Times Of India - Lead India in style!

“I am unable to understand how a man of honor could take a newspaper in his hands without a shudder of disgust.” Said the renowned French poet Charles Baudelaire and let me begin this episode of ad formula here.

News papers have all changed and why not. This are times when people and societies have changed. Markets have changes and marketing has changed. Selling is no longer selling alone and many things added to it. News papers (long lost is there nobility and the reverence with which people saw them, the emotions with which people attached to them and the trustworthiness with which they identified with them) in the changed world have to compete to win and to excel … The Times Of India “lead India” campaign, I would not say is one plain and naked attempt in that direction but it shows that it ,in spite of the noble cause ( vote/ change/ youth and all the bla bla bla) the hidden motive is sales and more sales for TOI. (ot that it is a crime!)

According to TOI, this campaign is about “Awakening the countrymen to vote for right candidates and before that, making political parties to bring right & eligible candidates for representing them” .For that, Times Of India will be reviewing all the candidates from tens of constituencies and publishing details of those political candidates…. OOH….I felt once I thought about how taxing this could be… How hard it would be to TOI to actually analyse and come out with real news and real facts about this guys…? Will it happen considering the fact that a major news paper group like TOI ,has many dealings and many allainces with the same politicians whom they are trying to change?

Every day the TOI devotes a large space ( sacrifice for the nation eh !!! pooh poohs the crtitiques ) , and spends a hell lot on TV, glares us from the outdoors, bill boards and OOH, and wherever and exhorts us to wake up and save this nation. Shouldn’t we be thankful? We are ..I am atleast not that I don’t see the business in it, but I see the cause.. I see the comunication behind it…

The ads are simple, powerful, well written, well reaching and hiting the target- right at the weakpoint. I am sure the TV version which is making me to think, and wriggle in discomfort ,given the fact that I have never voted( for want of a choice) is doing the same with many. It has far reaching effects on many a viewers as I understand from my analysis and election talk with friends.

The campaign began in early 2007 with a single print ad that asked, "Are we going to simply shrug our shoulders, blame our infrastructure, our bureaucracy and our political system?" .The effort grew to include TV, Internet, mobile, street-level activation and reality TV and later went on to win the grand prix lion at the Cannes… TOI and JWT had reasons to laugh!!!!

It is good and even desirable that media gets social and takes social issues head on. Media can do things which others cannot. Only media can do things which many others cannot. For the idea, for the reach out and efforts spend on the campaign, for the consistency and for keeping the idea long enough to tickle the conscience of the lazy arm chair critics of the system (Me included!) it is full marks from me….

Rules of Marketing communication are all simple…. It takes a lot of stupidity to spoil your communication. These guys haven’t done it…


Kudos!!!






Tail piece:- if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, here we go !!!

Advertising -the Axe effect>>>> Part III

Dear Ann:

I have a problem. I have two brothers.

One brother is in advertising, the other was put to death in the electric chair for murder.

My mother died from insanity when I was three years old.

My two sisters are prostitutes, and my father sells narcotics to high-school students.

Recently I met a girl who was just re­leased from a reformatory, where she served time for smothering her illegitimate child to death, and I want to marry her.

My problem is, if I marry this girl, should I tell her about my brother who is in advertising?

(Plaque presented to Arnold Barban by the staff of Leo Burnett on his retirement from the agency.)

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Media and its role...

Media is commercialized. Profit is the very idea and competition is very much around, threatening. Recession and the resultant media expenditure cuts are eating into the revenue streams of media houses. (IPL may be an exception though.)

Just like Coca-Cola having Pepsi, Colgate having Pepsodent and Hero Honda having Bajaj, Star Plus has Sony, Sun has Vijay and x has y…... The more the competition, the more you have to commercialize and then, it is the sponsor or the ad agency that decides on what program should be on air and when….. if you think this is MISERABLE, so be it… watch a channel like Asianet and you will know how media violates all the norms to show ads than the actual programmes and make money ,I guess I should say mint money….Here I guess one should also admit the fact that some programmes, or many of them of the serial and reality show genre are disgusting watch than the commercials that interrupt them... care fully observe when you get home today, this phenomenon is there happening even at your home...

Practically all the shows and soaps, which we see are controlled by the advertisers…. ( I know that it is not news for you ..many of you..!!) Many people wonder why there are so many ads around. The simple fact is that without ads all these media will be costlier- more price for newspapers and magazines and more money for the cable operator. And as the corporate preferences about media change,( new media forms come up every day) media has to stoop many times for existence.

Reports show that local media which has largely ignored by the corporate before, now has started gathering more attention. Local cable channels mop up any where between 15% - 30% of audience share in prime time as per a recent Business World report. The fact that Grocery store chains like Food World, with many outlets across , spends pittance on mass media budget, but in abundance on local media is proof enough…

Print ads are generally considered less effective and hence less offensive, because they can be easily ignored but T.V and internet ads are more intrusive and often distasteful T.V ads appeal to all senses, they encircle, capture us in a carefully woven web.

The question of ethics ?

Giants like Hindustan Lever with its gigantic product mix and multitudes of brands and varieties of each brand in each product line, hence adopt a strategy of continuous communication with the customer in a well planned “pull strategy” and they are what they are today. Seemingly harmless ads, which appeal to our emotions like love and fear, are also not so harmless on a second thought. Hue and cry was raised against media for having shown some ads. Kamasutra and Moods resorted to enact a bedroom with all the sensuality associated with it in their ads only to be opposed far and wide.

Indian hypocrisy has now to a large extent died down, compared to the olden days when even the Liril girl in her bikini was considered a blasphemy and moral police troops worked overnight to send her into a bath room… When Marc Robinson and the girl in the KS ads were seen like devils, when Milind and Madhu were accused of being the reason for all the ill’s of thei otherwise heavenly nation…

Having said that, I must also say that Ad makers also go over board some times….How can any one substantiate the use of half – naked women in coffee and tea ads, talcum powders “for men” which drives women behind and lipstick stains on a man’s body? There was some coffee ad which showed a bed room, with its full glory and action, and 20 seconds of a 30 sec commercial went for the jerking of the bed leaving a mere 10 second for the brand name and the product to be shown and sold. No one wonder I don’t remember the brand name ( read it again !! I said SOME coffee ad )…Most of the people who saw the ad didn’t see the coffee thing… those few who saw it kept wondering whether to have coffee before bed or after bed !!!!

Even liquor is advertised, mostly in disguise as a soda or a plan water of the same brand name…. this is when it is clear to the thinking common man ( that is a new tribe in India) that a Vijay Mallya does not need a Kingfisher Mineral water to survive…..

The media, it is clear should play a more reasonable role but then the big question comes – on what cost and at whose expense?

Tail piece :Advertising tells us what unnecessary luxuries we can't do without....

Also read my other blogs chicken curry & confusion.....

Apply now.. Durex condom tester ...

Durex in Australia had some time back called for applications for what it claims could be the world's best job - condom tester.According to Durex "any Australian over the age of 18 could apply for one of 200 positions as a condom tester".One thing's for sure - it's a job where employees won't mind taking their work home and burning the midnight oil....

Yesterday was world AIDS day and hope people will get more reasons to wear a condom , if morality is a no issue for them...

Open your eyes !

Making Valentine's Day An Event to Market Love!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

An End to Fatigue!!!

Made and send by good friend Erhan Ali of Wunderman Istanbul Turkey.... a cool work and Erhan and his team hopes it to make some heads turn in the Cannes ,next year!!!

Kudos mate !!

Advertised brand:Pharmaton

Advert title(s): Park

Translation of headline to English: End to fatigue.

Advertising Agency
:Wunderman İstanbul

Art Director:Hulya Muynak

Copywriter: Erhan Ali Yilmaz

Illustrator:Hulya Muynak

Published/Released Jan 2008

At Crossword, we are not at crossroads!

Crossword book stores, located in major cities in India is were you wouldn't lose yourself. But, you are likely to pick up some books to read. Categorized and well arranged, thinking like a bookworm, the store organisers keep books elegantly, so that we will pick up at least one of them. Allthough their advertisement says "Get Lost", we would always fall in love with books. Just look at that Ad-- is that copy cute? ( no comments, Your comments are more important )

Animated Fun

Is it wise to become animated in expressing ourselves? Some companies feel so. BP had found that fun related animations can convey their messages quickly. I feel that animated ads engage us because of its novelty, freedom in bringing flexibility to script( because we need not work with real characters) , a befitting background music and fun involved.

Look for advertisements of BP like this one. See it here.

Apple Ipod and itunes were most sought after brands, designs and electronic gadgets of 2007. Some of us have felt happy and sometimes unhappy regarding its price cut during Xmas. But they have also used animated ads in venezuela and US to impress the buyers. Watching it is worth it. Take a look here.

Look for Paul McCartney dancing for ipod tunes in a fascinating animation here.

Tata Ace : Riding on Elephants!

All advertisements are not alike, neither should they be. But, are all the elements in the ad be same- for eg: a father,mother and a child/ a tourist, a localite and an elephant/a beach, a girl and a boat. We can find similarities in many of the advertisements that are being made. Tata Ace is just another one, but not just one. Here too, we can find a traveller, some elephants and localites on elephants..but the advertisement says Tata Ace feels best for carrying loads. See it here.

Oh! We cannot forget these oldies!

How many of us recall the advertisements in the '80s and the '90s, when the Indian advertising industry, mainly concentrated on the print to influnce the populace. we have often found Aishwarya in the newest ones, like that of Nakshatra, which was considered one of the best among recent ones.

The Garden Vareli advertisement is sensual and who wouldn't fall in love with sarees?

This is a co-branding effort : Lee Cooper and Sheetal. Its abstract, simple and conveying the message.

Vimal Suitings- Its not one of those- just in case ads that anybody would put, just to remind customers. It stands unique because of its copy, presentation and the background.

Oh! In those days too..Who wouldn't ogle? yes, if you were looking for something trendy, just to make yourself more popular among social circle, you would have tried it!..That was what the advertisers and Phoenix shoes makers would like you to do!

Most Effective Television Ads- An Afterthought!

JuxtConsult's Ad Box office report says among urban consumers, who are often clouded with ads have found among the top 5- Vodafone ads as the best among them ( the Pug is the common factor!), Airtel as the second best ( SRK and A.R.Rahaman as the common factors), and the list moves like Nokia, Pepsi, Reliance Mobile, Colgate LIC, Fevicol, ICICI Prudential Life, Surf Excel in that order. But see the list of celebrities associated with- SRK, AB, Dhoni, Sachin, Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek, Hrithik, John and Salman.

But do you feel it is alarming that it is Bollywood mania, even in advertisements . We find them the most popular and recognised, especially among women if we could say, Rani Mukherjee and Preethi Zinta, and so films have been influencing a lot, especially the ad-makers. Lets sit and brood a little while? I feel we are depending a lot in this bollywood worship that we are a bit cliched in our story lines- Isn't it time to get more creative folks !

the social bores...!!!

How boring are social service ads? or for that matter any product or service ad with a call for a change kind of social message embedded in it? Generaly boring .. rite? The government kind of ads that are good in intention but poor and boring when it comes to execution....
Recently media is hit left and right by a series of ads issued by the GOI to make us "aware" of the importance of being careful about getting the right visa and other documents before going abroad for work, particularly as labour..... I dont intend to show it here, as adformula has better things to show.. take for instance the two ads that I thought of sharing here... Of course it sells a product or rather a service namely Aaj Tak, a TV channel, but a social cause is embedded so amazingly well... simple they are and short they are and yet so strong they are....

i-pill ...now what next?

President Clinton looks up from his desk in the Oval Office to see one of his aides nervously approach him.

"What is it?" exclaims the President.

"It's the Abortion Bill, Mr. President - what do you want to do about it?"

"Just go ahead and pay it."

"But its the bill that has been returned by the senate ,not the one you think sir.." says the aide

"oh I thought you have bought the Pill I had ordered for after last night" exclaims Clinton.

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The best contraceptive is a glass of cold water: not before or after, but instead, said someone, but there seem to be less takers for that cold concept..... Everyone seem to be craving for sex, pre marital, post marital, extra marital no matter the mode, it seems the Indian populace has thrown out the garbs of hypocrisy and the Come on-we-are-Pure-ethical-Indians and we-dont-have-sex-whatsoever pretexts...Adformula seems to be the last to write on the topic ,in the context of the latest wave in the sex obessed Indian urban place named as i-Pill ,a tab from cipla, intented to avoid unwanted pregnancies, espcially after the "high voltage performance" last night, neverthless I thought its never too late to say what I feel on this topic...

Now the wonder pill ,allowed to be sold as an OTC drug, with no docs in between, the young and the old alike,seems to be all awake with an upbeat mood (the pun is intended) to do it, today and now.....

The world's second most populated country( we are postive bunch of people and hence, call it as the largest growing market) is on the verge of an AIDS epidemic. Can we afford to be coy and casual aboutsex and contraception? In our towns at least people have started realising that if used properly, condoms can deter the spread of HIV/AIDS and prevent pregnancy and now comes this pill, which I am afraid will end up in more casual sex and more HIVs and the like.

Not that The urbanite, including me, go for buying condoms(if at all)with a blush that spreads across the shop and sheen that lights up the whole street. Often we buy them under cover of night, anonymity or, maybe, even disguise. If you ask me,I can't go to the shop at the end of my road to buy a pack of condoms. I usually stop at places where I'll never go again and I am better off considering the fact that I know N number of men, who cant ask for a box of condom when their wife is with them..... Well that is a lot of secrets being told but mind you that is what we are... the normal Indian.... now with this i-pill even that is gone... outright we can indulge,(because we know that the suryadev(sungod) will not rise up suddenly in the middle of the night),if we just dont forget to get the i-pill the nextday morning...

Men are a selfish lot. That is the simple reason why the condom guys have to do so much of hardsell to make him buy the thing. Give her pleasure, add to the pleasure, take her to the heights of pleasure platforms work with them,infact only these things work if you want men to sheathe themselves, since most men are (inspite of all the pretensions) insecure about their ability to perform and deliver the result...when it comes to the bedroom....Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs) for men are being reserached but men are men and they simply would not volunteer to go on the pill and it is slowing down research on the male pill. Many men 'willingly'(how gracious we are to be allowing 'ladies to be first') put their wives through a tubectomy (female sterilisation) rather than subject themselves to a far simpler and safer process - the vasectomy (male sterilisation).......

Now that being a fact,at least we have to be playing safe ( aha ...did I say that?) and follow the dictum "Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion" . But to be a bit serious it only about avoiding a birth? is it not about diseases too for which and for the prevention of which this i- pill can do nothing? I would be the last person to accuse the advertiser for Corrupting the other wise sane and highly ethical Indian youth... long ago this two siamese twins.. preventing unwanted pregnancy and preventing STD's/AIDS were seperated...and of course the i-pill guys havent intented to substitute or replace in theory and practise the use and utility of condoms with their pill ,but the Indian mind, the shameful, egotic, inconsistent, hypocritic ,insecure and non confident Indian mind, will interpret it that way and that worries me....

While the ads are communicative and simple with the idea being conveyed short and sweet and more importantly not ending in a mess with sex and bedrooms depicted , I believe that they should be talking also about the ill effects of over using this pill in the female body with hormonal imbalances as an after effect as discussed in the media and also about the fact that the sooner (I am told that within 12 hours is the best)it is taken ,the better rather than glorifying the 72 hours selling point to woo the lazy youngster.....The advertorials seem to be more justifiable, but the TV ads hide more than they reveal....

Ethics isnt my cup of tea, but yet considering the fact that the marketer has always been accused of promoting promiscuity and manipulating people to be materialistic and what not, being a bit more facual can save i-pill from a lot of issues, unwanted pregnancies included... Now the men pill may be the next.. and that is fair. After all it makes more sense to take the bullets out of the gun than to wear a bulletproof vest......

We Are Crazy About Pepsi.

It is not just we who are crazy about Pepsi. This would have been a challenge for the makers of this advertisement . These pachyderms are unpredictable-gentle at times and ferocious sometimes. Kudos to the makers! It was worth watching!

PS: Are they thinking that Pepsi drinkers are thick-skinned? or Are they targeting the zoo population? These questions are meant for a joke.

'Coke' Side of Life

These colourful bottles are tellling stories about Coca- Cola brand. A brand which lives! and stays No.1 couldn't lag behind others. Will the new packaging tricks work?







Haven't we ever thought of 'Coke' being just another cola drink? if there are plenty of substitutes in the market, can this cola brand become inconspicuous, being one among the crowd?.. These were the questions which the marketing team of Coca Cola had been pondering over the years. The poster on the left was one made by me, using the coca-cola aids at cocacola.com site. The interactive website carries a lot of tools and games along with information about how the coca cola brand came into life.

But wasn't it losing its personality lately, when lot of blunt ads were shown in televison, with pretty young things flaunting Coke in their hands. But the team realised that somehow the essence had disappeared from the brand.

This is an art of 'Peter Blake' identifying pop icons with Coca Cola. The "Happiness Factory" advertisement of Coke, represented 'Coke' side of life as positive and optimistic. The agency Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam have done their due, under Executive Creative Directors-Al Mosley and John Norman!

The polar bear commercial was more encompassing and shown Coke as a token for acceptance and joy. They haven't missed the identity now! The brand is a stand alone hit!

Nothing But the Name!

Only just a day after UTI bank changed its skin to become Axis bank, it was announced that UTI bank has become one of the 50 most valuable brands in India. Brand Finance valued the brand at Rs. 829 crores.

Oh, we knew what we were giving up," says Hemant Kaul, President, retail banking, Axis Bank.For UTI Bank, "Axis" was selected from a list of over 50 possibilities. Given the bank's growing interests in other Asian markets including Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, a "global-sounding" name was imperative. But is it more than "old wine in a new bottle?" See it here.

Simple Advertising Highly Irresistible!

Break The Rules!..

Is it essential to learn something from the environment to know how our advertising works? Can we simply break the code of making popular advertisements by just doing a detective stunt? Will we be able to find a pattern? Is there any language that consumer likes?

So these tips were given by some top notch advertising professionals!

Analyse many advertisements. Keep eyes open widely. The more advertisement we watch, it becomes easy to shortlist ideas.

Look for inspiration. Find inspiration from surroundings, jell with society.

Keep on writing. Throw away the rubbish; it will help you improve the message, which you want to convey to consumer well.

Be clear about the objective of campaign like introducing your brand in the market, or building its image, or informing the viewer about a particular offer, and so on.

Zero in on your target audience: Build your campaign depending on the target audience. Advertising is all about role-playing. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the specific group of consumers you intend to target. Make the viewer identify with what you are saying.

When working on the humour appeal: It is quite common that humour never goes unnoticed. It can be satire, mischievous and nonsense, verbal or non-verbal. Here there’s no typical thumb rule: Humour is quite effective for those products which consumers buy instinctively. If it is for a product which involves a conscious buying decision, humour must contain the message properly.

And the most important rule of advertising: There are no rules.

Stop!..Wink!..Shop and Go!

Retailing in India was a puzzling snake and ladder chase for many. Firstly, it was so difficult to understand the customers and secondly, there was no dearth of competition. Often we have heard the term "clothes maketh a man" and it is quite natural to judge a person by the clothes he/she wears. And during the festival seasons, the family shops and not just an individual and retail shops, draped with plastic sheets and colourful pamphlets announcing discounts and gifts. Shopper's stop couldn't maintain their momentum in 2001, and so finally went for a change in the communication. The commercials were mostly in black and white, the central character being a woman, with interesting backgrounds like a lorry, a taxi full of boxes, chains locking suitcases and like. This is one of Simrit Brar's design for shopper's stop- different with bright colours and an unusual touch. The promotions never went unnoticed. It had a different spirit and it boosted sales. Contract Advertising which did most of the commercials for Shopper's Stop is one of the leading agencies in India.

It stops the eyes of everybody. They always get curious looks.

Drink Milk..It's always been survival of the fittest!!

It was not just a "drink milk " ad that we have seen it making smiles and white moustaches.... It is part of an advertising campaign which made lot of awareness about the need to drink milk , in a larger part of the Latin america ,especially Argentina.... While the use and need , of adults taking in milk is disputable, may be the next ads makers (which is not part of the Latin american campaign) realised that an "adult selling point" has to be given to actally make the deal.... Funny it looks but I am told that the trick was done.... see it and you will know why....



Now back to the next ad of the Latin american campaign" it's always been survival of the fittest"... Enjoy !!!


and this one,,,,I love the wicked looks of the Dinosour..!!!

advertising rocks !!! and here is my favourite..just for the climax....

insurance ad....the game of probability !!!!

Its is mindblowing campaign and each one retains the suspense till the last minute as to what is going to be the climax? For those who have seen this ad already,please think over, for others think you can later on , as of now ,just enjoy it.......