert was an interesting challenge and the response from our client-partners has been very encouraging. Taking this partnership ahead, I am excited to work on Cinthol. Right from the 1980s, Cinthol has been an iconic brand. We all remember the days when popular celebrities such as Vinod Khanna endorsed the brand. We need to simply recreate the magic and the stature Cinthol enjoyed in the past.”
Commenting on this development, Sunil Kataria, Head Sales and Marketing Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. said “Creativeland Asia has a fresh and creatively unique approach to brands. Cinthol is an iconic brand with a huge potential. We look forward to a strong association with Creativeland Asia as we work towards unlocking Cinthol’s immense potential.”
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
By Anil Thakraney
By A Correspondent
From the MxM Infodesk