No Idea? ....then 'all are welcome'...!!!

Once upon a time, when idea just meant idea , life for folks in advertising was much more simpler...Now when idea is not JUST idea but IDEA life has gone a bit tough for sure..

The MNP (mobile number portability) advertising brouhaha that Idea has launched with its “ No idea?,…then get idea” campaign and the Vodafone response(?) with the “All are welcome” ad is the point of discussion today……

Vodafone ads always meant class and this time as well they lead in class and style.. Simple stuff, inviting everyone, PLUS the pug making a come back…. I am sure there are many people who would any day love to sit and watch this one than the Small B cheekily asking people to get IDEA if they have NO idea why their existing network is not good….. Having said all that one should also state that it wouldn’t be sufficient enough reason for people to stick on or change to Vodafone…

Idea and Lowe should however be given the credit ( for pioneering, for being mischievous and funny , for this IDEA and idea linking up, and for making the whole MNP important ) 

Its campaign of four ads highlighted :-

1. Idea’s strong network connectivity even inside lifts and buildings;
2. Customized tariff plans to ensure affordable mobile communication;
3. Transparent balance notification ( which again is questionable , but then,,,,,)  
4. Available and gentle customer care where one doesn’t need to wait for long to talk to an agent

I would be glad to get one person to disagree with me if I say that each one of the above point shows the worries of mobile consumers in India….hence the request to Switch to Idea is completely cool and hitting them there, right at the spot…!!!

See one here and the rest there…

Before the national launch of MNP service on January 20^th (tomorrow that is) another series of Idea ads (launching a Toll Free Number 1800-270-0000) are on air to guide the multitudes of mobile subscribers on various aspects of number portability…. …

Again the first mover advantage is guaranteed and sure shot this direct action ad, as per some industry sources is again making waves…

Vodafone on the other hand wants people to join them for what they are and not for what some one else is not... Now it is a good idea by IDEA to compare and contrast but too much of it can be giving annoyance to the TG .In case of idea the 4 ads and the constant bombardment of them on the TG (also from the  micro site www.getidea.co.in) makes people squirm in discomfort, when we do not have an IDEA connection..Vodafone scores for being positive but is that enough?

It is still debatable whether the MNP will change the backdrop of the industry. My humble reading is that there will be noticeable churning in the beginning but with time it will wane and die down...The players seems to have realized this... grab the cream as much and as soon as possible seems to the mantra ..One thing is sure- the customer may get better service centers and better service, now that this is a reality that -if I am happy only I stay with you, if else… Hmmmm !!!

Now to end this,I am amused that other major players are silent……. Airtel, Reliance and the likes….

Is it that they are happy with what they have?

Is it that they don’t have space for OTHERS? Others are UNWELCOME?

Tail piece:-  

When you’re right, very few remembers. When you’re wrong, no one forgets.

Idea and Abhishek - language doesnt matter.. !

“An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

IDEA Cellular has launched this new ad under the popular What an Idea, Sirji! Campaign series, to demonstrate the power of telephony, in a country where 850 mother tongues and 22,000 dialects are spoken…most of you would have seen it for sure and when I saw it amused me for the fact that it is so far the best in the series… remember all those various avatars such as the sarpanch, tourist guide, school principal, politician’s aide, doctor, and even a tree…... 

Sirji this time has come up with an idea to sell Idea to people who have lucrative job offers (from far flung cities in India- most jobs these days are far flung...) The setting is quite familiar and all of us have gone through the same scene, in spite of the offer exciting us, the thought of living in a place where a different language is spoken, makes one unconvinced and uncomfortable. 

Adformula had been a critic of some of the ads in the series (in the past) but this one for sure catches the attention of the average viewer in the TG….. India and its possibilities/ opportunities for the young, PLUS the challenges (language barrier for instance) is ably displayed in this ad. The diversity and vastness, at times, create an impediment in the growth of this country…. Not that Sirji has a solution for all that but it is one ray of hope for a nation kept purposefully fragmented for narrow political gains…

The new ad is yet another improvement in the series of Idea’s campaigns with the popular tag line – What an Idea, Sirji! ,this campaign has all the elements of what a picture perfect campaign should have… a new Idea (which keeps improving every time), a tagline which enjoyed such massive recall, and a celebrity who matches the brand and its charm ( except for south where the small B isn’t much of a charm). .. no wonder why the subscriber base of Idea has hit such heights in the last few years…

The happy brand said so… (as per media reports). “Almost every Indian has gone through a situation where one has struggled to communicate with another fellow Indian just because of language. The new Idea campaign offers a Champion idea to address this concern of our society, through the power of mobile telephony. We are confident that the new brand campaign will build a strong connect with the audience and further grow Idea’s over 70 million subscriber base” and why not… as said again and again, the longer clients stick on to its agency, the trust base gets stronger and the quality of its creative output goes up…… there is no substitute for long lasting and strong client – agency relationships in advertising… Here the credit goes to the client an well as Lowe , the agency behind… 

The preceding campaigns – ‘Championing a world without caste’; ‘Championing a world in which no one suffers from the disability to communicate’; ‘Education for All’, ‘Participative Governance’, ‘Walk When You Talk’, and the recent ‘Use Mobile, Save Paper’ campaign – all abide by the essential brand promise of providing a simple, fresh and imaginative solution to a complex problem of the society… and now this one which is no different and in fact better…

In a campaign , each succeeding ad should be better than its preceding one… It is like having beer… the second one should taste better than the first one , and the third one should taste better than the second one and so on…… As said by John Steinbeck … .Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

What an Idea Sirji !!!

The idea business !!!

The industry that we are talking here, living every breath of life, discussing ,dissecting and deliberating on, celebrating at times, getting dissappointed at flaws, lavishing praises one day just to let it all go the next, the ad industry... is all about ideas...ideas ..ideas...Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes as read some where, and an idea is salvation by imagination.. the stretch of it....
If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it said Albert Einstein, but many ideas for lack of imagination and common sense lurks there as celebrated absurdity.... and that is a tragedy.....

This video is dedicated to the advertising industry,, with all the ifs and buts.. the best in the world !!!