Mont Blanc-The new Gandhi...an !

What does a brand stand to get when they associate with icons?

Instant fame and image transition?

Easy recognition and differentiation, particularly in cluttered categories?

Aura diffusion from the icon to the brand that gets associated?

And what if the answer to the question is "all of the above "?

Can they go ahead… ?....theoretically it seems YES is the answer but in practice though a yes may not suffice, always,,,….
Mont blanc limited-edition commemorative fountain pen in honor of Mohandas Gandhi, is the brand in question (and for the uninitiated,) German luxury pen maker Mont blanc launched the $24,763(12 Lakhs in Indian rupees) pen just in time for the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma, the man who shunned foreign-made products, and stood for simple living and austerity … Just 241 commemorative fountain pens will be sold — a nod to the number of miles Gandhi walked in his famous 1930 "salt march," a mass protest against salt taxes levied by the British that dealt an early blow to their control over the subcontinent.

The pens are handmade, adorned with Gandhi's signature and a saffron-colored opal. Made in18 K gold, rhodium-plated nibs display an intricate hand-engraved depiction of the 60-year old Gandhi (quite a work one must admit…) They come with an 26-foot golden thread that can be wound around the pen to invoke the spindle Gandhi used to weave plain cotton cloth each day.(What an Idea sirji!!) The pens also come with a commemorative booklet of inspiring Gandhi quotes. And of course to ward off allegation of sumptuousness and opulence, the company launched a cheaper line of 3,000 roller ball and fountain pens which retails for 167,000( $3,205 ) to147,000 ($3,642).

Even that is stratospherically so out of contact for the vast majority of Indians, many of whom don’t know how to write, leave alone a Mont blanc… Over 450 million Indians struggle by on less than $1.25 a day…. Remember India is 134 th in Human development index in a recent world wide ranking…Gandhi successors and their Trusts have been taken care of in terms of big donations and hence they don’t find any fault in the product idea… but needless to say, debates, discussions, controversy and litigation is already on air…

Ok ! Now the ethics in the product idea, design and the positioning apart, does this match really makes any sense…?

Purely from Marketing and Marketing Communication angle isn’t it an imperfect alliance?

For me it looks like a bad marriage as it don’t gel… Gandhi and opulence is as stupid a combination as Elizabeth Taylor and parsimony … !!! Why it is that, two distinct brands with two different and diametrically opposite brand values have to be super imposed? Gandhi is a powerful icon, a brand that has its value that stems from the basic DNA of the brand –austerity and self rule…. Mont blanc Gandhi edition is just a misnomer, king of all the mismatches,,,,,….

No I am no Gandhian who opposes the use of Gandhi in Advertising,, why should I when Tushar Gandhi thinks it is ok? Why should I when I have seen and felt good with such ads like the one that you can see here...

I am just against the mismatch but who cares..?

Now I am waiting , for Johnie Walker( keep walking!!!) to come up with Gandhi special edition of their stuff.. after all he walked all the way to Dandi for the salt march…

Tail piece :-

At a local coffee bar, a young woman was expounding on her idea of the perfect mate to some of her friends."The man I marry must be a shining light amongst company. He must be musical. Tell jokes. Sing. And stay home at night!"

An old granny overheard and spoke up, "Honey, if that's all you want, get a TV!"

DIGITALisation of brands ... the starting point...

It is a tale of social media make over..Six years ago when I left advertising and joined teaching, the world was new to this millennium. The Y2K bomb had burst and the world was quite more a safe place. Industry was booming, liberalization was quite happening, the giant Alcatel’s were slowly being replaced by sleek Nokia’s, more people traveled by air and discussions of more private airlines were on air..More people spend more on more and more unwanted products and more people looked slim, handsome and sexy.. more houses came up, more flats looked spruced up, new and more cars on the roads that made our cities look like live hell here on earth, more gadgets- wired and wireless-appeared, more communication happened and more faster it happened.

I but was more amused with the advent of new media spaces than when I was in full stream advertising. As a management teacher who taught the new gen the nuances of modern day marketing and advertising, I got into the net working sites like twitter, orkut and linked-in, little knowing that they are going to be the new media sites for advertising as well. The end of advertising as we know it said, Zergio Zyman and I bet it is happening. The agencies of the past I mean the ones who live in the past, the ones where the kind of places like I have worked, the ones who thought and still think that they know and hence they define Advertising, resist any such idea of the age old realm of Advertising moving from TV and the print to the new age stuff like DTH and OOH and worse to the twitters and facebooks which are more about tête-à-tête with the TG than about one sided announcements that Ad’s as we knew them used to be.

Today, Brands who thought old, (even the oldest ones) seem to be rethinking. Coke for instance is trying to balance its late acceptance of their awakening to the digital truth by being fair more aggressive in its digital presence. Coke now will think beyond giving away Coca cola T shits and will get digital in constant dialogue with the young through programmes like My Coke Rewards in the US and Coke Zone in the UK…

This is in continuation to the Sounds of Coca-Cola programme where people where asked to submit videos in which they replicate the noises they associate with opening, pouring and drinking Coke. To enter, but, participants need to visit Facebook, the social network, to find out the details, and then use an "app" to upload their entry, with the best efforts possibly going on to feature in an ad campaign. So you have to be the facebook type already or better become one to be of the coke type.. the message is simple… This all is happening in spite of their respective agency(ies) criticism of any thing which is new and digital…

India too isn’t left behind,,, given the oft quoted age group that is making India look younger than much before(54 per cent of the population is below the age of 25 and 72 per cent is below the age of 35)….the scene is fast changing here as well.. how else other wise can one explain the phenomenon where companies like Hindustan Unilever(remember the Lipton Stay Sharp online jigsaw challenge), Procter & Gamble, Cadbury’s and Tata Tea( jago re was a hit) have increased their digital ad budgets for individual brands.

India’s consumption driving group of youth are increasingly spending more time online and they are now no longer limited to the metros or the happening places as we called them.. Smaller towns and cities also have gone up in terms of spends… Well…. did I say PHENOMENON there? HUL, P&G, Cadburys.. etc spending more money on digital is phenomenon in itself because they are FMCG players basically and hence require more ad spend and more customer interaction points as compared to others because it’s the customer familiarity that drives their sales…The web is an equal if not a better tool (as compared to the main stream media) for awareness, persuasion and reminding – the basic functions of advertising as we knew it… (Being first in their ladder of thoughts)…Yeah! The reach and the coverage is an issue still in India given the socio economic facts but that doesn’t seem to be deterring our main stream brands in seriously going digital ….

The whole game is not new ..the world has seen success stories like Sunsilk's sunsilkgangofgirls.com or Mattel's barbie.com but the main stream mass advertisers have been shying away in spite of what digital marketing experts and consultants seems to be vouching for … between the war of choices one thing is but certain – the internet and digital space may not replace the mainstream media at least in a larger part of our landscape but can go hand in hand … the news is that it has begun !!!!

This is the concept of Sapir-Worf hypothesis that sociologists talk about when they suggest that 'the language that one speaks reflects the looking glass through which the person comprehends the world and act in it' is a quite important analogy for the Marketing discipline( the Advertising or Marketing Communications community in particular) to understand. The cart off is that ideas, concepts, and images in the wisdom of advertising (as we know it) shape and delimit the domain of Marketing communications as a practice……

Social networks and digital space.... Even if you're not ready for a presence there, go there; find your customers and observe them. Listen to what they're saying.... it is the starting point....

Is it not time that the sleeping ones too wake up?

NB:- even as I was typing out this article, my Google reader tells me this peice of news... Brands such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut and Gap have all developed iPhone "apps" in an effort to connect with consumers, and are enjoying a variety of benefits as a result, particularly when these tools have featured in ad campaigns run by Apple itself.

Now I guess my point is made .........

From Baby Boomers to Gadget Lovers!- What we have to learn!..

Even though we wouldn't agree that age reflects in our decisions and that we can find age subcultures among the vast majority of people. We have often read major age subcultures like- the wannabe Gen Y, the sophisticated Gen X , the narcissistic baby boomers and now the new generation is a set of " Gizmo(gadget) lovers! Often these characteristics will influence in their normal decision making processes and in developing a loyalty towards any product or a service.

The baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, are in the age category, in between 40 and 60. This was one of the most sought after segment as they wanted themselves to look young, lively, attractive and often bought for themselves many things, dwelling in a world of indulgence. As they were brand loyal, by building powerful brands, marketers could maintain a rapport with them.

The Gen X ( born between 1965 and 1979) wee more materialistic but quite cost - conscious and often ignored hype. They were not so impulsive in their decisions and they portrayed complex buying behaviour with lot of judgemental decisions. They gave more importance to subtle things and believed in enjoying life and often preferred freedom and flexibility. And, therefore marketing to them had to be more creative; focused on style, fashion and language!

But the Gen Y ( born between 1977 and 1994) were more pragmatic, technology savvy and were value oriented. They turned tables and always searched for a price-quality balance, but they were more brand embracing!.

But while the baby boomers are now getting old, the new category of gizmo lovers, the new generation have their own characteristics. Although they are very proud, stylish and adventurous, they are not as much brand loyal. They are technology savvy and spend their life in the web and in their mobiles, and marketing to them needs to be more innovative and media savvy!

Gizmo lovers are trendy, young, innovative, early adapters and net savvy. They are likely to be influenced from online advertisements and mobile phone ads, rather than newspapers and hoardings! They experience technology and embrace the most recent ones, leaving the lesser tech savvy versions behind. Innovations become the major requirement, in order to market, sell and satisfy the needs of these Gizmo lovers. We have to take cues from all these hints, as they are likely to be the decision makers in coming future!..

For advertisers, Living in the Present would be the major catchline!

Orange ..pink and now red !!..Hutch is now Dead !!!

Orange,pink and now red
hutch to vodafone,set is the bed,
will the dog be now left dead?

Its an infeeling that I have when Vodaphone takes over Hutch, in a cruel tale of corporate takeover, merger or aquisition, whatever it is , a gonnabe case for the strategy sessions in business schools, the colour change is what bothers and amuses me. In fact regular readers of this blog would have got irritated by my scathing atttacks on the ever changing colours of Hutch and my admiration and fascination for its communication which I feel was one of the best that Indian advertising has been able to give us in the last ten years or so....







The history of makeovers in Hutch is quite interesting....From the initial MaxTouch over a decade ago, the brand was converted into Orange in 2001 (one may recall the ‘Hi!’ campaigns). Later, it was made Hutch elsewhere and Orange in Mumbai. Following this, in 2005, Hutch moved away from its orange-coloured logo and went all pink (simultaneously, Orange, too, was integrated into Hutch in Mumbai). well ! the brand identity changes vs the continuity of good services and network is what the questions is ,now......it seems people dont mind the color or the panting dog as long as the service is there.... but Hutch is now red is a bit unimaginable(Red is strongly synonymous with India’s other largest telecom provider Airtel)..even other wise this change is colours from an academic perspective is a bit odd, but so was orange to pink.....

Vodafone, it is learnt, will come in with innovative and discounted plans. So, if Reliance can do a 777 handset, Vodafone is slated to launch a 666 handset at the lower end. This will fit in perfectly with the company’s plans to try and capture the mass market.Whether it is going to confuse the already embattled Indian buyer or is it going to make things easy, is to be waited and watched while the pug runs around still, as the new bosses have promised to retain the now almost legendary brand symbol along with the cartoon charectors of the boy and girl, whenever a new service is announced.....

Now the oft praised and well applauded client agency relation, between Hutch and O&M may be reviewed and changes desired by the new team...The global advertising agency of Vodafone, Weiden and Kennedy, has also entered India last week, raising some speculation in the ad industry about a future shift in creative responsibilities from Ogilvy and Mather to Weiden.well that is bad news for O&M but one hopes that the brand and its communication continues with the same charm and be in touch with us for ever.... While the business and marketing part seems to be bright with the entry of this global giant, and with the deep pockets they seem to be having ostensibly as the media plan that they have made and touted as the first time in India, when the new change is going to there everywhere, from this night, in the entire star network and even others(a full-fledged launch across television, print, outdoors and the Internet is coming up ..) my worry is the dog, less due to the animal lover that I am, and more becuase of the ad guy that I am... Hutch ads was a revolution as well as a revelation..... the rest is history...

And the future, is simply unpredicatble...!!!

Building Iconic Brands

Coca Cola is legendary. Harley Davidson is a cult. Apple is Innovation and Mountain Dew is an adventure. To develop an iconic brand like them, just a conscious effort is not enough, because it is quite difficult to remain an icon with brand following for a long time. For example, the characteristics that baby boomers liked is not so common to what "Generation Y" likes, even though both seems to be rebels and iconoclasts in nature. So, normally the icons create a myth around them and generate enthusiasm and develop underlying curiosity about them. They speak more for the young and target contradictions. They do have a mass audience.

What will an icon ask an advertising agency to do for them?

Penetrate with repetitive legends, Make the message short and simple, try to be a little bit of contradiction, build curiosity around taglines, myths..etc., make them irresistible by keeping the message- suave, chic and matchless.

Meow, Meow, Meow Mix...Going against tradition

Meow Mix, a brand which is owned by Del Monte Foods, is working on an online campaign now. The pet food retailers, who were confining themselves to print or television advertising, were adopting offbeat methods to get curious eyes and customers.

The brand Meow Mix had developed affinity do something different in advertising.
It was born with a campaign “the cat food cats ask for by name”. There are many jingles sung for cats. Earlier, when Meow Mix was in the hands of Cypress group, they opened many pop-up retail outlets – Meow Mix Café and reality TV shows Like “Meow Mix House.” Then the next effort was much more interesting. Under a new slogan called “Think like a cat” for Meow Mix, it published a promotional book, online video clips and a website- meowmix.com.

This campaign had lots to give to cat lovers. Meow Mix Acatemy, a faux cat academy, brainchild of a Del Monte’s agency – Grand Central Marketing (GCM) , guided them to learn about feline tastes, how to exercise like a cat and catnapping and a mock dean called “Cat Cora”. Catalogs, curriculum and other associated things were also available for use. Even celebrities like Kat DeLuna and Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore of “The Sopranos”) took part in promotional shows and they organized a quiz Cat Aptitude Test in meowmix.com. Read more about Meow Mix Acatemy here.

Mathew Glass at GCM says, “The goal of unconventional campaigns is to forge strong emotional bonds between cat owners and Meow Mix.” It identifies and interacts with “cat parents”- those who think cats as family members.

The Del Monte cat book- The Meaning of Meow: Understanding and Caring of your Cat, and it is likely to be into the “best sellers lists” as there are many cat lovers. Tracy Locke, the agency which Del Monte corresponds now, has developed customized programs for supermarkets, drugstores and discount stores, selling Meow Mix daily. These “impression generating events” are sure to captivate the cat lovers. Yes, a little bit about money now. Meow Mix spends more than $10 million a year on ads in media too, because they are competing with brands of Nestle Purina in the market.

The efforts are unique, innovative, off-beat attention catchers, like any advertising campaign should be. But, we cannot fancy this idea for all types of products. Further, each campaign must have a distinctive style of communication, but it highlights the importance of developing social as well as online network through campaigns.

PS: Now, they have done so much for the cat lovers. But are cats loyal to the owners, dogs are good pets, aren’t they?

Harry Potter and Bookworms from the Muggle-world

Who will be awake in dark hours of the night, with gold rimmed glasses, reading a book heavier than bible, covering herself, with thick jackets, under a mosquito net? Definitely, not my sister, I thought. The girl who would throw the broom stick and walk away has started giving it due respects. The fairy tale had given an added zing to everything she does now.

But ten years ago, a lady sat, gloomy and focused, along with her daughter at Nicholson's café at Edinburgh, and was busy scribbling in her notebook, whenever a spurt of creative imagination entered her mind.

In her own words,

"The feeling of who I was badly damaged by suddenly finding myself a single parent on benefits". "So I wrote to protect my sanity. I have always written and so it was a way of continuing to be me, despite all the ghastly circumstances."

Joanne Rowling and her daughter Jessica became regulars in the café. It was difficult for her to get the first copy of the book printed and published. Now, when the record-books swell, counting the numbers, of Harry Potter books sold, the smile never fades, from her face.

The "Harry Potter" fans where waiting for a climax between Lord Voldemort and him. The loose threads in the story slowly began to entangle themselves in the web, when the 4th book in the series came out.

The magical characters in the book became characters in reel and the films became Hollywood money grossers. Jo, as J.K Rowling is often called, was basking in the warmth of fans, and had already been a billionaire. But the plot was already laid in the spoiled curse. A speculation was created before the launch of the penultimate book that Harry would die! - How clever was the publishers! It raised the anxiety level and curiosity of Potter fans.

The 7th and penultimate book in the "Potter series" was selling at the rate of 220 copies a minute, during the first 24 hours of its launch in Tesco stalls in UK. All the other books in the series had been in best sellers' list, with more than 300 million copies being sold. they were also translated into more than 60 languages. Out of 13 million printed copies of " Deathly Hallows", more than 2 million copies are now in the possession of the book fans.

The launch of " Harry Potter" books were often backed with promotional campaigns. A host of celebrations ( 300 events in Canada alone ) were also conducted to promote the books. The fans have also become crazy about "Hogwarts School" apparatus, that many toys were also made on the basis of story line. Being sceptical about the fame, it was also alleged to be promoting witchcraft.

Chrysler, which was finding it quite interesting had launched a combined promotion in 2001. Coke, which did not want fall behind came out with "Live the Magic" campaign with Harry, which attracted criticism. Gary Ruskin, executive director at advertising monitor Commercial Alert, remarked "Coke has transformed Harry Potter into a marketing wizard."

All said and done, what is in it for us to learn?

We have to believe in our inner talents. Our imagination is worth our life. If it isn't a book, it can be a popular advertising campaign. A word from mouth! - Yes, word of mouth marketing has to be taken seriously. Understand the senses, if it gives you, hardly any vibration, it is neither likely to influence others. Go forward to meet your customers (Rowling set an example by reaching out to the kids, making them happy); they are the best friends. Will media, won't media? If you are runaway success, media is likely to follow you!

And what else like "Sherlock Holmes" of Arthur Conan Doyle, is "Harry" likely to be reborn?

Branding Countries! Branding Ourselves!

During the last decade, we have seen major initiatives by nation states to advertise themselves. In order to distinguish themselves, and to project a halo of attraction globally, they advertise themselves as a paradise with several features like- vivid culture, friendly people, safer nation, panacea for all illnesses ( am referring to health tourism), growing economy and like.

Here we see, Claudia Schiffer, adorned in German flag, a feast for our eyes, projecting Germany as a place for safer investments. Some of these advertisements have appeared in magazines like The Economist and Fortune . It says Germany- A Land of Ideas!

La, la Brazil- the Vengaboys song is quite a memorable one. This commercial for brazil tourism speaks of the Carnivals, the culture, its samba dance wersions, the freedom and joy that this latin American country proudly posseses. Some of us do know that Lula's land had become a major attraction due its bio-fuel ventures.

Malaysia- Truly Asia- This small piece of landscape, a nation which projects itself as a place - where we would find a mixture of all Asian cultures is one of the cheaper tourist destinations.

Thailand- the small Asian nation, also called the 'Land of White Elephants' is one of those countries in Asia with a rverberating culture, ethnic dance forms and a land of hospitality. A land where we find pagodas, chaityas and stupas is mainly known for its hospitality!

And India, a place where I live, is a land of different cultures, staying tolerant with each other, existing and growing- a culture which normally finds ways for evolution!. Here, we project our nation for its sustaining vivid culture, growing economy for investments and a place where you would get rejuvenated. A different experience altogether giving a spiritual consciousness too.

Brand Rajini-" Naan Correct-Aga Varuven"!

Rajni had been the talk of the town for the last two weeks. Our friend "Guru Ranganathan" unravelled him for us and we added some finishing touches.

"Naan eppa varuven, eppadi varuvennu yarukkum theriyadhu, aana varavendiya neratthil correct-aga varuven." ("When I will arrive, or how I will arrive, nobody will know, but I will arrive when I ought to." ) - is one of Tamil Superstar Rajni's dialogue.

True to this dialogue, its so convincing that his fans, media and film critics are dumbstruck with inspiration about his new film "Shivaji"- not sparing any words in the vocabulary. Film industry is quite 'queer'- some hyped up films will end up with huge losses, where as an unlikely film sans superstars would gross decently well....

Analyst report says that only one out of 671 new product ideas ever makes it to the market and hits it sale and profit target!.
But here is a paradox!!!! as soon as the customer hears that his favorite brand is coming up with a new product he has booked it in advance with out even knowing what the product is!!!

But brand "Rajni" is quite inexplicable- the film was made for Rs.65 crores ( its mentioned in public that Rajni was paid a whooping 17 crores, along with a revenue sharing contract). The film is likely to gross more than 60 crores of rupees. The tickets for the first two weeks were already sold out 5 days before release of the film. Rajni fans have painstakingly stood in queues and paid exhorbitantly ( Rs 500-1000 for single ticket- the first week), for getting a chance to see him on reel. He's quite easily approachable in real as one of the fans remarked " Rajni never acts in real." For something they have not seen, Rajni fans are ready to empty their pockets blindly believing in his skills and style.

After all, How has Rajni done it?

Considered as demi-God of South India, his skills and mannerisms are appreciated, copied. Rajnikanth is popular for his flamboyant dialogue delivery and characteristic mannerisms. Rajnikanth's movies has been mass entertainers. Synonymous to style,when you observe any kid in Tamilnadu ,they use the phrase “Rajni stylu” for any bravo act they do!His USP is his one liners in the films, no other actor uses it in Tamilnadu. His fans in Tamilnadu are crazy about his one liners.

In the 1992 film, Annamalai, he says,"Naan solrathaiyum seiven, sollathathiyum seiven." - I will do what I say, I will also do what I don't say."

His films are also grounded with "good winning over evil" theme , and fall in line with stories of 'local-Robinhoods'. Apart from Tamil, Rajinikanth has acted in over 160 movies, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. Andha Kaanoon, Hum,Chaalbaaz are some of his HIndi sitints. He also had a brief stint in Hollywood with the movie Bloodstone in 1988.

Rajni- My name is Shivaji...

Born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in Karnataka, he also had his humble begininnings. While juggling with different jobs to make a living, he worked as a bus-conductor in state transport corporation in Bangalore. From smaal roles, he has extended his helping hands to people, in his own way. He has widely helped many in film industry, and has plans to open hospital and schools. Although many anticipated that he will enter into politics, he's relatively shy of media and reluctant to be a politician. And more over he is the only big ticket celeb left without being exploited by brands.... he refuses to endorse brands however big they are and maybe because when he sees ,no brand is bigger than him....

He is a good case for the ad guys around as a perfect example of a good brand with consistency and integrated communication !!!

"Naan oru dhadavai sonna nooru dhadavai sonna madhiri." - "If i say it once, I've said it a hundred times." .... he said so and the whole world seems to nod their head....

Its that got you Mooving Now..Nescafe!

During my college days, my friends often came home and we did our assignments together. They often said that they came because they liked to have a "cup of coffee" which my father made. We usually had a cup of "Nescafe" with some snacks, during the evenings.

The 1998 commercial, in which Mahalakshmi Iyer had sung , "Its that got you mooving now..!" is inspiring, warm and trendy. The finely blended score is melodious and lively, and accordingly it conveys the spurt of energy from a cup of coffee!..... what a feeling....

Ukkarungo...Bingo sappidungo..!!!

Im sure you have seen it... those bingo ads which have at last broken the hell of clutter that was ravaging in the category.... ITC determined with all the money and muscle and more importantly with a mindset tuned to strategy and success, is making the waves even here in a category ravaged by unorganised players and infinite brands....



If the earlier flamingo ads rocked, the glad bangles one made us glad and giggle... and almost took out our breathe ,till the last minute when one sees the ad for the first time...



Now dont get upset that the product benefit aint clear and the promise isnt made and all such stuff....the category is such that the clutter breaking is important... bakki sab...Well u said it.... Bakwaas !!!

Good advertising from Ogilvy and Mather
...!!!

the Hutch ad.. eskimos are here

The latest from O&M for Hutch search engine services.....Cool classy and composed !!!

Whats cool about the ad??
Its simple...
whats classy ??
It builds this suspense that is so very unique and makes sure that it is maintained till the last shot...
whats so composed??
It has no brauhaha.. its slow and yet vibrant,so very convincing...

Kudos to the O & M team... creativity still survives.....

Love Bites, Musst Bites or Dog Bites- Which is your hot favourite?

We like to bite, don’t we? Chips, French fries, biscuits and what not? - Parle Musst bites too. But I am a little afraid to try it because I don’t know whether my friend would bite me out of love, or out of being jealous, or because she had seen the “musst bites” advertisement .

Comments from the makers:

Shalini Desai , brand manager, Parle Musst bites says , “Most of the snacking category has its communication harping on the feel good factor of sharing and caring. It was to be positioned as a product that was so tempting that its consumer would actually feel possessive about it and go to weird lengths to protect it. “

Santosh Patil from O& M commented that “Today’s youth speak a different language, one which is wacky, humorous, edgy and individualistic, so subtlety was not an option for us.”

Yes, it’s different from that of “KurKure”, where Juhi and family eat up jumbo family packets or that of “Lays” where Saif and friends are having a party. They don't seem to be tempting!..

Our own Munna Bhai would say,
“ Apun zara busy hai, tere girl friend ko ek packet musst bites de do, kaam ho jaayega”

Vicks- the blocked nose !!!

Not a very great ad, but cute... and simple in ideation and execution...the fun element is there ...and so is the suspense... and the climax is cool....
effective
advertising !!!

Go air !!! We have not changed ....

Now that is heights of competition,literally !!! Refer to the previous article on the same topic and have fun>>> cant imagine what Jet airways and its agency would be thinking now...? is it not the opening of a pandorras box...? a can of filthy worms...?

The Branding of great Indian railways!!!!

Chennai central railway station

Characters: Sabu and Sandeep

Sabu: hey nice to meet you sandeep, which train? Colgate or Pepsi?

Sandeep : No Sabu, did not get tickets for Colgate, trip was not planned, so got it in Rexona, which is your train? Lux or Nike?

Sabu: Nike, need to reach early morning, now Nike is super fast you know?

Sandeep: Gr8, ok then time for my Rexona, see you have a nice trip

Sabu: Same to you also...

You think these two characters have gone nuts? ..........

Sorry they are as normal and sane as you. They are just boarding their trains.

Recently India's first branded train was flagged off from Banglore, south India. Kurkure Bangalore-Hubli Summer Special and Kurkure Bangalore-Chennai weekly train. The first branded train of Indian Railways named after a corporate brand — Kurkure, brand owned by Pepsi. Brand name would feature along with the train's name in all announcements, reserved tickets, reservation charts, destination boards etc.

The corporates will provide cleaner coaches and toilets on the special trains,
( ha ......ready for a train journey?) The brand would also pay an advertisement fee to the Railways. Passengers on board the Nagercoil-bound train received free sachets of Kurkure as an inaugural gesture.

The Pepsi-owned Kurkure bagged the brand train tender, floated by the Railways. Though companies like Airtel, Tata Tele and Sony Ericsson had also participated in the bid, Kurkure had the highest bid. The Indian Railways is expected to earn around Rs1 million from the brand trains. No wonder Indian railways is making huge profits.

So coming days We would be traveling in Titan or MRF or even Kellogs who knows?

Kind Attention please,............. Train number 5386 , Chennai- Mumbai Nike express will start from Platform number 8

Just get in!!!!!