MxMIndia

Tag: debrief

  • Honda Brio: Not a Love Story (with apologies to Ram Gopal Varma!)

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: All you need is…

    The Honda guys have finally realized there’s an aam aadmi in the Indian market. So they’ve launched a hatchback called Brio, and it’s affordable. (Jazz, their other hatchback, is much too ridiculously priced… one can buy a nice sedan at Jazz’s price point.)

     

    The positioning for Brio is rather interesting… ‘Brio loves you back’. The commercial features a guy and his girl romancing. At the same time, the bugger also romances his Brio. This love-all saga goes on till the poor guy discovers his lover has been cheating on him. But instead of burying himself in booze, he returns to his car. Why? Well, because as the ad says, Brio loves him back!

     

    Despite the fact that the desi middle class doesn’t buy cars for love… they buy them mainly for economy and resale value… I think the concept of love does have potential. But the execution messes things up, because it’s a convoluted tale. The ad has to establish love between the two human beings. Simultaneously runs the story of the chap’s love for his car, and this requires many car shots to be showcased. And in this dual love story, things get rushed through, the cutting is too fast, and the victim is emotion. And what’s love without emotion?? You only see a mish-mash of many visuals. To make things worse, the video don’t sync well with the languid, easy paced background score.

     

    Bottom-line: Promising idea let down by a not-very-smart script.

     

    [youtube width=”450″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJ4OOupGHE[/youtube]
    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1.5. Didn’t feel the love.

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief appears twice a week.


     

     

     

     


  • The chocolates aren’t rammed down our throats, the brand comes across as this nice, gentle soul who reminds you of your responsibilities. This endears us to Cadbury.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Very touching

    Brilliant start by Cadbury to the Diwali festival season. Their new ‘Lonely Maa’ commercial tugs at the heart-strings. It’s a simple treatment. An elderly lady is seen struggling with the computer to connect with her son who lives in another city/nation. And that insensitive chap only communicates with her via the web. Because he’s too busy focussing on his career. The poor lady isn’t able to log in, accidentally spills tea on the comp, and looks utterly lost, dejected and lonely.

     

     

    Outstanding. And here’s why: The chocolates aren’t rammed down our throats, the brand comes across as this nice, gentle soul who reminds you of your responsibilities. This endears us to Cadbury. The insight is timely and relevant. Many youngsters give their careers top priority, and find no time to spend with their aged parents. And they imagine that virtual connect is good enough. It isn’t! And most importantly, the treatment. The film is executed with so much heart, as a viewer, you badly want to reach out to the old lady and comfort her. Help her. Take care of her. And this is how brands build an emotional bond with their consumers. Way to go!


    I would be very surprised if this ad doesn’t win many trophies.

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 5. This is what advertising ought to be.

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief appears twice a week.

  • After the first exposure, you will reach out for the zap button on the remote control. Because it’s laboured, un-engaging and witless.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Good strategy, poor creative

    There’s a new commercial on air for Parker Pens. And it stars brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The creative thought is this: ‘What the world calls a pen’. And it’s a correct one. Because as we all know, pens as a category is on a fast decline on the product life cycle chart. There will come a time when the pen will become a historical product, much like the typewriter. So it makes sense to make the brand synonymous with the product, to own the category, and thus at least be a leader for as long as the product survives. I completely agree with this strategy.

     

    But the creative fails to leave a mark. Bachchan is seen sitting inside what looks like a hotel lobby. And he’s got the whole range of Parkers spread out on the table. What is he, a pen seller? That’s not explained. Suddenly, a firang arrives and asks if he can borrow a pen. But instead of lending him one, Big B begins educating the gent on how Parker is pronounced in various nations. Exasperated, the man asks for a Parker, which is immediately handed to him.

     

    Boring creative. After the first exposure, you will reach out for the zap button on the remote control. Because it’s laboured, un-engaging and witless. While I like the idea of getting the brand to be the hero, so that consumers ask for it at retail outlets, sadly the commercial is very dry. And no, Bachchan has no role to play out here… he’s forced in, as he usually is in ads.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. For a sound strategy.

     

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

  • While I understand the desperate need for a lifestyle approach to paints advertising, there is a crying need for originality in this category.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Dulux lacks colour

    Dulux has come out with a bad copy of the Asian Paints idea. While I understand the desperate need for a lifestyle approach to paints advertising, since the functional route won’t work in this category, there is a crying need for originality in this category. Because that’s the only way to induce brand connect for paints.

     

    Dulux’s new commercial says ‘Apna Rang Chhalakne Do’. It features actors Shahid Kapur and Boman Irani. Irani is finicky about the red colour he wants, and is seen giving hell to his painter on the exact shade. Suddenly, Kapur waltzes into his house, with Irani’s daughter in his arms, wearing what is called a ‘Rascal red’ tee. This follows a sequence of some very trite banter between the characters, till we are told Kapur is a doctor! Wow, we are impressed!

     

    Not only does the ad immediately remind you of the Asian Paints ‘Mera wala blue’ campaign, the execution is so dull, boring and well, colourless, it puts you off despite the presence of movie actors. The conversation is forced, the humour contrived. In short, the commercial is a dud any which way you look at it.

     

    The least Dulux ought to have done was to come up with a more interesting tribute to Asian Paints.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): A BIG ZERO. In Rascal red.

     

     

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

  • Anil Thakraney reviews Bisleri's new 'Stay Protected' commercial.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Senseless fun

    Mineral water brand Bisleri has released a brand new commercial. ‘Stay Protected’ is the message. While the message sounds all serious and professional, the commercial is a riot.

    Two chaps emerge out of a painting and decide to go on a boat yatra. The treatment is part animation and part live action. On the high seas, they run into a she-monster and her baby. The baby tries to gobble down one of the dudes on the boat, but he gets stuck in the baby monster’s mouth. Mommy monster grabs the Bisleri bottle from the other chap’s hand, and uses the water to help her baby swallow down the ‘meal’. The she-monster, in a gesture of gratitude, not only returns the Bisleri bottle to the lone survivor, it also spares his life.

    Haha, it’s both funny and corny. Kids will like this cartoon story. And I appreciate the effort to inject some fun into what’s just a brand of water. However, here’s a red flag: Mineral water is a very, very low involvement product category, and consumers don’t really suss the brand name before purchase. So while it’s great to do a fun story, should the focus not be on communication that tells us what makes Bisleri special and different from other brands in the category? So that I have a clear reason for demanding Bisleri from the grocer, rather just any mineral water. How can I ‘stay protected’ through a fairy tale involving sea monsters??

    Bottom line: I am all for mad. But madness with method. Not plain mad.

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 2 (For the cute animation.)  

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

  • 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.