By Vikas Mehta
Come on IPL, BCCI and the communication agencies. After all that brouhaha about the IPL amidst a raging pandemic, about those players earning in millions and not caring about the millions suffering, the best response you had was to rehash an old hashtag, get your commentators, most of them from a bygone era, and get them to wag a finger at the public asking them to follow protocols. That’s what the government, media, doctors, epidemiologists have been doing for weeks. What makes you think that some ex-cricketers now commentating will mouth the same things and that will be heard? Ok, I did see some current players of some franchises doing the same, but does it really appeal? In advertising, we say that a good piece of communication is knowing the difference between desired response and stimuli. And that’s what exactly is the problem with the #unite2fightcorona campaign. As they say in Urdu: nasihat nahin, jazba dikhao. My Gen Z sample asked me to translate this. Frankly, no translation can do justice to it.
While this was a tough week, with some close people falling prey to the pandemic, the Ranveer Premier League had its moments. The Lloyd refrigerator ad, the Lloyd AC ad, the innumerable JD Mart ads, the insufferable Jio Fiber ads, the My Circle 11.com ads…….incidentally the tag isn’t mine but I picked it up in a FB conversation. And it left my Gen Z sample in giggles.
This summer is seeing a resurgence of fan ads. And guess what. All fans have become hi-tech. They do not start with the switch of a button. And even a remote is passé. Now it is all about voice command. I too am left-mouth agape at this huge leap of technology, like the kid in the Havell’s fan ad. When most of the ACs are still into remotes, fans seem to have leapfrogged them.
And talking about ACs, with all the news about how ACs are not only spreading the virus but also helping it keep alive, trust AC manufacturers to come up with virus resistant or self-cleaning technology. Did I say that I saw a fan ad too, claiming to keep the virus away and also an ad for a cooler with the same claim? Sigh! one cannot just switch off the pandemic even if one wants to.
Two ads featuring Virat caught my eye. One was, you guessed it right, for an AC. The Blue Star AC has Virat showcasing his dancing talent and he did a good job about it. But what I liked was the small super at the end. Owned by Virat, loved by Virat. That’s to shut up the naysayers like my Gen Z sample, who believe that stars endorse but do not use. I am sure when I will have dinner with Virat at his palatial apartment in Worli, Mumbai next, I shall be seeing Blue Star ACs around. Got you there for a moment, didn’t I?
The second Virat ad was the new Vivo phone ad. Just when I was wondering why had Vivo renewed its sponsorship with no ad or any major news, it has finally introduced a new model, which is all about a selfie in dark become magically well-lit. The ad has banked on the sentiment of Virat becoming a father very appropriately and the vivid demonstration of the need for a lamp being obliviated by the night selfie feature came through very interestingly. It worked for me and my Gen Z sample too found it not just interesting but a bit mushy mushy. Aw! so cute.
With summers on, can the soft drinks category be far behind. Well, let’s leave that for next week. What say?