MxMIndia

Tag: ad review

  • Piyush Pandey and R Balki are set to present the Advertising Club's Ad Review

    Piyush, Balki to present Ad Review as Ad Club revives popular event

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Piyush Pandey

    In what may be a coup of sorts, the Advertising Club has roped in two of the most respected names in Indian advertising to jointly present the Ad Review this year.  MxMIndia learns that the Ad Club has will see advertising Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather and R Balki, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas to present the Ad Review. Both have reportedly agreed to jointly conduct the event, which has not been conducted since a few years.

     

    The Ad Review is a popular property of the Club and is presented by senior members of the fraternity. Interestingly, both Messrs Pandey and Balki have individually presented the \Review in the past.

     

    R Balki

    The Advertising Club, which shed the Bombay from its name last year, is working towards a wider footprint especially one which represents the large advertising and marketing fraternity in Delhi NCR.

     

    Ad Review is scheduled to happen sometime in the early part of the year though the exact dates have not been ascertained. Watch this space for more.

     

    Also read: Chalo Dilli, as Ad Club drops Bombay

    http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/09/chalo-dilli-as-ad-club-drops-bombay/

     

     

  • DeBrief: Reliance Netconnect’s little movies

    Reliance Netconnect has put out a speed challenge. ‘It’s fast. Are you?’, is the question being asked. And to highlight that offer, they have released three thrilling commercials.

     

    In one, an unknown ‘taskmaster’ has tied a chap with a rope, and placed him inside a van parked across a railway track. As the train approaches, the man struggles but manages to reach his laptop, he then affixes the Reliance Netconnect dongle to it, and surfs to find a way to untie the knots. Yup, he does get out of the van just before the collision happens. In another ad, a girl has been locked inside a moving car, and the boot is set on fire. But she manages to escape by locating the nearest fire station. Using Reliance Netconnect, of course. In the third one, a young dude frolicking inside a deep forest comes face to face with a marauding elephant. And manages to get away by using Reliance Netconnect. When he streams a video that distracts the animal.

     

    Yes, the ads are dramatic and entertaining. Like little action-packed movies. And as Reliance Netconnect has been used as the key part of the plot, it doesn’t appear forced into the stories. Should appeal to young net users.

     

    However, there’s a built-in problem with this approach: Shorter edits of these films won’t work, the drama simply won’t happen in a 20-seconder. Which means Reliance better have huge budgets ready to keep releasing 45-second films. An idea is powerful when it works in short edits too. Creative directors must never forget this basic ad principle before writing TV scripts.

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 2.5

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • DeBrief: It’s raining MCPs!

    [youtube width=”300″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9XOvpyFm8E[/youtube]What’s with male deodorant brands? Why are all of them based on the idea of insulting women by projecting them as mindless sex objects? What sort of male chauvinist pigs do they target? Do the MCPs constitute such a vast populace? To be honest, I am left quite flummoxed by the advertising in this category.

     

    I suppose Axe started it all but their ads are at least a little more tasteful. The bad copycats have used this route with the one-point agenda of treating women as sex slaves to beastly men. The latest brand to join this flesh party is Killer.

     

    I watched three commercials. In one, the killer dude has just finished a sex romp with a very pleased girl. He then proudly tells her the next romp is with the girl’s sister. And the pleased lass looks even more pleased to hear that! In another ad, he effortlessly picks up two girls from the streets, and no, they aren’t hookers. And in the third one, the killer picks up a sexy chick from a laundromat. Simply by talking dirty.

     

    Completely pathetic advertising. Makes you want to reach for the barf bag. Additionally, if all male deo brands have the same positioning, where’s the brand differential? How will I recall Killer at the retail outlet if all deo ads look like clones of each other? So, not only is the advertising repugnant, it’s also senseless from the marketing point of view.

     

    PS: At this rate, I may quit using deos altogether! Meet me at your own peril, man.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): -5

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week- Tuesdays and Thursdays.