What’s with the old songs being rehashed as jingles?

Every brand seems to be doing it these days – Cadbury, SBI Life, Coca Cola, Scooty Pep, Anchor toothpaste, Maruti Zen Estilo. Rehashing yesteryear Hindi songs into ad jingles.

While we won’t discuss about the intellectual property rights issues, it is certainly interesting to know why brands prefer to follow a trend and fall into a mould, once someone has created it. And we thought advertising is all about creating unique selling propositions!

Talking about the execution aspect, I don’t think the advertisers do complete justice to the beauty and melody of the old gems. Even in the execution aspect, there is hardly any novelty – the singer usually tries to sing like Shamshaad Begum in an artificial nasal twang. It doesn’t sound like a jingle, but more of a parody.

It would work better for the brands if they came up with original jingles – that way they can create a wider mind space, offer a platform for upcoming talent and spare the souls of legendary artists who may be rolling in their grave.

Simply delightful communication

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.

Media’s ‘adarsh’ conduct

The Indian media has often been accused of being vindictive, hasty, immature, over-the-top and much more. Several times in my blog, I have accused it of being less than ideal. But when it came to exposing the Adarsh Housing Society scandal, it has played its cards right.

Both the print and electronic press have been relentless and ruthless in assassinating the reputations of everyone involved in the scam – the chief minister of Maharashtra, bureaucrats, defence chiefs, part-time politicians, full-time scammers. The media deserves some credit for disrobing the naked ambitions of these black sheep, and almost claiming the scalp of the chief minister. But most unfortunately, the list of these shameless 103 includes two former defence chiefs.

Now only if the media gives up chasing the likes of Rakhi Sawant for her bytes, it might get some time to expose many more such ‘anadarshs’.

Doesn't look like God's Own Country

The commercials for Kerala Tourism have always been outstanding. The recent ad, ‘Your moment is waiting’ is no exception when it comes to the oomph factor. The cinematography, the grainy picture quality, the surreal atmosphere… everything is first-rate. Except that the commercial does not feel like one for God’s Own Country. Dare I say, it even manages to scare you at some points.

Think of Kerala, and what comes to mind are the languid backwaters, lush greenery, Ayurvedic massage, pregnant rain clouds, rice fields, elephants, et al. While the ad captures a few of these elements, overall it fails to capture the essence of Kerala Tourism. Even if there was an attempt to step out of the beaten track, the makers seem to have lost their way.

One of the frames shows a traditional dancer (Was it a deliberate attempt to not make him look like a Kathakali dancer?) babbling something into the ears of the protagonist. The surrounding looks more like an African savannah, and the dancer is wearing red and white colours, quite unlike the colourful and grand visage of a Kathakali dancer. While a Kathakali dancer looks more resplendent, this one resembles an African aborigine and manages to scare the living daylights out of the viewer.

And if that doesn’t, the protagonist’s banshee-like gestures certainly manage to do that. What was the idea behind showing the tourist genuflecting before a banyan tree and wave her head wildly like possessed by a spirit? The eerie background music score only adds to the scare factor.

Full points for the art direction, but there is an overall dampening feel to the ad, unlike the upbeat sunny, sparkling waters that one would generally encounter in Kerala. May be the makers wanted to show a different side of Kerala.

The ad has received rave reviews. But I am not sure whether the creative agencies have done justice to the brief.

Why deo ads don’t pass the smell test

Most commercials for deodorants you see today feature a guy walking out smelling daisy fresh, and skimpily dressed girls around him go into a frenzy. They might also include sisters-in-law—otherwise coy—but who suddenly develop affections for close relatives. What next – incest?

Audiences don’t need a jury to tell them why such ads are not just pure bunkum, but are downright offensive. Even to a majority of the guys, whose fantasies these ads purportedly claim to cater! How guys would wish it was so easy to woo a girl! Just spray on a Rs 150 deo, and play the pied piper to all the femme fatales in town. Whoever said fancy cars, fat bank balances and personality are important, can eat crow.

Alright, we know that sex is a powerful tool to sell products. Sprinkle a bit of humour, and it acquires an air of disarming sensuality.

Recall an old commercial for Axe – a scrawny guy and a girl are shown in a close-up, cheek-by-jowl, literally, appearing to be travelling in a crowded train. The camera pans out, and you see that the couple is all alone in the compartment. The sign-off: ‘The Axe Effect’. Nice and easy!

Compare it with the ads you see today. Bikini clad girls emerging from a dip in the ocean (copied frame-to-frame from a Brazilian ad), bhabhis or newly-wed girls turning naughty at the sight of the neighbourhood hunk… the ads seem to make such a desperate and crude attempt to sell the product. All the commercials seem to drop off a mould. Lately, even Axe seems to have fallen into the trap, and taken the easy way out. Whatever happened to USP and positioning!

I guess the creators of such communication (client + ad agency) should wake up and smell the coffee before they expect customers to try out and smell their ware.

A typical Indian ad for a motorcycle is never complete without daredevil stunts and buxom belles heaving in orgasmic pleasure as the protagonist takes off his helmet. On any given day, the dailies carry at least one incident of road accident involving a speeding two-wheeler. Are the two phenomena interrelated? I leave it up to you to decide.

On the other side, you also have benign advertisements that drive home the message without the bravado. I can particularly recall the Bajaj Avenger ad, where the hero rides through the scenic terrain of Ladakh, forgiving everyone from his father to the barber, ‘feeling like God.’ I don’t want to take sides here as to which company or brand does a better job of selling dreams. But I strongly feel that whoever is selling the dream, without inspiring someone—however unintentionally—to drive off the edge, is doing a good job.

The two-wheeler is as stylish as it is risky. In the past few years, the machines have become heavier and faster. The design of a bike leaves very less chance for the rider to walk away from an accident without any injury. Even at seemingly innocuous speeds of 35-40 kph, it is difficult to control the bike if the rider loses his balance. And unlike a scooter, if the bike topples over, it can crush the limbs of the rider. That’s why, it is not uncommon to see most Indian parents wave out to their young sons with a fervent hope that he comes home safe and sound.

Though marketers are not so heartless to endanger the lives of their customers, but unwittingly, some of them are inspiring youngsters to drive recklessly.

This phenomenon is not restricted to advertisements, or for that matter, only bike ads alone. You have had cases of kids leaping off buildings thinking they were Shaktimaan and breaking each other’s necks in a bid to emulate WWE stars.

So, where should marketers draw the line? The debate can go on and on. But in this case, I guess, biking ads can do with a little less of adrenaline rush.

For once, an indecent exposure we liked!

The cat is finally out of the bag. After seven years of preparation, the Suresh Kalmadi-led Commonwealth Organising Committee has got nothing to show for its efforts. And it is thanks to the media that these guys have been caught with their pants down and exposed their naked ambition.

For its propensity to sensationalise all things important and trivial, this behaviour of the media has actually come as a blessing in disguise. To ensure the success of an event, which can make or mar the country’s image, any amount of noise that is needed to make the guilty heads roll, is welcome. Kudos to the media for having played its part!

The media has exposed the nefarious activities of politicians who are running the affairs of the Games, petty contractors and vendors, corrupt NRI businessmen with dubious track records and the ignorance of insouciant senior politicians. A loud bang was indeed warranted to wake up a government, which seems to be insensitive to everything – price rise, Maoism, the civil unrest in Kashmir, floods in Bihar, UP, Gujarat and Ladakh, even acquiescing to a loud and foul mouthed Pakistani foreign minister.

Hope, the media continues the good work, and refrains from indulging in stories about superstition, incest, black magic and all things that do not deserve more than one minute of air time.