By Anil Thakraney
Ah! So after ads masquerading as TV soaps (Godrej, Honda Amaze), it’s now the turn of a TVC to act like a full-length feature film. Tata Sky has released a three-minute-long commercial (first time in India, we are constantly reminded), but chances are very high that after they’ve obtained their quota of some free press (because of the long duration), the advertiser will run short edits.
That said, must say it’s an innovative approach. The new tagline is: When you don’t have the time for TV. Very relevant, that. With the social media taking over our lives, fewer people have time for the idiot box, at least in young urban India. The TVC features a dramatic jail break, and the subsequent capture of the prisoners. The guys are trying to escape while an Indo-Pak cricket match is on, wrongly assuming that the jail staffers would be glued to the TV. Of course, our smart officers have decided to record the match on Tata Sky HD. To watch it later in peace.
There’s nothing not to like about this one. It’s a surprising solution, the treatment is high-action and the promise is single minded. All that you’d want from a good ad. Where the commercial loses a few points, is that it doesn’t have a strong repeat exposure value. You will be mesmerised the first time, perhaps even the second time. Once the cat is out of the bag, the ad ceases to entertain. How many times can you watch a bunch of prisoners on the run, with nothing else happening in the commercial? The agency must account for the repeat value factor when they work on the next movie… oops… ad.
Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 3. Good tagline, single minded communication.
Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and commentator. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views of the writer are his own.