Titan & Aamir Khan - perfect couple !

Titan is the other name for watches in India…for the one follower who came in to the monopoly of the Indian market in 1987-88 fully diversifying into jewelry as well in 1994 by 2003 had upset the apple cart.. Changed the rules of the game.. huh why rules.. change the game it self …Now that is not the reason why the new ad finds a place in adformula … in fact whenever I found celebrity endorsement I have (most of the time) found myself scathing in my attack on laziness as a strategy that ad makers employ when they make a star sit (stand/bath/run/drink/wear/dress) lift the produce (soap/shampoo/energy drink/petrol/pen) or whatever and say I am this and that because I used this…. In class I give the example of Dyna soap and Kathrina Kaif to prove my point…..

Aamir and his association with titan is really endearing… it proves the ten commandments* that I strongly hold dear and think as must for advertising guys to adhere to whenever they have a famous face to help you sell the product in the short term and build your brand in the long term…

1. Thou shall not take into service a celebrity, for want of other choices.

2. Thou shall not employ a celebrity, who is there, everywhere.

3. Thou shall not appoint a celebrity who is outdated/ controversial.

4. Thou shall not sign up a celebrity who doesn’t really connect.

5. Thou shall not hire a celebrity who lacks expertise in the category or at least who is a total misnomer.

6. Thou shall not engage a celebrity because everyone else is behind him/her.

7. Thou shall not hire a celebrity, just because the competitor has one.

8. Thou shall not assign a celebrity with every brand in your product mix.

9. Thou shall not utilize a celebrity without the advertising strategy in mind.

10. Thou shall not slot in a celebrity without a personality study of the
Celebrity and the brand(s).

*From “mechanics of celebrity endorsements” Advertising express- August 2006- Sabu M Nair

Now having said that it is not only the gelling that the brand and the celebrity is having in this ad, it is also about the equal weightage given to both so that the star do not eat on the brand (vampire effect) . It is also about the continuity that the stars persona is enjoying and such continuity being consistently taken in by the brand for its prosperity.( Remember the Ghajni ads and the Mangal Pandey ads). It’s about the celebrity not being seen for too many brands and in discontinuous intervals and when seen in all fun and fancy that fits his image…It is like a perfect marriage, even though there is nothing in real life called a perfect marriage…

A watch is not just a time device now…it is not just an electronic device that covers a small part of a man’s framework…. It is not even an essential part of your wardrobe if I may say it. Thanks to Titan and the first set of Aamir ads which made it look like “if you do not have a set of watches in your wardrobe, you are a looser” feel and the feel stayed through out the “be born every day”ads to “what’s your style” and to “be more”.. The sales figures of the past decade talks…..Titan as a category leader for sure has done its job- both of category development and its own brand development … their ads always had been simple, strikingly different and leaving a smile on the viewer.. this one is strictly in the same mould and the most striking feature is the consistency… brands and their managers who get bored of their advertising and strategy even before the TG does, have to learn a lesson or two from this partnership…

Kudos to the team at O&M and Titan for being consistent, continuous and creative ! ( this is not forgetting the latest brand extensions of Titan like the eye+ the worth and value of which is yet to be decided and the fact that O&M handles its advertising as well)