King fisher.....Ooh la la la !

Last day, as if the surprises that IPL throws up isn’t enough, I was amazed to see the who is who from all the teams (not literally) but in as many coloured uniforms (Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Gautam Gambhir, Andrew Symonds along with 15 others) perform the“Ooh la la la ” act… These stalwarts from the top four teams of IPL( Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers & Rajasthan Royals) fight with each other to perish the other on the field where sparks fly, but off the pitch they are all together and cannot get away from trying and playing with their vocal chords to get the Kingfisher jingle right and finally with the tag line 'Divided by teams: United by Kingfisher’!

Twenty one seasoned cricketers from four teams of IPL coming together on one platform to sing for a new advertising campaign launched during IPL 2010 is for me fun for sure but more than the entertainment part I felt enamoured by the seemingly endless possibilities that IPL gives to the business of Marketing…



This 30 second TVC is on air of course during the IPL matches on Set Max but also in other channels across the news, movie and music genres……Thanks to some good media planning by Mindshare( and credits to Balu Chaitanya the planner behind and a beloved student of mine,,,) Conceptualized by JWT Bangalore, this karaoke music (popular in bars, pubs and disco’s) based story line commercial is a delight and joy to watch, as an invigorating break in between anxious moments of the match. Bearing in mind the arduous and frenzied schedule of the cricketers in the IPL, the ad has been shot in four different locations (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi) and cheers for the efforts as well as the results.. For the brand that is fun and serious business at the same time, the ad will do good for sure…Nothing so out of the world if you take the idea but different, entertaining and definitely worth the efforts…

Kingfisher as a brand is very closely associated with IPL 2010.They are the Good Times partner to Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. Kingfisher is also the official Umpire’s partners with the brand sitting and smiling from the uniforms and on the score boards in the stadiums.

Liquor, as some critiques say may not need marketing and sales and the growth in the category is just organic. The category grows in spite of the tough rules and legal hurdles that governments impose, ostensibly to dissuade consumption. The fact but is with or without marketing the growth is happening. According to agency faq’s today “Kingfisher claims a growth rate of 12-13 per cent, as against an industry average of 10-15 per cent. The UB Group also claims a sale of 100 million cases of beer in 2009-10 as compared to 83 million cases sold in 2008-09, while the total market size of beer in the country stands at 200 million cases. The credit is to the Marketing acumen of the brand”

So Marketing rules and the rule continues !!!

As of now three cheers for the team, for the entertainer... !


The team :-

Senthil Kumar, executive creative director, JWT Bengaluru,

Kishore Mohandas, senior copywriter

Senthil Kumar, executive creative director

Dennis Koshy, Rohit Kumar and Rajesh Gangwani- account managers

Directed by Bosco and Roshan

Produced by Bang Bang Films.

Media planning by Balu Chaitanya-Mindshare

My Pepsi... My way !!!

Dhoni, Sehwag, Uthappa, Robin Sharma and another cricketer together doing what they are the best in doing....no no.... not playing cricket but acting in an ad film… Dhoni after being voted as the richest celebrity from endorsements has become a better actor, no matter what and how his talent in the cricket field goes… The setting is rural Kerala and the young (?) Icons (?) of Indian cricket plays cricket with a group of local kiddos on top of a kettuvallam ( a boat which is big and has large flat surface)…. The plot is simple.. the kiddos get to see the holidaying Indian cricketers and challenge them to play a game of cricket on the boat ,much to the arrogance of they masters of cricket , but much to their disappointment later as the kids win by getting all the Pepsi in a cheap but smart trick !!!!

Ahem !!! From the Pepsi 'Youngistan campaign that featured Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor( and also and ageing SRK as Deepika’s Brother ) in an attempt to create a nation called Youngistan on the lines of the classic Marlboro country. Marlboro made it for sure while the Youngistan is still a doubt… Remember that Sachin Tendulkar was dropped by Pepsi as its brand ambassador after fifteen years. On the reason that “Sachin does not fit into our brand value and our Youngistaan campaign anymore.”….The younger the better, and there came in the Kapoor boy with his sexy looks, shape age and what not… the Saavariya dance made him a national icon (?) and yet the youngistan campaign wouldn’t take off from that butt show…

It was but (not butt) fun, not the Ranbir, SRK, deepika show but the spoofs, thanks to the Pepsi/JWT idea bankruptcy India had a laugh courtesy Sprite… see it here…

Well getting back to this new piece…which is called as My Pepsi My way which I assume is a passing out of the youngistan campaign....is more expensive ( all the stars, their trip to Kerala, stay in 5 star resorts, shooting in a lake, the boats, the security the blabla, the crowd.. ) unimaginable and one should say seeing all the efforts and the brouhaha this one is not better than the first one… J ust W asting T ime is a passion for certain agencies and with clients who are never cash stripped, why not… eat drink and enjoy.... tomorrow you may die.. !

The team who made it :-

Agency: JWT

Creative team:

Team JWT - Soumitra Karnik Executive Creative Director;Amit Wadhwa, Client Services Director

Production House- Corcoise Films

Director - Prasoon Pandey

Producer - Cyrus Pagdiwallah

Just to copy an old slogan of Pepsi with a slight variation….

This ad is nothing .. Nothing overwhelming about it …. Just another ship that will pass, in the night silent and unnoticed….

Benadryl - sneezing creativity !

It is a war on summer allergies. An outstanding creative idea is complimented by some brilliant sound design and eye catching music ….JWT, Grand central and Benadryl in UK is behind this appealing ad where a countryside scene is accompanied by the sounds of warfare, as speeded-up film shows falling sycamore pods, daisies bursting with pollen and a variety of other plants having their pollen spread by wind and insects. A screen message advises 'win the war against allergies' before a pack of Benadryl is displayed. And for a dust allergic like me, it appeals with its simplicity, packed and appealing visuals and the sound!!!!

For Benadryl, the 55 year old brand which once was a synonym for the category, and later lost to the new players, the revival is happening now….this new one is in the right track !!!

Cheers to the guys who made it…

Credits:-

Client
Sarah Barker - Senior Brand Manager, Benadryl
Alex Pitt - General Marketing Manager, URT

Brief:-The brief was to reinforce Benadryl's effectiveness credentials and superiority at speed of action in a category where few claims are permissible.

Art Director-Andy Smith
Copy Writer-Ryan Lawson
TV Producer-Anna Church
Planner (creative agency)-Ian MacDonald
Media agency-Carat
Media planner-Greg Patterson
Director-Steve Cope
Production company-Rattling Stick
EditorTim Hardy @ Cut and Run
SoundMunzi Thind @ Grand Central

And thanks to Anne Maria of Lowe London for the info and the details !!!
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Also see my other blogs:- chicken curry & continuous confusion....