The Fun Gun !!!

Eighty-year-old grandma bursts into the recreation room of the old age retirement home. She holds her clenched fist in the air and saucily announces, Anyone who can guess whats in my hand, can make wild passionate love to me tonight!

A witty, elderly gentleman in the rear shouts out,................ An elephant?

Grandma thinks a minute and replies,.................. Close enough!



Have fun people......but come back on Monday ... !!!

ITC- class mates - big ideas !!!

Class mates as a brand is advertising on TV after 6 long years and it indeed left a smile in me.. Not the fact that they didn't show their ads for 6 years but the fact that when they did , they did it in style...This new ad is fun, creative and different, in spite of two celebrity's whose presence looked artificial for me...

All of us who have been students have gone through a phase where books, especially note books become our essential companions , a kind of soul and place to vent out feelings and yet when it comes to choosing a brand , I guess we didn't care. At the most one looked was the cover page, for his or her favourite actor smiling from the cover was reason enough to choose a brand.

ITC class mates made a difference in this category and has made stationary products also anchored in brand thoughts of the target groups and hence make them ask for a class mate next time they buy a note book... I have ( I am sure all of us have) gone through similar situations/ scenarios that this ad shows in the Library... I have a bundle of such instances to quote and the moment I saw the ad I liked it (and I repeat I liked it) ,in spite of the celebrity presence.... The witty idea to use book titles and pass the message across without harming the decorum of the library is NOT out of the world and never seen before but I guess that is what was required for the brand, to talk to its TG at this juncture...

Classmate has recently expanded its portfolio with the successful launch of a range of complementary stationery products such as pens, pencils and geometry boxes and have made made sure that the famed distribution magic across India through its vast distribution network works in this case as well..... as far as Classmate is concerned , it is the leading player in the Rs 5000 Crore market for stationery products comprising notebooks, pens, pencils & scholastics which is today growing at a rate of 9-10% .... Now that is phenomenal... ads , promotions, customer contacts and all such stuff to follow.. IMC in its best form for otherwise what was a habitual buying product.. Good job guys... But now let me ask the question which is paining me...

Why Yuvraj and Soha? I have nothing against this two amazing people.. per se I have nothing against celebrity endorsements as well.. But see this ad again.. once more.. If there was no Yuvraj and Soha, would it have made any difference? I even feel it would have made that ad even more watchable and all attention would have been in the fun/theme/situation than on the celebrity... Here they don't steal the attention and lead to a vampire effect but they for sure divert attention for the first time viewer and stand between the ad and the viewer every time he sees the ad........

Here is the company logic ... Chand Das, chief executive of ITC’s Education & Stationery Products Business (ESPB) says , “Classmate aspires to be the leading and most trusted student education and stationery brand. It’s a brand that believes in and nurtures the “big ideas” that reside in each one of us and encourages young minds to realise them through exploration & perseverance. Both Yuvraj & Soha are vibrant icons for the youth of today. They have believed in & pursued their own “big ideas”, and today, both stand tall in their professions with multi-faceted personalities."....

Ahem ! Now that is something that we get to hear every time a famous face is signed for endorsing a brand... Even Mysore sandal guys said similar stuff when they signed Mahendra singh Dhoni....

Good ad, no creative brilliance but stands out... Kudos to Rediffusion Y&R Chennai and the ITC Class mates team for the come back.. Hope to see more ... !



Credits

Project: ITC Classmate's TVC
Brief: Encouraging young minds to be original and think BIG.
Client: ITC ESPB
Creative agency: Rediffusion Y&R, Chennai.
National creative Director: Minakshi Achan, Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar
Creative director: Kishore Karumabaiah
Copywriter: Kishore Karumbaiah
Client servicing: Nachiket Sant
Production house: RDP (Ramesh Deo Productions)
Director: Shujaat Saudagar
Post-production studio: Pixion
Date of publication / release: April, 2010

A poster design competition...

We at Organic BPS ( I am part of the team) is organizing a poster design competition on account of world environment day on June 5th. The dead line is 4 th June 12 noon....... The theme and the expectation is attached here....click on them and kindly rush in your entries...

Please send the link to the creative minds you know !!!!

Indigo - on time !!!

Passengers on a Lufthansa flight heard this announcement from the captain, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that we have lost power to all of our engines and will shortly crash into the ocean."

The passengers were obviously very worried about this situation, but were somewhat comforted by the captain's next announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we at Lufthansa have prepared for such an emergency, and we would now like you to rearrange your seating so that all the non-swimmers are on the left side of the plane, and all the swimmers are on the right side."

After this announcement, all the passengers rearranged their seating to comply with the captain's request.

Two minutes later, the captain made a belly landing in the ocean.

The captain once again made an announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen we have crashed into the ocean. All of the swimmers on the right side of the plane open your emergency exits and quickly swim away from the plane. For all of the non-swimmers on the left side of plane... "Thank You For Flying Lufthansa."

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I should begin with a confession…

I always thought that low price means low quality (when taking flights) and this thought came and later got deep rooted from my experiences with low fare carriers that always have messed up my travel (whenever I thought of saving a penny .. as they say penny wise, pound foolish ) .. Until once I missed a Jet flight to Hyderabad and was FORCED to travel in an Indigo, I didn’t know the beauty of it…the fact that low cost and low fares doesn't mean low quality dawned on me that day…( step-less stairs , Q-busters, boarding ramps and so on….).…..The biggest selling point for a flight is to be on time and if its taken care of, half the job is done..! My two experiences with Indigo so far had been proving this ‘on time factor’ and hence when I saw this new ad from Indigo which harps on the ON-TIME factor as a performance policy of the company and the efforts that lie behind such performance I couldn’t agree more…

On May 17 when the ad was released, I was amused for three reasons…

1. It came from Indigo, a small, low cost and unpretentious airline which (at least for me) flies on time.

2. It was from Wieden + Kennedy and having seen their marvels of work in the west I was wondering how and how far they will(can) bring the same here in India

3. It was different and refreshingly international if I may say so ( I am not meaning here that all international stuff are adorable)….

The fresh and cool idea that supports the basic selling proposition of the airline is so very clearly articulated and hence reaching the customer… If you have seen the TVC space in this category, every one ( almost ) brags about being number one or number two, forgetting the fact that, to the end user whether you are number one in this or that is not important, the only thing that matters is whether you take them for a number two ride (the pun intended). For some one who wants to position as a real leader in terms of customer experience, value and operational efficiency this ad does the work…. I even have a feel that the airline has a real and authentic adoration and admiration for its customers.

IndiGo is very aptly saying that they of course take you from here to there without tossing with your time and money, and without being made to feel low-priced in the process.( I have seen the disputes of the range of street fight in Air Deccan counters at a point of time when airports looked like railways stations)…All this in a cool, chic and friendly manner and that is a real price winner !!!

And let me add as a parting note.. I loved the VO ( in spite of the so called phoren accent which some critics believe that middleclass Indians may not understand) and the WE and US tone… kudos to the makers for the idea, the script and the execution!!!

The only doubt is whether this is on Time, I mean this ad… I really don’t know, may be Time will have an answer !!! Right now but next time I fly I will take an Indigo, for sure ..

Credits.

Title: On Time
Client: IndiGo Airlines
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy (Delhi)
Executive creative director: V. Sunil
Senior copywriter: Keshavan Naidu
Agency producer: Anil Sharma
Client servicing: Neha Puri
Production company: Bang Bang Films
Director: Harvey B Brown
Director of photography: Vikash Nowlakha
Produced by: Roopak Saluja, Kirk Dias & Amarjeet Kaur
Editor: Harshal Thakur
Post production: Pixion (Mumbai), Prime Focus (Mumbai)
Music: M Mat of Bhavishyavani Future Soundz in partnership with Tarun & Vinayak

Anti dote: - an agency friend of mine after seeing this ad, texts me.. “hey did you see the Indigo ad ? For me it sounds like a great work, had it been for an alarm clock…”

The Fun Gun !!!

A man goes to a doctor and, twitching his fingers and stuttering, finally manages to say, "Doctor, I have a sexual performance problem. Can you help me?"

"Oh, that's not a problem for us men anymore!" announces the proud doc . "There is this wonder drug, Viagra, that does the trick! You take some pills, and your problems are history." So the doctor gives the man a prescription and sends him on his merry way.

A couple of months later, the doctor runs into his patient on the street. "Doctor, Doctor!" exclaims the man excitedly. "I've got to thank you! This drug is a miracle! It's wonderful!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," says the pleased physician. "What does your wife think about it?"

"Wife?" asks the man. "I haven't been home yet."

Now that is what most of our clients are right? come success and they forget their agencies.. anyways don't forget to have fun this week end !!! NJOY !!!!

SBI - Proud to be Indian - again !!!

SBI with its “we are India” ad again… its an age old and time tested attempt (premise or formula) that many big players (many a times the first movers, the big elephants who later fell asleep, did nothing for years, resting on the laurels and past work, waking up one fine morn to realise that others are stealing the show) resort to when they see some soil from under the feet washed and gone…

SBI wants to own the category of Banking in India, and right fully so had it done some good home work and did what they do now some years back … Now with the private banks influx and with the repositioning and re branding of almost every bank we know, it is a bit late.. At least that is what I feel as a bank customer, an ad enthusiast and a marketing reviewer…

Why is this ad relevant and why now?

It not only shows that SBI is in an attempt to own the category ( that is, in spite of all those not so great art works that spoke of being” every Indians banker” that attacked us for the past two years or so) it some how is frantic to be seen as the category owner. The fact of the matter is that no one, not even SBI will be believing that they do actually own the category (alas!).. They could have but their own fallacies have made the gap so huge that others have grown up there and now it’s too hard to make a come back. They had become complacent, looking to the past, and have showed tunnel vision. (still if you walk into an SBI branch you will see how arrogance is a common trait among its staff) This became a seedbed of opportunity for innovators and new players to redefine the business, the products, and establish a new category and, possibly, brand leadership within it… New gen banking is what I am talking about…

This ad fails to show the banks technical expertise, it totally fails to establish its credentials (if any) as an employer and as a bank to the ordinary (?) and its reach in the core insides of India.. Had they done it, it could have been better rated.

There is nothing really fresh about this ad…. The India element fails to enthuse as we have seen it all better and brighter and well executed in all those Bharatbala productions (Remember Mile sur mera tumhara, Vande mataram by AR Rahman etc etc…) A lot of creative liberation could have been taken to emphasize the reach and network of the bank that makes the real difference but they some how chose to keep it really a plain and morbid ad hoping that India will fall in love with the INDIAN stuff.. India is now prudent enough to be duped by such inanity. I don’t call it boring & monotonous all the way through but yes it fails to inspire..

I didn't bother to find out who the ad agency is .. whoever it is, there is a lot more to go guys !!!!

Having said that, one must also admit that this ad is easy to remember. That seems to be one plus of this ad… The magnitude and the scale, the colours and the imagery will and could be remembered not because of great ideation or execution but because not many have attempted it in the Indian landscape.. It is not ever ones cup of tea.. Not a Canara bank or an Axis bank tomorrow can say and make such an ad.. It will look funny if they do so, but when and SBI does it, it becomes believable...

Ads as Jack Trout put it, if it is only about getting laughs, or giving shock or creating a wow; it’s about theater and not marketing!!!

A break.... !!

Annual vacation season and Adformula is going off air for a brief period ... hope to see you all after that ....Have some Gr88 time... !!!

The Fun Gun !!!

As the man began walking toward the door, his wife asked, "Where are you going?"

The man replied, "I'm going to the doctor."

"Why? Are you sick?" the wife asked.

"No," the husband replied. "I'm going to get me some of them new Viagra pills."

His wife got up out of her rocker and started putting on her coat. The husband turned to her and asked, "Where are you going?"

The wife replied, "I'm going to the doctor, too."

"Why?" asked her husband.

His wife replied, "If you're going to start using that rusty old thing again, I'm going to get me a tetanus shot."

Of Kids, Dogs and Dirty buckets ... Part II

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices it has a note in its mouth.

He takes the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in its mouth, as well."

The butcher looks inside and, there is a ten dollar note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time, he decides to shut the shop and follow the dog. So off he goes. The dog walks down the street, when it comes to a level crossing; the dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then it waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and it walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way. The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.

The butcher is in awe as the dog stops a bus by pulling its left leg up and gets in it. The butcher follows the dog into the bus. Then the dog shows a ticket which is tied to its belt to the bus conductor. The butcher is nearly fainting at this sight, so are the other passengers in the bus. The dog then sits near the driver's seat looking outside waiting for the bus stop to come. As soon as the stop is in sight, the dog stands and wags its tail to inform the conductor. Then, without waiting for the bus to stop completely, it jumps out of the bus and runs to a house very close to the stop.

It opens the big Iron Gate and rushes inside towards the door. As it approaches the wooden door, the dog suddenly changes its mind and heads towards the garden. It goes to the window, and beats its head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door. The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.

The butcher surprised with this, runs up, and stops the guy.

"What in heaven's name are you doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!"

The Guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."

*Moral of the story: You may continue to exceed onlooker's expectations but shall always fall short of the boss' expectations. It's a dog's life after all.........*

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An average advertising personnel leads a dog's life.. angry bosses, irate behaviour, four letter honoring, passing the buck, fowl play, dirty clients, bizarre American accents with softened 'T's and rolled' R's and all the paraphernalia... with practically no HR to govern them, to motivate them ,to correct them, to appraise them ,to lead them, he lives virtually in a clueless world..his world would be a violin in the hands of an amateur..

This part comes to you as the other side of the story that I was talking last time in part I.. why do ad guys ( the executives and the guys who are in the battle front) behave the way they do?

In the Middle Ages, there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in Europe killing more than one third of Europeans. As this catastrophe hit Europe, the prominent question was "why is this happening to us?" The answer to that question came from the religious leaders of that time. They said "it is a judgement of God on sinful mankind". So the course of action to avoid the plague catastrophe was prayers and avoiding sins. But this course of action did not provide the solution for plague. On the other hand, Alexandre Yersin, a student of Louis Pasteur asked a different question about the same catastrophe. He asked, "What is causing this problem". This question led to the discovery of the bacillus that caused the plague and the course of action that emanated from that discovery led to an efficient and permanent control of the disease.

Someone in the industry should drive the push,would have to wake up,and ask QUESTIONS>>> and shout that the King is naked.. 'blunt'ism should become the order of the day but how many bosses in the AD industry as we know would tolerate a junior who talks sense..who talks blunt...?

Alexandre Yersin was lucky to have a Louis Pasteur to lead but how many in the Ad industry ,can be so....?

How many for example would have the guts and gumption to accept that the 'research 'as we know the humbug as we do it today is bull shit and so tell the juniors to do something else...

How many ,for example would have the conviction and courage to say that the tops take home fortunes- as cash and kind, as foreign trips and flight tickets while the junior ones,the lesser mortals would be paid peanuts for the monkey job that they do...

How many , for example would have the potency and power to stand up and say that "excuse me ..but for the pittance that we give them as entry level salaries , and the seemingly vague and ever moving targets, we would get only the 'status quo ' and nothing more... to think out the box, first the front line guys should have their cash boxes clinging....

Unless you do that.... the top guys , your lamenting wouldn't work.. it looks a farce.. sheer hypocrisy... chastity speech of the street prostitute...

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"Its not easy to ask questions, especially when you know the answers..."

The Fun Gun !!!

In the men's bathroom, a Management guru, an engineer and an ordinary guy were standing side-by-side using the urinal.

The engineer finished, zipped up and started washing and literally scrubbing his hands...clear up to his elbows....he used 20 paper towels before he finished. He turned to the other two men and commented, "I graduated from the IIT and they taught us to be clean."

The M guru finished, zipped up and quickly wet the tips of his fingers, grabbed one paper towel and commented, "I graduated from the IIM and they taught us to be environmentally conscious."

The common man zipped up and as he was walking out the door said, "I just did my school but they taught us not to piss on our hands.

Now that is the climax that one expects in ads but missing these days... anyways for the day this is a week end and have fun guys... Bingo !!!