MxMIndia

Tag: Volkswagen

  • The idea for the new TVC was born out of drawing parallels to the few moments in life that feel good. Thus was born the campaign thought of "Feels that good"

    ‘Feels that good’, asserts Polo in new TVC

    Globally, the Polo has been around and enjoyed for generations. In India too, the much-loved hatchback has been widely accepted in all its variants and editions. Which is why, when it was time to launch the New 2014 Polo, Volkswagen’s campaign had to ensure a similar level of enthusiasm and curiosity. For it was a clear case of ‘the good becoming better’.

     

    The idea for the new TVC was born out of drawing parallels to the few moments in life that feel good. Thus was born the campaign thought of “Feels that good”.Like all Volkswagen TVCs, this one too is endearing and simple, yet entertaining at the same time. Taking forward the thought of “Feels that good”, the film illustrates the story of two brothers. The younger of the two always gets the raw end of the stick, as he ends up with all the ‘hand-me-downs’ from his cooler older sibling. From school books to uniforms to shoes and even bicycles, it’s always second-hand. Ultimately, the story takes a big turn. The younger brother, now all grown up, comes into his own when we see him driving the sparkling New Polo, while his older sibling is still using a nondescript old car.

     

    Sonal Dabral

    Commenting on the campaign Sonal Dabral, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group, said, “The new refreshed Polo has unique features that deliver a superior driving experience. We used hand-me-downs as a creative device to make the point that driving the new Polo, with these features, makes you feel so good. It uses the tonality of all Volkswagen advertising where the product is at the centre and there is humour woven around it, leaving the viewer with a ‘feel good’ factor.”

     

  • How does a vibrating chip relate to the Polo and the Vento? I really hope the cars don't vibrate while being driven, that would be quite alarming!

    Debrief: Volkswagen’s senseless ‘innovation’

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Volkswagen celebrated 9/11 with ‘shock and awe’. No, they didn’t drive their zippy cars into buildings, they did something even more spectacular: Stick a vibrator on the last page of certain newspapers, as the message read: ‘Feel the shiver of excitement?’. If this provided some, ahem, excitement to the female readers, that was short-lived; the gizmo was a cheap chip that vibrated the entire newspaper… this is Volkswagen’s method of showing us that they are an innovative company.

     

    Well, Volkswagen has fooled around with newspapers with their wild ideas on previous occasions too, so this was nothing new. Clearly, their strategy, much like that desperate cartoonist called Trivedi, is to get attention at all costs (and for Volkswagen, the cost of these tricks must be phenomenal). So, yes, the idea worked, people hotly discussed the vibrator in the social media.

     

    However, I would urge Volkswagen to try and put out ideas that connect with their cars. How does a vibrating chip relate to the Polo and the Vento? I really hope the cars don’t vibrate while being driven, that would be quite alarming! So this is trickery for the sake of trickery. And that’s not very smart thinking.

     

    Also, must tell you, I had to purchase the TOI from the street vendor after I heard about the vibrating newspaper. And this is because my own copy arrived all soggy and wet (9/11 was a very rainy morn in Mumbai), water had seeped into the contraption and it had gone kaput! Again, hope that sort of stuff doesn’t happen to Volkswagen’s gaadis in the monsoons, hehe.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 1. Silly, costly, irrelevant ‘innovation’.

     

  • A brand is a sum total of the creative elements that go into designing the product, its packaging and its communication, says Sumanto Chattopadhyay

    The Anchor: Sumanto Chattopadhyay on 5 ways how creativity can change the image of a brand

    By Sumanto Chattopadhyay

     

    A brand is nothing without creativity. It is, in fact, a sum total of the creative elements that go into designing the product, its packaging and its communication. There are ways and ways of giving these elements a new spin – a new lease of life.

     

    Here are five examples of how a brand can hit the refresh button:

     

    1. Creativity can gloss over history: Volkswagen was launched by Hitler. But creative communication made the brand that rides the Beetle Bug one of the most lovable automobile icons of our times.

     

    2. Creative rebranding can make an old brand new and improved: When UTI Bank became Axis Bank – adopting a contemporary look and logo along with the changed name – it shed some of the negatives – ‘public sector’, ‘technologically outmoded’ – associated with the UTI label and made itself relevant to modern consumers.

     

    3. Not just products, but people too can change the image of their brand: In order to join Bollywood’s A List, Brand Karishma Kapoor underwent a total makeover. It took considerable creativity – that of hair stylists, beauticians, costume designers, film directors, publicists – to change her persona and transform her into one of tinsel town’s more premium brands.

     

    4. Creativity can make a brand attractive by putting it in a different slot in people’s minds: Cadbury’s told consumers to think about it in the same way as they do about Indian sweets – something you eat to make an auspicious beginning. Imaginative skill went into making people see an inherently Western product as something that satisfies a very traditional Indian need. And voilà  – Cadbury’s was reborn in a new avatar.

     

    5. Brand China wanted to replace the existing view of a grey, regressive totalitarian state with the image of a vibrant, young and capable nation. And so, at the 2008 China Olympics, it put on the greatest spectacle on Earth, taking branded event management to a new high.

     

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay is Ecd, South Asia, Ogilvy

     

  • …but the Top 3 most liked ads were: Gems – Raho Umarless, Sprite – Raasta Clear Hai and Mazaa – Har Mausam Aam

    Vodafone, Pepsi & Kingfisher most recalled brands in IPL 5: Ormax

    From the MxM Infodesk

     

    The top recalled brands during IPL 5 are Vodafone, Pepsi, Kingfisher, Volkswagen and Hero, according to the findings released by Ormax Media’s Cricket Advertising Recall & Effectiveness research – Day After Cricket (DAC),

     

    The last week of IPL 5 however saw Pepsi lead the recall charts, touching a score of 44% on Unaided Recall, the highest achieved by any brand this season.

     

    Volkswagen and Kingfisher were the only brands which feature among the Top 10 brands in terms of both Unaided Recall and Ad Likeability.

     

    The Top 3 most liked ads were: Gems – Raho Umarless, Sprite – Raasta Clear Hai and Mazaa – Har Mausam Aam. Interestingly, none of these three campaigns featured a celebrity.

     

    The most recalled innovation sponsorship asscoation recalled was Karbonn Kamaal Catch. DLF Maximum Sixes and Vodafone Star Of The Match are a distant no. 2 & 3.

     

    IPL 5 Top 10 Brands Recalled

    Rank

    		 Brand

    1

    		 Vodafone

    2

    		 Pepsi

    3

    		 Kingfisher

    4

    		 Volkswagen

    5

    		 Hero

    6

    		 Coca-Cola

    7

    		 DLF

    8

    		 Idea

    9

    		 Nokia

    10

    		 Tata Docomo

     

     

    IPL 5 Top 10 Most Liked Campaigns

    Rank

    		 Brand

    1

    		 Gems

    2

    		 Sprite

    3

    		 Mazaa

    4

    		 Volkswagen

    5

    		 Cadbury’s Dairy Milk

    6

    		 Yatra.com

    7

    		 Kingfisher

    8

    		 Mountain Dew

    9

    		 Lays

    10

    		 Slice

     

    Day After Cricket is a consumer based day-after recall study, conducted among IPL viewers across six cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The TG for the study was Males 15-40 years and Females 15-34 years old.

     

  • According to Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director, DDB Mudra Group, Maatra is the first attempt by an Indian marketing communications group.

    Maatra to be rebranded Gutenberg Networks India

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    Following close on the heels of shopper marketing specialist TracyLocke and brand consultancy Interbrand, a third specialised offering from the Omnicom group comes to India via DDB Mudra – Gutenberg Networks. Maatra, a company that exists within DDB Mudra will be rebranded Gutenberg Networks India.

     

    According to Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director, DDB Mudra Group, Maatra is the first attempt by an Indian marketing communications group to hive off the functions usually performed by an in-house studio into a separate successful brand.

     

    Its offering includes premedia services, translation, website localisation and film adaptation. Maatra’s offerings sync well with those of Gutenberg Networks, which has 1,200 employees globally and counts Philips, Pepsico Tropicana and Volkswagen among its clients.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Airtel joins ICICI in Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study Brown

    ICICI Bank ahead of Pepsi, Airtel beats Siemens, Sony in Top 100 Global Brands rankings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel has joined an elite club of global brands by making it to this year’s BrandZTop 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list by WPP firm Millward Brown. ICICI is the only other Indian brand in this group.

     

    With an overall ranking of 63 (brand value: $ 12.7 billion) and 71 (brand value: $11.5 billion) respectively, ICICI and Airtel have been ranked ahead of top global brands such as Citi (82), Sony (86), MTN (88), China Telecom (90) and Volkswagen (96).  ICICI is in fact ahead of even Pepsi which ranks at #67.

     

    The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study is conducted annually by leading global research firm Millward Brown. It is the only brand valuation that takes into account what people think about the brands they buy along with rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. The ranking is arrived through a continuous in-depth quantitative research on a category-by-category and a country-by-country basis. The research covers some 2 million consumers and more than 50,000 brands in over 30 countries.

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, AdStrat brings you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad

    AdStrat: Volkswagen Polo & Vento – IPL Edition II

    Rajeev Raja, Consultant, DDB Mudra Mumbai

     

    Campaign Title: Polo/Vento Offer

     

    Brand: Volkswagen Polo & Vento- IPL Edition II

     

    The Brief:

    Keeping in line with its global tradition of sports affiliations, Volkswagen inIndiahas a partnership with the IPL, an innovative cricketing format. For its mass models, Polo & Vento, Volkswagen was launching a special edition model with added features (interactive pad that could be used to watch live media/ entertainment) for a cricket crazy nation.

     

    The task was to create awareness about the special edition models with this added feature and, thereby, create desire amongst the consumers.

     

    Media vehicles chosen:

    We sought to develop a full 360 degree communication for the offer, which included very interesting television commercials, print, OOH & digital work.

     

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:

    Create a communication that would stand out in the overcrowded ad space during the IPL event. Yet it needed to be simple, entertaining and within the Volkswagen tonality and manner of communication.

     

    The thought process behind the creative:

    Volkswagen is the only official automobile partner for the IPL. Therefore, it was only fair to make Volkswagen the ‘official vehicle’ to deliver the IPL experience to the cricket crazy nation.

     

    Packed with IPL-centric features and branding, it gave the cricket enthusiast a chance to not just view the IPL, but also to live the experience of this cricketing extravaganza.

     

    No matter where you are or where you go, you will never be far away from the IPL action thanks to the Volkswagen IPL Polo and Vento Edition II. From this emanated our strategy for the campaign.

     

    What according to you is the differentiating factor about the campaign?

    It is one of the first campaign which has the IPL woven into the story line. It also manages to beautifully inject humour and heart into innovation and technology.

     

    Month and Date of Release: March 2012

     

    Credits:

    Unit Name: DDBIndia

    Office Head: Rajiv Sabnis

    CCO: Sonal Dabral

    Business Head: Anurag Tandon

    Creative Head: Rajeev Raja, Louella Rebello

    Art: Sreejith Kadoth

    Copy: Ranjit Sasidharan

    Account Management: Avik Choudhury, Monish Debnath, Aaron Dsouza

    Films Department: Michael Remedios

    Director:  Will van der Vlugt

    Production House: Caramel Pictures

     

    Creatives:

    Print: JPG format [up till 10mb]

    TVC: MPEG or MP4 format[without slate, up till 10mb]

     

     

     

  • Brands like Volkswagen & Parle 20-20 cookies have joined hands with UTV to launch the official IPL season 5 mobile game

    UTV Indiagames gets ‘IPL Cricket Fever’

    By A Correspondent

     

    UTV Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 5 mobile game, ‘IPL Cricket Fever’. They have made sure that all elements of the actual IPL cricket are experienced through the game including the brand associations. Brands like Volkswagen and Parle 20-20 cookies have joined hands with UTV Indiagames, to associate with ‘IPL Cricket Fever’.

     

    Volkswagen has extended its on-ground association with IPL Season 5 to the official game by introducing brand elements for ‘Super Sixes’ & ‘Man of the Series’. Just like the on-ground association, Volkswagen is the brand partner for every ‘6’ hit in the game. For the ‘Man of the Series’ in the mobile game, the player with maximum number of wins during the current IPL season will be presented with the ‘Volkswagen Vento – IPL Edition’.

     

    Parle has associated with the game with their brand Parle 20-20 cookies for various in-game branding elements like ‘4s’ and ‘Replays’. The brand is also the sponsor of the ‘Man of the Match’ reward in the game during the presentation ceremony.

     

    Commenting on the brand associations for the game, Vishal Gondal, CEO, UTV Indiagames said: “The IPL season is the most exciting time of the year for cricket enthusiasts, both on ground and in the digital space. With IPL Cricket Fever we wanted to offer an as close to real experience of the actual on-ground action of IPL and with Volkswagen and Parle 20-20 cookies on board we have made it happen. Now whether the player hits a 4, 6 or wins man of the match or even man of the series, the presence of these brands will give them the actual IPL feel even on their mobile phones.”

     

    Lutz Kothe, Head of Marketing & PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Ltd. said: “The immense response we received for the IPL Edition I has prompted us to introduce the IPL Edition II and this time with both our popular carlines – the Polo and the Vento. To make this more exciting, we are introducing the official mobile game for IPL in association with UTV Indiagames giving an opportunity to all the cricket enthusiasts to win the Vento IPL Edition II. We are sure cricket enthusiasts will enjoy this game and participate to win their favorite carline.”

     

    Pravin Kulkarnii, General Manager – Marketing, Parle Products said: “Gaming is huge in the country today and the mix of cricket and games appeals to one and all. IPL is as popular on ground as it is in the digital space. Parle 20:20 cookies’ association with UTV Indiagames’ official IPL game is the perfect brand opportunity for us as it extends our brand recall in the digital space instantly.”

     

    ‘IPL Cricket Fever’ is based on the IPL Season 5 format and includes all official 9 teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Superkings, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challenger Bangalore and Pune Warriors.

     

    The users will be able to play with the official IPL players including Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Virendra Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Gautam Ghambir, Yousuf Pathan, Kevin Pollard, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, AB de Villiers, Michael Clarke and many more. There are three game modes available which include quick match, powerplay and IPL tournament. The user can play the entire season as per the actual IPL season too, 4 stadiums with 3 difficulty modes and original IPL players make this the most exciting cricket game around.

     

    The game is available on Android, iOS and Java to ensure that every cricket enthusiast can lay their hands on it to enjoy the IPL season.

     

    UTV Indiagames is India’s integrated game developer-publisher across mobile, online and the interactive television. The company has been a pioneer in the mobile gaming space and has partnered with several major game publishers and media companies in the world such as EA, Disney, THQ, Atari, Universal, Fox, Warner brothers, Sony, MTV, 2K and others whose IP has been published across global leading telecoms including Verizon, Vodafone, Airtel, AT&T, Telstra and others.

     

  • Mudra Max has exclusively implemented a high decibel campaign in Mumbai and Delhi through a mix of digital, experiential, on ground and OOH execution

    Volkswagen & Mudra Max go 360 on OOH for Think Blue

    By A Correspondent

     

    Volkswagen is not just a brand but a proud bearer of automotive heritage. ‘Think Blue’ is a philosophy of the brand’s ecological and sustainable activities that has been designed to promote it’s key corporate objective of sustainability and environmental protection.

     

    The current initiative aims at strengthening the brand’s ‘Think blue’ philosophy using the opportunity provided by the Delhi Auto expo.

     

    Mudra Max has exclusively implemented a high decibel campaign in Mumbai and Delhithrough a mix of digital, experiential, on ground and OOH execution. The campaign is based on the international template which tells the story of the Volkswagen brand’s evolution as a responsible brand leveraging the ‘Think Blue’ philosophy.

     

    Mudra Max and Volkswagen installed an exceptional art-piece of the iconic Beetle created wholly out of scrap collected from various Think Blue clean-up drives undertaken by Volkswagen at different locations.

     

    The concept has given life to lifeless objects that have been discarded. The team took 15 days to put together a real-sized Beetle, made entirely of scrap ranging from discarded mother boards, keyboards, disposed machinery parts, mobile phones, cans, plastic bottles, cassettes, wires and other such scrap.

     

    To maximize impact and reach, the Delhi T3 terminal served as the venue to exhibit the Beetle art-piece along with a holistic mix of media elements, ranging from a constant running AV on the Think Blue philosophy and the making of the Beetle, a digital set up which connected the location live to Volkswagen’s micro-site and pages on Facebook, cameramen to capture pictures of passersby and giving them away in custom made ‘Think Blue’ photo jackets as mementos, with promoters engaging people to a classic steel-plated information kiosk on the heritage of Volkswagen and Think blue.

     

    At the same time garbage collection drives were initiated where the trash collected were mounted in cases and put on billboards to spread awareness and to have a more responsible behaviour towards the environment.

     

    Taking the display of the art-piece forward, the Beetle was brought back to Mumbai and is now exhibited at Mahim causeway, one of the most significant junctions in the city catering to high decibel traffic and footfalls all day long.

     

    This would further heighten the impact and buzz created by the art-piece and would create talking points around the brand’s philosophy of Think blue and achieving sustainability while creating something beautiful.

     

    A concept of ‘Fence branding’ preceded the entire ‘Think blue’ activity. A global template campaign of Volkswagen was rolled out worldwide on December 15, 2011. The primary requisite was continuous running space which would complement the ‘story telling’ creative of Volkswagen.

     

    Huge fences at Inorbit mall, Travelators at Delhi T3 airport, Fence branding at the T1 Delhi Airport were taken up. The size of the media was enormous running up to 700 square feet at one go.

     

    In addition, an entire Delhi Metro train was wrapped with the ‘Think Blue’ story to create higher impact and interest. This was coupled with a block-out media presence across significant stations of theDelhi metro & DAME.

     

    Speaking on the execution, Vikas Nowal, Vice President, Mudra Max-OOH on behalf of the Mudra Max team said: “We wanted to ensure that the Volkswagen campaign receives equal prominence in the communication across media. Therefore, the need of the hour was to create disruptive opportunities for the message to hit home. The Earth Hour activity was probably the simplest yet most relevant introduction to the brand’s commitment to taking care of the environment. The Beetle installation is something we are all extremely proud of achieving, and is the best embodiment of the iconic brand, and the worthy cause it champions. We continue to look at how we can help spread the brand’s message to a wider audience.”

     

    Bishwajeet Samal, Head of Marketing Communication at Volkswagen India said: “Our aim was to create buzz and drive home the message of ‘Think Blue. Drive Blue.’ With Out of Home activations like the Beetle art piece constructed purely out of scrap, branding of a Delhi Metro with the ‘Think Blue.’ message, creating the ugliest billboard in New Delhi from garbage collected from cleanliness drives in New Delhi; our outdoor agency effectively positioned Brand Volkswagen as a responsible automobile manufacturer.”

     

     

  • If a trainee copywriter came to me with such a script, I would recommend the chap to a psychiatrist.

    Debrief: Unbelievably silly of Volkswagen

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    So, the madness that Volkswagen is notorious for in the print medium (remember speaking newspapers and pages with holes?) has spilled onto the television medium. Except, while the print madness at least got the brand to be discussed, the TV ad is so stupid, you can only scoff and wonder what the hell the Volkswagen guys are up to.

     

     

    The commercial I watched deals with some ‘unbelievable’ offers on their two brands, Vento and Polo. It features a cross dresser at the car showroom, and he/she keeps harassing the salesman about the offers. And the latter, quite exasperated, berates the customer for repeatedly asking the same questions. This weird exchange goes on. The idea is this: Because the offers are so incredible, you won’t believe them and shall keep confirming them at the showroom.

     

    Completely ridiculous advertising. While I am all for mad, it has to be fun mad and not juvenile mad, if you know what I mean. Not only does this ad repel you, it also tells you Volkswagen thinks their consumers are morons and that the company salesmen have the right to treat them poorly. Let me also add this: If a trainee copywriter came to me with such a script, I would recommend the chap to a psychiatrist.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5):  A BIG ZERO. The joke’s on Volkswagen. 

  • Face it, there’s just so much social networking and online newspaper reading you can do. Those are the times YouTube is your friend.

    The Anchor: Vidya Heble picks 10 videos to watch when bored at work (or not)

     

     

    #1 12 Days of Christmas, Indian style: What, you haven’t seen Boymongoose yet? Watch, and listen. And don’t let your attention wander because there are quirky little details in the video that you’ll miss otherwise.

     

    #2 If You Come Today: Kannada superstar Dr Rajkumar had an unlikely resurgence of fame with this clip from one of his films, now a viral hit popularized with some fine commentary by Time Out and impaled on yonder web to delight us.

     

    #3 MTV Chaiboy: An old spirit-lifting favourite. The boy’s moves are infectious and the soundtrack only helps in spades.

     

    #4 Sony Handycam: At first view this may be bugging because of the mess the kids create, but the nonsense ditty is indubitably catchy.

     

     

    #5 Iron Eagle Nominee: “Let’s say you’re a defense-company marketing executive. And you want to make a splash at the Indian defense ministry’s annual air show. Do you: (a) buy expensive gifts for New Delhi’s generals; (b) treat the press to Kingfishers and samosas; (c) produce a Bollywood-esque video featuring bare-midriff girls, flower-draped missiles, and the catchphrase ‘dinga dinga dee’? Unfortunately for us, Israeli arms-maker Rafael chose C.” Nuff said. PS: It’s horrible.

    http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/03/iron-eagle-isra/

     

     

    #6 ‘The Force’ Volkswagen Commercial: Admit it, Darth Vader is there only to win over the grownups (who pay for the car). But the small boy’s acting – while entirely inside the eerie black costume, hence no cutesy facial expressions – is magnificent.

     

     

    #7 Achmed the Dead Terrorist: Leave your sensibilities at the door. Jeff Dunham uses the skeletal suicide bomber to poke fun at everyone (including himself), and you will laugh.

     

     

    #8 ‘Tera Husn Bahut Mujhe Bhaata Hai’Peugeot: Just for the end, which will have you rocking along with the triumphant guys who remodel an old beat-up jalopy into a Peugeot 206 lookalike.

    http://www.k10k.net/dropbox/storage/peugeut206-sculpteur.mpeg

     

     

    #9 The Last Knit: Did someone say “obsessive compulsive”? Perversely fascinating, animated, and sans dialogue so you can share it with your international colleagues.

     

     

    #10 In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones: Yes, you heard right. And yes, you’ll need more than a post-lunch slump to take this one in. For those who came in late – it’s Shahrukh Khan’s gangly-teenager phase, and please take a number for your initiation rite.

    Vidya Heble is Deputy Editor at MXMIndia.com. Mostly.