Mobile Services- Truth or Dare??

Folks move over Colas, Beauty Soaps, Chocolates...Mobile is the latest fad (plagarised from the ad of a mobile service provider..that says V is the new ME..ridiculous!!!)

Any channel that I TRY to watch these days are airing a slew of mobile commercials. I, was trying to watch Indian Idol yesterday, bravely braving the idiotic histrionics of a very moronic Anu Malek. It is supposed to be 1 hour programme, with 30 minutes dedicated to Ads, and of those 30 minutes, almost 15 mins were dedicated to Mobile commercials!!

Do not get me wrong here, I am not commenting on the aesthetics or the 'fun' quotient of the ads here..They are extremely aesthetic and damn right funny and sexy!!!Sadly, that is all that ads these days vie for...It is more like a Truth or Dare game...where the odds are very heavily stacked in favour of Dare....

The Docomo Ads show a girl from a conservative South Indian Family showing off her tattoo to her pious mother, who in her typical tamil twang says..'Varry Nice'...One other ad that comes to mind is that of a young disinterested guy getting a job after he has managed with considerable ease to give all the wrong answers..The message in these ads...Hear what you want to hear..Well, I will tell you what I want to hear and I am speaking on behalf of most of the mobile users of this country...I want better connectivity...Do you hear me??I can manage without a caller tune...But I want better network.

To this you will react by saying that this what the ads are trying to convey...Yes that is exactly what my problem is..They are only conveying that...not delivering it...I have lost count of the number of stairs I descend and ascend upon a day whenever my phone rings...I have to go outside into an 'open' area just to be able to hear properly what the other person is trying to say..We have ads showing a grandson playing chess in a moving train with his grandfather who stays in a distant village..All I can say in response is 'HOW THOUGHTFUL'!!. The reality is that in a fairly populated city like Kolkata, the network drops significantly...

We, as consumers, have long been fascinated by the concept of MORE. We want more discounts, more season sales, more channels, more Ads..I think the paradigm is now shifting..That is because now we are already getting more..The focus, I feel, somehow has shifted towards the basic functionalities of a product...So, the fetish for fancy caller tunes is now somewhat getting replaced by the need for better connectivity, which is the most basic requirement fron a mobile service provider...In most mobile commercials this is the message that is being conveyed!!

We as consumers, I believe, prefer to watch fantasy on television..In our everyday existence, we prefer the mundaneness and the predictability...

We want the ads to be funny, sexy, aesthetic and everything that it is now...but we also want the brand to deliver on the very mundane and no frill requirement that it, initially, had set out to deliver..

According to me a brand always delivers on its basic/expected performance first and then on add-ons and not the other way round..and most certainly not on the quality of ads it makes....

Do not play Truth or Dare with us...We do not want the Dare..Give us the Truth, and nothing but the whole TRUTH!!!!

Kurt Cobain's Suicide Note!!!!

Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.
All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things. For example when we're back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn't affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can't fool you, any one of you. It simply isn't fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I'm having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I've tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do, God, believe me I do, but it's not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they're gone.
I'm too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.
On our last 3 tours, I've had a much better appreciation for all the people I've known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don't you just enjoy it? I don't know!
I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become. I have it good, very good, and I'm grateful, but since the age of seven, I've become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I'm too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away.
Peace, love, empathy. Kurt Cobain
Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your alter.
Please keep going Courtney, for Frances
For her life, which will be so much happier without me. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!

It is time to 'March' ahead!!!!

It is that time of the year, when calculators come out of the drawers, excel becomes the hottest thing ever and tax consultants make obscene amount of money. Yes, you have guessed it right, this is March. A month which has IPL 3, but for once that is not the most important reason behind the importance of this month...To remind you, this is also the month that most of us pay our taxes in!!!!

In this context, getting hold of proper tax saving instruments become very important...Investments are made and declared and we 'donate' our hard earned money with a lot of grudge against the government...Insurance, is a widely used instrument in this period.

Over the last couple of weeks, when I myself have been losing sleep over how to save taxes, have often hit upon the idea of buying insurance policies. It is here that I started thinking about all the ads of various products from insurance companies.

Insurance, is a negative reinforcement product. This means that Insurance is bought to avoid the aftermaths of an unwanted situation, like death, accident, and in most cases taxes. The underlying emotion or sentiment belying an insurance buying decision is fear. We fear that we might not be able to support ourselves financially if the earning member/s of the family are no more there, and hence we buy an insurance policy!!!

Now if we have noticed carefully, none of the insurance ads, with a few aberrations, even remotely speak of this. Insurance ads are mostly feel good ads where a daughter is shown gifting her father a bigger and better car. A grandfather who wants to extend a helping hand to his grandson who is about to trip, is stopped by the father, et al.

There is a reason to it.


Research shows that we, as consumers do not prefer to see negative messages on television. We do not empathise with them. What happens is that we form a very clear demarcation of 'them' and 'we'. If an ad shows a death, we analyze that it happenned or can happen to 'them' (the characters potrayed in the ad) and not us. Also, the average Indian consumer, is pretty egoistic when it comes to his/her family. In the case of insurance, the decision maker is mostly, the earning member of the family, that is largely, the male. If we look carefully, there is a good amount of ego massage that is done by these ads. How? Recollect the HDFC Standard Life "Sar Utha Ke Jiyo: ads.

One aberration in recent times, has been, again, HDFC Standard Life. The ad shows two friends. One is going on a tour, and the other friend is seeing him off tha the airport. They discuss what will happen to the family if the friend does not return from the tour at all. To me, this ad is a very blatant and in your face kind of an ad, that drives home the point without mincing or sugarcoating words. I am eagerly looking forward to the kind of reaction that the ad stirrs!!!

Till that time, I shall continue contemplating on which insurance to buy, how much investments to declare, etc. Ads or no ads..Life, you see, has to 'March' ahead!!!!

Miley Sur Mera Tumhara- Reprised!!!

I will begin with the assumption that all of us have watched the new Miley Sur Mera Tumhara video...Well, to me, it was old wine in a new (and a slightly less attractive)bottle. Comparisons with the older version of the same song on DD is inevitable.

The reason why I say this is that although the technical brilliance of the video can not be doubted, it somehow failed to strike a chord. There are also a lot of other issues that come to my mind here.

For starters, what strikes immediately to me about this video, is the use of celebrities (again my favorite issue)!. We, as a country, certainly do look up to celebrities. However, for the case in contention, the 'common man' or the 'aam janta'(mango people) card was not played well. The previous version had a lot of 'uncommon' faces. I stress on the word uncommon because on TV the common man is an uncommon phenomena...As a result, the connect was somehow not built.

Secondly, the song, somehow, though rendered very well by a motley group, did not appeal as much..This might be a result of inertia on our part..We still have the older version etched in our minds...


The tingling of the patriotic sentiments in us was not quite provoked as much...It will still be a very good video to watch..but the purpose, to me, was not achieved fully...

PS: I would love it if anyone thinks or expresses otherwise!!!

Daddy Cool!!!

I have been closely following the latest ads by Provogue...I remember, one of the first messages that they came out with was , " India's coolest dad now wears Provogue". Incidentally, Hrithik Roshan has replaced Fardeen Khan as the new brand ambassador of Provogue....We also know that Hrithik is a dad himself now....

After trying to analyse the message , I realised, that all this while Provogue had been trying to tap the Indian youth with its commercials. Provogue has been pretty succesful in establishing itself as a upper class young brand. Also, in the process, I feel, it was missing out on the 'Daddy' segment.., the just turned daddies of India.

Do people become uncool after they become fathers? This is a question that many ask...Well, now Provogue has the answer. You can be a father to a child and still be uber cool ala Hrithik Roshan.

Provogue has got it bang on with the choice of celebrity. Hrithik's hot propoerty now and he is also a father. Easily the kind of personality that everyone wishes to be. This is important because Provogue's positioning is that of an aspirational brand. Someone who we would like to look like even after we have become fathers.

However, I would be really interested in seeing whether Provogue's strategy of tapping into the segment of consumers on the wrong side of 30, with a slight ponch ans somewhat receeding hairline manages to bring about the desired effect.

Till then, let us all celebrate Fatherhood!!!!

Reality Bytes!

I am an avid ad enthusiast and follow ads closely. In doing so, I observed a trend that is prevalent in most of the ads that we see today. I have been noticing that ads, today, are moving away from larger-than-life images and visuals. They are telling a ‘story’. How are they doing it? If you people notice, most of the ads today are based on small real life incidents. They are taking a slice out of our, so called ‘mundane’ every day life, and trying to convey messages through them.

It is very common for all the family members to gather in the evenings, after everybody has come back from work. This is very commonplace. Such ‘adda’ sessions are used to discuss various things (and I admit a certain amount of bitching too!). The range ranges from anything to sports (specifically, cricket), to politics (the younger female group generally comments on how cute Rahul Gandhi looks), to why the girl next door is not getting married, etc. A paint company uses this to great effect in a TVC that is being aired now. The TVC shows a family discussing the various colors that they could use to paint their house just before Diwali.

Another good ad that is being aired currently is the Vodafone ad featuring Irrfan Khan. The ad shows Irrfan calling up relatives to invite them to his brother’s wedding. He cribs about how relatives go on talking and inquire about a hundred other things, and all this on STD. These are very common happenings that we experience, and conveniently, overlook and forget.

In today’s times, when differentiation between brands on the basis of features alone, has become very difficult, it becomes important to approach the consumers in a different manner. Building up a connect becomes very important. Under these circumstances, almost all the brands have subscribed to this idea. ‘Give the consumers a reason to buy your brand. Giving features is not good enough, everybody does that. What are you giving extra?’ seems to be the mantra.
There is also another reason. We, as consumers, relate to things better that are closer to real life. This is not cinema, where we are happy to shell out 250-300 Rs to watch out favorite heroine, sway to a tune in a chiffon sari on the Alps. There fantasy works. However, there is a touch of realism even in our movies now. India is a large middle class country that has a ‘mundane’ existence. However, we still relate better to it when we see a housewife, struggling with something and when a brand comes to her rescue.
Historically, cola ads, in India, were the most lavish ads. Even they have turned to reality. You need an example, the ‘aap muskuraenge, bulbule gungunayenge’ ads of Coca Cola (featuring Aamir Khan). Also, reality is big on the small screen these days. This further advocates the use of reality in ads as well. There are many other examples like the Tata Sky Ads (featuring Gul Panag and Aamir Khan), the latest Airtel ad (featuring Shahrukh Khan), the new Platinum forever ads among many others.

The reason as, I mentioned above, is to build up a connect with the consumers. This might be termed as ‘emotional branding’ where the brand tantalizes the emotions of the consumers and attracts them towards it. From what I perceive, this trend is here to stay and for good.

While in Rome, do as the Romans!!

The other day I was just thinking about the changes that have taken place in the advertisements we see, with respect to the way the messages are conveyed. I compared two ads that are very clearly etched in my mind. The first one is of Ajanta Watches (which I think was done by Mudra). It had a music piece by Beethoven playing in the background with a lady playing a very lovable grandma. The point here is the use of Beethoven. The second ad that comes to my mind is that of Pepsi that said, “Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby…aha!” The point here is the use of a strange language.

You might be wondering what the point of relevance here is. Well, what I am trying to say here is the difference in the approach. One ad uses a Beethoven piece and the other ad uses a language medium that is neither Hindi nor English, .at best it is Hinglish (even MS Word does not recognize this word. Mr. Bill Gates, you need to gear up and do better than Windows Vista!!).

Language purists who swear by Webster and Chambers would have gone crazy about the use of such outrageous English!!! Earlier (I still know a couple of people) advertisement professionals used to swear by Bern Bach, and Ogilvy. The use of English was crisp, and very proper. But post 1991, India went through a lot of changes. Earlier, it was unfashionable to say that one went for a Hindi movie!! Arnold, Stallone, Van Damme, Tom Cruise were suddenly in vogue!!! However, Hindi was still the people’s language. The result, the insurgence of a new language, Hinglish (essentially Hindi, with generous dollops of English thrown in). We, in our younger days, took to this language very easily. As a result advertisements also started using them to communicate with us. Hence, today we have an Idea Cellular saying “What an Idea, Sirjee” and Virgin Mobile saying, “Think hatke”.

Here, we (and also, the advertisers and the creative agencies) need to understand what the real purpose of making an ad is. What is more important, to create a brilliant work of art with great visuals and impeccable technique or make an effective ad? The ideal situation is to have both, but then life is hardly ideal! So, we have a Nirma ad which is very in your face, with the word Nirma being mentioned exactly 7 times in a 30second ad and that becomes a huge success and on the other hand, we have a Hero Honda Karizma Ad that has all the ingredients(including Hrithik Roshan) that does not ruffle many feathers. I think the idea here is to help sell the product. In order to do that it is very important to get that connect with the TG, whatever it takes! In today’s world of SMS, we are much more comfortable with brb s (be right back) and dnd s (do not disturb) and btw (by the way). So, to me it makes a lot more sense to speak in the language that people understand.

Someone said and very correctly, “While in Rome, do as the Romans"