Ad aches with Quakes !

Ad by: Times of India (Delhi | Gurgaon)

Once upon a time there was a NEWSpaper.

There were days when the pages of newspaper were flipped to know about the world. What so ever was small or big that was needed to be known to the masses had newspaper as its source. Today also the same pages are flipped but the purpose is not just "news", but also to know the exciting offers in huge stores in the vicinity, to explore the best travel packages in the proximity. The number of pages are more, the size of same is larger, the colors used are various, and also the list of sources for this content is humongous. When there is no constraint for relevant content then why the advertisements are only way to sustain. The blame is not to the advertisements that are using the space of newspaper but the blame is to those who portray the most significant piece of news as onus because of these advertisements. 

It won't need to check the boundary of own nation to understand the plight of fellow nation, Japan after the quake that shattered the power which was just below the superpower of the world. Each living thing present on this planet is by all means standing along with the nation in this time of pain. Our media sources are reaching to the places for us to know every bit of what is happening or what is not happening there. The front page of every newspaper on Saturday,12th March 2011 talked only about "Japan". But the front page was not the only page, and the quake was not the only subject for the mention. The 6th page of TOI, Delhi wherein 2 pages are dedicated for Gurgaon news (circulated in Gurgaon only) had a huge advertisement. The ad said "Japan Circle trip". The worse part is that this kind of ad (package of Japan) was never seen earlier and this day when the country is in pour of problems, there is an ad for tour. The technicality of procedure of placing the news and advertisements on specific dates is understandable but the people who run such powerful medium should know that what responsibility they hold. Even if the ad was blocked for particular date and section, there was no way that it couldn't have been stopped. It is a shame that even the obvious is complicated for people today and the humanity is just human business now. 

The ad should have been cancelled, if that was not possible, the circulation of paper should have been stopped, if that was also not possible, an additional note should have been given to explain it, if none of this is possible in todays world where solutions come before problems, then the easiest task would have been to shut the business. May be there should be a role of "Human sensitivity" in media house who keeps a check that humanity is not missing in spree of reaching humans. 

These days we have papers. 

Break becoming Kitkat Break !

Ad By: JWT

Look for a break in life !

Nestle came up with a chocolate few years back and gave it a positioning which was very rare and very obvious at the same time. They say "Have a break ! Have a kitkat !" and none of us can deny that we crave for chocolate most when we are tired of the routine life.With this positioning they hit two targets- one of reminding people that when they want break they look for chocolate (mostly) and second of making Kitkat synonym to chocolate. So having a negativity associated "Break" is a rare act for a brand and chocolate is about having breaks is the obvious act. The same legacy of "break" and "Kitkat" is been shown in the squirrel ad which has been coming from almost an year. The ad is few of those ads that leave a refreshing impact through the ad story and through the product.

Two young guys sitting in a park with their laptop. One of them is completely engrossed in the work and is shown in a hurry, the other one is already exhausted and is wanting to have a break. It reminds to many youngsters their days when they have lots of work to do in a short time, so they plan to go to a calm and peaceful place (like a park here) so as to have better concentration. The exhausted guy takes a break by taking out Kitkat and breaks one stick in the unconventional manner in which Kitkat was previously shown breaking in all communications. The moment he enters this break, he is in different world. The world where smallest of things are so beautiful, so engaging and so obvious. All of us at some point of time when sitting idle have observed squirrels doing their acts. It is the most insignificant part for any one but if we look at it closely, it is the most significant thing which made us pass our idle time. The moment for that exhausted guy came to a stop, he could see what his still busy friend could not. The connect becomes even more close when the song and dance attached to the act has been the one which is a bollywood number that each and every listener has enjoyed with fun element inside. The ad doesn't irritate the viewer with information flooded about the product, it doesn't tell you to become the best person by using this product, it simply highlights the importance of small break which we all long for. 

Every element of the ad is rightly showcased to make it the obvious refreshing package. We all look for calm places, we all are in rush in our busy lives, we all crave for chocolates, we all notice squirrels, we all sing and dance along fun filled romantic bollywood numbers. Bringing all this obvious in front of us, Kitkat has certainly made a unique position for itself. And with this, for many, break is not just a break but a Kitkat break now. 

Look for a Kitkat in Life !

Negative connect for Netconnect

Ad By: Grey Worldwide (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Ads show what we idealize !

The purpose of any ad for any product or service is generally to have a brand connect. The connect to the brand happens only when the viewer is convinced that the brand is telling a story which he would want to have for himself. The audience want to take up only those things which make them or their lives perfect and an ideal one. From having the strongest teeth which Shahrukh tells to having engine oil which Sachin trusts, almost everything is framed around perfection. But with times changing and customer evolving, the perfect stories are getting too cluttered. When everyone tells about the same perfection, the customer is confused about the truth and is convinced about the lie. Audience might want to see what is perfect but would connect only to what is true. The truth is more of practical than correct, is more acceptable than acknowledged. Even if the truth shown is negative side of audience, it doesn't offend them rather it brings them in zone of comfort. 

Reliance Netconnect ad shows how each one of us behaves when our flights land. The wheels just need to touch the runway and we are in process of doing exactly opposite of what the announcement is asking us to follow. The seat belts are loosened, the mobiles are switched on, the luggage overhead might go away with the flight so we fetch it earliest possible. We all do this, some of us agree to it by ourselves, others are forced to do it because of others. Whatever the reasons be, this is a normal behavior of maximum number of consumers. The reason to this behavior is not the attitude of doing wrong things but it is about being impatient for things that are supposedly not making any difference to right. It is impatience which forces each passenger to be first one to get off board. It is impatience which irritates anyone if the speed of net is not fast enough and is making us wait. We are impatient if net is not fast and we would disconnect it numerous times to reconnect it without waiting. Thats what Reliance Netconnect shows that a lady on business tour as shown by her attire, is like one of us who is impatient and wants to stay ahead in life without waiting for minimal things. 

Audience definitely connects to it because it shows the real customer. It shows its fine to be wrong but also subtly puts it across that how the product of this brand could be part of your normal imperfect life. A brand claims of understanding the customer, showing what is part of their lives is much better understanding than telling or making them realize what should be part of their lives.

Ad connects better if it shows what we are than what we idealize !

Add an ad in an ad

Ad By: Various

Benefit to two in cost of one!

The advertisements were generally considered as a platform wherein one product is talked about so as to take attention towards that one product. However, the ad today is not just about product but more about attention. The brand should be able to grab the attention of the audience, in process if the product centricity vanishes then that is taken as worthy. Similar effort for attention is co-branding wherein two brands come together in active and passive format. One brand develops an ad and forms a concept which culminates with discussion about that brand but in the process we also see the presence of another brand (passive brand). The passive brand is not talked about or mentioned but its presence completes the ad story.

The latest ad of Lava Mobiles wherein a guy with some other brand mobile is given candy for a change of money whereas when a Lava mobile user comes for a change he is handed over with Surex condoms (S placed instead of D to keep it obviously unobvious). It is a very strong depiction for defining the target segment for the product. A learned, smart and sensible customer would have condoms and likewise for Lava Mobiles. Though it somewhere leaves an impression of being a male centric mobile. Another example of co-branding is the advertisement for Everyuth face wash where in when the ad starts it shows a set up of an open restaurant with few females sitting across a table. The table places the cans of Sugarfree Dlite and until the face wash is introduced, the strong presence of cans reflects as if the ad is going to talk about the healthy (sugarfree) drink for young females. Both the products being from Zydus group makes the best out of a single platform. More so in the ad with our most widespread endorsers from Cricket. The cricketers endorse a pain relief ointment with Aircel branded team t-shirt. So their communication actively is about ointment but passively without verbally mentioning a word they show their association with Aircel. Such ads are good idea to deliver about a product or a brand when they make the ad story strong and does not interfere with the main concept. But when a product is placed without any contribution to the story then it gives a very lame look to the entire concept and ruins the image for all the products.

A very different and interesting co-branding came across when a brand used the other brand but did not show it or mention it. The mobile handset company Airfone used the already popular and acknowledged couple of Cadbury ad to show their story. The couple in Cadbury ad sits at a bus station and talk about guy’s mom, the same couple in same constume is now shown seated in the bus in Airfone ad. The girl takes the conversation left in Cadbury further in Airfone ad by mention of guy’s mom. The Cadbury ad was already known to audience and it was an amazing act to take the attention without investing much into it. The sequel of ads is an innovative way for a brand which understands its size in the market and thus acts wise by leveraging on a big brand without disturbing the essence of either.

It is an interesting and mature advertisement strategy when two are highlighted on one stage.  It certainly benefits two though unequally wherein it is difficult to decipher which one benefits more.

Air tells about new AIRTEL !

Ad by: JWT

Any change is difficult to manage. 

Airtel has undergone a change that has called so many apprehensions which are now becoming a difficult task to manage. The black, white, red combination word starting with capital A was known to every living soul. Suddenly, the web is crowded, people are talking and Airtel building on NH8 is changed. The new logo is artisctically written small 'a' above Airtel with its letters in lower case and dominating red color against white background. Along with logo, the tune that existed for more than 10 years is also changed, this time again by AR Rahman. All these changes are showcased by new advertisement having a new concept. So, Airtel has gone for a rebranding. Just like, Vodafone had undergone or rather when Hutch was acquired by Vodafone. Hutch was a strong brand but still it had gone thru that rebranding making it even more stronger today. 

Airtel had to take this challenge of having a change. Indian telecom market is saturated and this makes competition for Airtel really difficult. This became a reason for them to cross the boundaries and become Indian MNC with presence in 18 countries post Africa based Zain's acquisition. So today they are the 5th largest telecom company, with 200 million users in India, 40 million in Africa and 10 million in Bangladesh, Srilanka. Primarily 3 reasons justify the Airtel rebrading: Speak internationally, Connect with youth across all geographies, Sync with 3G services. Airtel needs to appeal to several markets now being meaningful to all of them, and at the same time depict that it is an MNC brand with presence in many countries. Thus the new logo which seems to be inspired by Zain makes it more appealing to masses across the world because of its simplicity. Likewise, the dynamism of the logo and tune turns to be more modern, vibrant, and friendly so as to reach the youth across globe. Also, Bharti Airtel spent $23 billion for 3G services and thus they need to get prepared for them to balance the investments made. 

The Airtel subscribers or non-subscribers across the nation held a connect with old Airtel. Sudden change in everything associated with the brand certainly leads to an abrupt disconnect that takes the consumer away from the brand. As a brand, it is understandable that to meet the market need a rebranding was compulsory. But at the same time, it is an equal responsibility of the brand to understand that what its market needs. A new logo is acceptable only if it is more dynamic than previous one, a new tune is enjoyable only if masses can't stop humming it after listening to it once, a new ad is watchable only if it reaches masses' heart. From a brand like Airtel, who gets 2 million viewers on first day of introducing world's first voice blogging service- Airtel Blog, much more is expected. Airtel has annoyed its customer base by giving them what they don't desire and taking away what they always adored. 

Hopefully, the impact of change washes away with time. 

SMS- Superbly Messed Service !

Ads By: Slim Belts, Property, Insurance, Education courses, ETC

You have a New Message. 

TA-, TD-, TM-, AD- and many more ! There is certainly no one today whose inbox is not flooded with messages carrying these prefixes. This mode of reaching to customers is not restricted with any kind of boundaries. Anytime of the day or night, there could be a beep on mobile phone trying to educate us about latest Sauna belts, numerous real estate choices that have been made especially for us, various distance learning courses that would take our career to new peaks instantly, so many banks trying to make us healthy and wealthy. There is no escape to them, there is no end to them, but also there is no need of them. 

These bulk messages have become such constant source of irritation that a sight of standard format on phone screen and it is deleted even without reading beyond three alphabets. The new TRAI regulation has insisted to restrict the Sender ID for these messages to minimum 6 characters. Three character specify the SMS service provider and from where it has originated followed by a hyphen. So when we see AD-Something, it signifies that "Something" is using bulk SMS provider based at Delhi (D) which uses Airtel (A). Likewise TA means Tata Andhra Pradesh, TM means Tata Mumbai, BA means BSNL Andhra Pradesh and so on. Thus, these initial 3 characters act as caution that what follows this is just a bulk message and carries no personal significance. Though there exists an option of sending Do Not Disturb to 1909 and get rid of this bulk but somehow some options are just feel good factors and not solutions.

In around 3000-4000 Rupees a month, these companies try to reach out their customers through these messages and get their attention. They certainly gather the attention that they are clearly identified and deleted without any apprehension. Such kind of mobile marketing spoils the brand image and comes across as a cheap marketing stunt. If the purpose of these messages is to take attention then certainly it is a negative marketing which makes a consumer feel that how insignificant he has been considered to become part of a bulk list. These messages would be beneficial in cases when there is a need to inform about an event or activity that has temporary existence and thus requires immediate spread. Too much of anything indeed ruins the importance and now all messages starting with typical 3 characters have lost their viewers.

New Message with 3 characters in beginning are meant to be deleted.

AB with ABC of KBC

Ad By: Leo Burnett

Amitabh Bachchan - preparing the nation's people to prepare themselves !

There would hardly be anyone who would not know about Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). And all those who know it also know it as a property of Amitabh Bachchan (AB). With such widespread audience already registered with the name, the relaunch does not really need much introduction. AB humming the tune of KBC is enough to declare that its coming back. Besides the most famous CID series, Sony screen is now taken by the commercials talking about KBC. From the announcement of its come back, to declare dates for registration and to gather eye balls, KBC has not missed anything in around 20 days. The launch came in a big and creative way by bringing the commercial during Indian Idol Finale which had the maximum audience glued to Sony at that time. From there starts a journey of promotions which is going to reach its destination on October 11 thats when the KBC goes on air. The marketing plan has been very creatively laid by placing the launch on birthday of Amitabh Bachchan so whatever the reasons be but TRP on October 11 for Sony is going to be record breaking. 

Following the announcement in Indian Idol Finale, there has been so many commercials talking about KBC that these promotions themselves are citing a story giving out new facts every day. Bringing life to the enthusiasm associated with KBC, the TV commercial leaves audience to discuss who is father of Akbar. A child asks his father this question and father laughs over it. Father doesn't leave it with a laugh but shares this as a joke with his friends and also with new people he meets. Father is shown amazed that how can his son ask him such silly questions and that such questions are not supposed to be considered relevant. A night before when father is on hot seat with AB, son again asks the same thing before sleeping but father didn't find any sense in it. As expected, on hot seat, the first question which is considered to be the simplest question asked by AB was same- Who was Akbar's father? AB with complete sarcasm points that this must be so simple that even son would be able to answer. Father's head goes down, he is embarrassed and son had no reaction or action to deliver. 

Certainly, the dual purpose of commercial is served. It definitely brings along the entire family to follow the series and also puts it across that the series is not going to be that easy now. The question is shown as a difficult one in entire commercial that the father thinks that such difficult answers he is not supposed to know and AB also ends it in his witty way by giving his sarcastic comment. KBC has been about knowledge, about entertainment and about watching it with complete family. The commercial certainly makes sure presence of all this in its communication. Also, it is a bigger win for a commercial if its audience gets discussing it off screen also. That happens in a big way with this commercial when people actually flaunt that they do know who is Akbar's father and say " Humayunnnn Obviously ! ".

ABC of KBC is properly communicated.