Orange, Hutch, Vodafone… the brand names may have changed; but what hasn’t is its textbook approach to communication. Simple, intelligent, and more importantly, cost effective! While its competitors employ big ticket celebrities to endorse them, Vodafone has a pug, a loud mouth parrot, Zoo-Zoos, and unknown school and college kids doing the job for them. The brand’s ability to refrain from celebrities, and consistently churn out commercials, which make their point without making a fuss, is simply remarkable.
It started with the pug following the boy everywhere. Then the pug assisted a young girl with her chores. Then along came the egg-headed Zoo-Zoos with their antics on an alien planet. In between there were four guys making a confusing conference call and a college kid who cannot believe his luck while checking out his grades on the notice board. Some really nice ads! But I personally liked the acerbic, perennially irritated Irani parrot.
Sample this: ‘Ddeepeeka mera gurlfrend hain’, ‘Salli goti ka salli, gilli dande ka gilli’… words which delight, animation which makes you chuckle and message sugar-coated with entertainment. What do you need a celebrity for? Wish we could see more of the parrot! The school girls were introduced a wee bit early, I thought. The parrot still had the potential to entertain us with its harangue.
Another brand, which I feel has managed to pull if off without spending a bomb is Tata Indicom. But let’s reserve that for another post.
Give us the parrot and the pug any day. They entertain more than the nasal-twanged Saif and Dhoni, who seem like they are in a hurry to get done with the ad shoot, and return to what they do best – act in the movies and swing the bat.
