Housing.com - Parr ... se Perfect

Due to OTT platforms, it has become difficult to come across advertisements. There are a few ones seen when playing YouTube videos, but most of them are easy to ignore. You can simply switch the tab or do something else and come back to the screen when the ad is over. 

However, yesterday was different. The occasion was India vs South Africa T20 match and all of us were hooked on to Hotstar live. No way to pause, forward the match and there you go... we were served with a plethora of advertisements. Some made us notice them, some got simply ignored, but a couple of them made some impression. 

TVC by housing.com was one such ad. I noticed it for the message it is conveying. 

A young couple is looking for their house and comes across a spacious flat which both of them like about. Both of them almost decide to finalize the house and the lady goes on justifying the purchase. 

"When the new flyover is ready, my parent's house would be just 20 mins away"

And it hits the man, clearly visible on his face and then he starts finding reasons to look for more houses and introduces housing.com's app suggesting they have thousands of properties. 

While housing.com's claim may be correct, the reason that they have used to look for options, in my opinion, gives out wrong reasons, especially on the impressionable minds. Just because your in-laws are going to be closer, you don't look for a different house. 

Typically, the TVCs are released with some theme and I was looking for the same with Housing.com. There indeed is a series of this tagline - "Parr ... se perfect" comprising about 7 to 10 different ads on this basic concept. You can find all the ads in this playlist.

If you go through each of them, I was kinda happy with the overall messaging, except for the one I mentioned above. This kind of negativity is uncalled for and I usually get pushed away from the brand.

Guess what, it is super-easy to convert the above ad to a perfect one blending with the rest of the messaging. Comment and tell me how would you change it?

Women are not a property

Recently came across the ad campaign by MagicBricks.com stating some Mr. Rajan is so spoilt for options after visiting MagicBricks that everywhere he goes asks for more options.

Shamelessly, magicbricks goes on and also uses the same logic with girls, when he is visiting some family for "vadhu-pariksha". He asks the father of the girl, if he gets more options for the girls!!

First of all, "vadhu-pariksha" is a good enough humiliation for the girls who had to pass through that experience. On top of that, this Mr. Rajan makes a fun of those girls by comparing them to property and asking for more options.

I really wonder how did this TVC was approved and aired!!

Sorry, I am not posting the Video this time as I really don't want it to be circulated.

Bande Achhe Hai

This TVC starts with a shot near a boat. A family is trying to get on to a boat by walking on wooden board. Looking at the wooden board the Dad stops everyone on the shore, gets on the board, tests it by standing on it, pressing it down. When he is confident, he calls his family to walk on the board and get onto the boat.

The husband is getting ready for the office. His towel is lying on the floor. Wife notices it and bends down to pick it up with utter helplessness on her face. Husband quickly closes the open drawer which his wife could have hit while picking up. Wife doesn't even realize it.

Another husband is sitting in a taxi. His wife comes with husband's wallet. You can lip read "Sorry" from Husband and Wife's no-reaction except for "Bye". Taxi starts and immediately Husband asks driver to wait. He is looking up towards the building. In a moment, light goes on in an apartment. With the comfort feeling that Wife has reached the flat safely, Husband asks the driver to start.

Senior citizens. Wife is sitting on the chair, reading a book, cup of tea on the table. But the Sun rays are kind of distracting. She is holding her hand in such a fashion that she doesn't get the glare. Husband walks in to join her for tea. Sits down only to realize that the Sunrays need to be blocked. He just moves a bit so that his shadow covers Wife's face. Objective achieved!!

Family of three (Husband, Wife and a child) are sitting on railway platform, waiting for the train. Husband and Wife are almost sleepy, whereas the kid is playing some video game. He suddenly starts running towards the platform, only to realize that his father had hold the buckle of kid's pant ensuring the kid doesn't wander.

Father of a adorable girl is visiting the school principle along with the daughter. Both are walking side-by-side. Somehow, daughter's shoes are filled with mud making the floor dirty. Father realizes it and fears that the principle would be unhappy. He just switches the sides so as to pretend that the dirty marks on the floor are because of him and not because of daughter!!

Newly wed couple, about leave the marriage hall. The bride is crying with the thought of leaving her family. The car starts. The groom consoles the bride with just a touch. 

Couple walking on the road. Wife is on the outer side of the road. Suddenly husband changes the side so as to ensure that if the vehicle hits, his wife doesn't meet with the accident.

Each of these incidents underline that men do care, even though they don't talk about it. All those are nice little actions. If someone asks a man how does he care for his family, he wouldn't even recall these actions. You'll find him struggling to answer. But this TVC would change it forever!!

I am sure you would have observed it everywhere. Now that it is picturised, even the females would acknowledge this and many more such actions.

The TVC is created by Lowe Lintas for ICICIPrulife with tag line:

ज़ो ज़िम्मेदारी निभाते है, जताते नहीं ॥ 

Lyrics, by Swanand Kirkire, are beautiful too.

Lifebuoy se haath dhoye kya?

Today's ad is not a TVC, but it is a clever way of marketing, very opportunistic and very very innovative. 

Every one knows that as I write this, Mahakumbh mela is being held in Allahabad where millions of pilgrims have gathered to bathe in the sacred river of Ganga. The sheer number (80 million people expected in 2013 kumbh at Allahabad) represents huge challenge for the government to manage this event. While the government and security agencies were busy ensuring the organization and safety of the visitors, it was obvious that every business will try to cash on this readily available audience in every possible manner. The hoardings, banners, pamphlates etc are age old techniques, but still employed in this Kumbh. 

However, there was some innovation too. The creative agency Ogilvy thought differently. Instead of rushing for the ad space at the hoardings and banners, their creative team came up with idea of reminding the consumers about the product at the most appropriate time. Now, that is a task. How could you find out what is the right time for pitching the product for such a large number of folks? How do you ensure that you get the eyeballs? And how do you make an impact? For a product like Lifebuoy, the team found the answers very cleverly.

The Ogilvy team put up an idea to stamp every roti that was to be served in the Kumbh area with a message:

लाइफबॉय से हाथ धोये क्या?

Now that is something! Every person who is served this roti, will ensure that he has washed his hands before eating!!

Photo credit: Economic Times

HUL, the owner of the brand "Lifebuoy" made special heat stamps to make an impression of this message and hired 100 promoters to stand in 100 kitchens across the mela. This simple trick is helping the company to reach millions of people at fraction of the cost should they have utilized conventional channels!!

Here is the video covering this creative:

Hats off the creative team!! 

Tum chalo to hindusthan chale...

In 2008, Times Of India had launched a campaign to choose a leader from Indian masses. To quote ToI:

The point of the campaign, however, was not purely about identifying a winner . It was more about providing every right-thinking Indian a chance to step out of the comfort zone and take on the task of stewarding the nation. It was a clarion call to be the change that we expect in Indian society; an opportunity for citizens to shrug off their indifference and put a shoulder to the wheel.

To publicze this "Lead India" campaign, a TVC was launched and had appealed a lot to all of us. 

A tree has fallen on the road blocking the morning traffic. Almost everyone is in a hurry to reach their destination - school kids want to reach their school, other folks want to reach their office, a politician wants to reach somewhere. Everyone is stuck. Police are probably waiting for some help to clear the road and in the meanwhile actually taking a nap. You can hear people cursing police, the country and all sort of things. 

In all this chaos, a boy peeps out of the bus and sees that there's some problem and wants to know what it is. As he approaches the obstacle, suddenly rains start. Everyone runs to find shelter, but that doesn't deter this kid. He is thinking something and looks decided to do something. He drops his school bag and approaches the fallen tree. And all of a sudden he starts pushing the tree. Obviously, he couldn't move it, but he appears to be all determined to move the tree come what may. 

And in the events that happen immediately after this is the real motivation. A gang of kids playing on the road join the hands with this school kid. The tree gives a damn to the force exerted by these kids, but now kids have started enjoying the rain as well as the togetherness. It doesn't matter to them that they don't even know each other. Their only motive seems to be to move the tree. Everyone on the street is watching this and is taken by surprise. And then the team starts growing, people start joining one-by-one - gents, ladies, young and adults, without any hesitation. And as can be expected, the tree eventually gets lifted by this unity and the road gets cleared.

The entire scene has beautiful song in the background which reads:

फलक पकड़ के उठो ,
और हवा पकड़ के चलो ,
तुम चलो तो हिंदुस्तान चले 
तुम चलो तो हिंदुस्तान चले ॥ 

लगाओ हाथ के सूरज सुबह निकाला करे,
हाथेलियों में भरे धूप और उछाला करे । 

उफ़क के पाव रखो , और चलो अकड़ के चलो 
उफ़क के पाव रखो , और चलो अकड़ के चलो 


फलक पकड़ के उठो ,
और हवा पकड़ के चलो ,

तुम चलो तो हिंदुस्तान चले 
तुम चलो तो हिंदुस्तान चले ॥ 

Amazingly done ad, beautiful lyrics and music. In just about two minutes, it tells you complete story of what unity can do!! and to do something meaningful you don't need any power or need not be of any particular age or caste or religion!!

You can watch it here:

Telephone Exchange - IDEA Cellular

You are going to love this TVC, especially if you are a couple with double engine, I mean both of you earning.

Just watch it...

A little more...

When you get a little more, it definitely gives a pleasure whether you are kid, an young person or a senior citizen. Everyone tries to maximize their earning at every possible occasion.

This is the theme of new Aircel TVC campaign which is kicked off in 2013. 

A cricket match is going on between two teams, it is under arm cricket, probably getting played in some lane of a town. The match is towards the end and the team who is batting needs only few runs to win. So the fielders are all for saving even the singles. The dialogues are conveying you all this. 

When the batsman hits the ball, it was sure to have only one run - no less no more. And the fielder in all his hurry, stops the ball and throws it back to the non-striker end. And guess what - no one fields it there and the batting team gets another run!!

Look at the joy of both the batsmen, their dance (should I say belly dance;) ) and the guilt on the face of the faltering fielder, amazing expressions. The narration continues that Aircel is giving extra talking time worth Rs. 150/- for a recharge of just Rs. 135/-

थोड़ा extra मिलता है तो ..

अच्छा लगता है ना ?

Here is the video:

Bournvita question

A little boy asking so many questions that mom has no option but to study herself to answer those questions from the little boy!!

Bournvita has made a good TVC out of this common situation. Kajol, the mom in this TVC, is continuously reading something, mugging up some sentences etc and at the end she feels happy that she has learnt those things. Quietly she pops up into the room and sits next to the kid.

The kid was waiting for mom to appear and as soon as he sees her, he says - "Mamma, I have a question..." Mom was anticipating the same question which apparently the kid had asked earlier and Mom utters - "there are 'countless' stars in the sky".

The kid without changing his expressions, simply says, I had found it yesterday itself. Now tell me why there are only 28 days in the month of February?

Now the mom is dumbstruck again and mumbles ... Umm, I'll tell you later...

समझदार moms चुनती है Bournvita Lil champs अपने 2 से 5 साल के बच्चों के लिए ।

थोड़ी मेहनत तो आपको भी करनी पड़ेगी ।

Although the expressions by Kajol are very superficial/artificial, Bournvita definitely has picked up the story that every parent goes through. What is your Bournvita Question?

Axis Bank - Badhti ka naam zindagi

Do you remember the story you might have studied/read during your college days? A stranger places an order for Rolls Royce in sluggish economy in a town and that order manifests in a series of spendings from people getting affected by that order. Unfortunately I don't remember the name or author of the story, but this latest TVC from Axis bank reminded me of that story.

The TVC beautifully portrays how a bonus of Rs. 1,00,000/- helps so many people affecting their lives positively!!

A young couple receives bonus or Rs. 1L and plans a vacation to Himachal Pradesh. That triggers shopping for winter clothes and thus increasing the sales of the shopkeeper. Shopkeeper, in all his upbeat mood, doubles his order with the manufacturer. The manufacturer, already contemplating for this order receives the confirmation and hires a young female, which happens to be her first job.

Eventually, she books a new home through Axis bank home loan, moves in and brings her mom in the new home. Happy mother getting acquainted with the new lifestyle, also learning to use the ATM to withdraw money, starts decorating the new home. When she pays for the carpet she bought, the sellers calls up his home in some village in Himachal Pradesh and gives her a good news that he is sending money for his son's fees.

Little kid leaves for the school happily and crosses the Axis bank ATM on the way. The young couple which had planned the vacation in Himachal pops out of the ATM and feels happy to see the kid happy, unaware that their spending has helped this kid indirectly!!

जिंदगी के highway पे कोई अकेला नहीं बढ़ता ।

Watch it here:

Idea - yet another marvelous TVC

A Muslim young boy is doing some window shopping. As he gets interested in the items on the display - ladies wrist watches - he starts getting curious about the pricing. However, he is completely hesitant to go inside the shop and check the price, probably for the fear of those items being unaffordable to him.

He closely observes couple of them, likes one and then checks the price tag... something 8K plus. The disappointment on his face clearly shows that the wrist watch that he liked is clearly out of his budget and probably can't even a stretchable budget. His saddened face turns to another wrist watch and the experience repeats. Yet another watch with a price tag of 8K plus and the same disappointment due to unaffordability. 

Suddenly something happens. The shopkeeper emerges from behind the counter, approaches the window. The muslim boy is kind of unsure what's going to happen. The smiling shopkeeper slowly picks up the tag next to the watch that the muslim youth had liked, which reads - "Diwali Offer - 50% off"... and there are crackers, burst of smile on the youth's face. While the shopkeeper softly wishes the muslim boy "Happy Diwali", the boy rushes inside, hugs the shopkeeper with a big smile on his face. The Diwali offer has clearly made that ladies wrist watch very much affordable and make that young boy very joyous. As he finishes his purchase, he simply clicks the photo of the wrist watch and sends it to his wife - with message - "Happy Diwali"

धर्म कौनसा भी हो, हर त्यौहार मनाना एक अच्छा IDEA है !!

Very hitting tag line, beautiful expressions and perfect timing by the artists... 

Happy Diwali to all my readers!!

Dear Shaadi.com

Please look into your operations. If you can't get find matches for these profiles for over last several months/years, why should people think about you for finding their partners?

I have been seeing this ad for almost a year or even more and every time I look at it, I have the same thought. If the same profiles are still being shown as "looking for partners", isn't it failure of the matrimonial service? Something Shaadi.com's ad firm needs to think about :)

The Hindu - Extremely Effective Ad

I got introduced to this ad through a friend of mine as a comment on my other post related to online advertising. The ad is surely a gem, a must watch, and that is why here I am, writing about it :)

The ad starts with a fairly bland mechanism of taking a survey, apparently surveying the college going students. The questions are pretty simple, so to say and doesn't really need one to comb his/her brain for the answers, well... only if you are reading right things. Questions like "meaning of UPA" - no one is able to answer, about Dhyanchand - respondents were completely ignorant. This heightens when one of the fellow student answers that Ratan Tata's son would be his successor and names him as "Mukesh Ambani"...

By this time the curiocity is at it's height. Are the college students so ignorant about the latest happenings around? Don't the read even the newspaper, forget about in-depth study of some subject or GK for that matter. The last but one question, kind of hints where it is going. Each one of the respondents was feeling triumphant while answering the question - they really knew the answer to the question - What is the nickname of Hritik Roshan (a well known Bollywood star) - Unanimous answer was "Duggu" which obviously was correct. While the answering students were joyous about their answer, next question came - which paper do you read? ...

And it makes it all clear. Each one of them uttered the same name, which very shrewdly is "beeped", but gives sufficient hint to the audience which name is being pronounced. And then follows the punch line -

STAY AHEAD OF THE TIMES

 And a rolling paper comes with it's name on it - The Hindu

Many things to note. A perfect college audience and backdrop picked up for this ad. The respondents chosen seem to be from varied background/culture occupying various places in the college campus - one is doing his exercises, another one just lazying around in the canteen, yet another just standing in the college lobby etc. The expressions given by each kiddo (well ... ) are perfect and do not look like made up expressions. This makes the overall plot very genuine and essentially makes you very susceptible for the last punch.

See the ad here
 

Tata DoCoMo - latest Ad campaign

You might have noticed that Tata Docomo has started a new ad campaign - "No Getting Away. From the the network that always connects, everywhere". 

The tag line is absolutely fantastic, however, it looks like the ad company ran into ideation bankruptcy and churned out some very bad concepts. Case in point - "Wedding". The poor chap is getting married, is in the middle of the ritual and all of a sudden his mobile rings. And he starts talking to his boss. Now, no sane person keeps his mobile with him during the "feras". Moreover, by mistake if someone keeps it, would he really pick it up until the ritual is done? The height is that the ad completely ignores the consumer mindset. Now if your service is going to put me in trouble, why would I opt for it?

Another example is - "Rocking Car". About this ad, I have a mixed feeling. The ad creator is successful in hinting what is happening inside the car, without actually showing anything. But again, from human psychology, why would one choose a service, which is going to be a problem at some point in time?

I have same feeling about all the remaining ads except for the "in the house" ad. This ad is actually going to make me think - good I had a good coverage, otherwise my mobile might have stolen.


Other ads in the same campaign include - "Who is in the cupboard", "Operation Theater", "At the airport"


If you want to watch all the Tata Docomo Ads you can connect to YouTube Channel here.

Jaago Re Latest TVC - Isn't it still a bribe?

I happened to watch the latest Ad from the Jaago Re campaign from Tata Tea and felt something wrong with it.

So far, this Ad campaign has presented few very good concepts for fighting or highlighting corruption, however the latest one seems to be, well, actually promoting corruption.

A young lady is waiting for the license for starting a Beauty Parlor, however, the Babu there starts asking for some "पत्ती". The lady probes him a bit if he wants "छोटी पत्ती या बडी पत्ती". Finally the Babu says, "whatever it is, give it!!"

And this young lady gives him the box of Tata Tea Premium!!

Now-a-days even a half a KG of Tea costs you anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 200, then this Tata Tea Premium would either be in this range or even higher. If that is the case, isn't it still a bribe? After all you are giving that Babu gift worth of at least Rs 200, isn't it?

Here is the YouTube Link for this ad. And all Jago Re campain Ads could be found here.

Maruti Suzuki DZire

A great ad that caught my eyes after long time. It is not hard selling any of the features of the product, but is simply creating a desire in your mind to own one, if not for nothing else, but to fulfill your own desires :)

This ad comes from Maruti Suzuki, talking about their sedan model - DZire.

A little boy, filled with guilty conscious about lying is seeking some respite by talking it out to his dad. In that attempt, he asks dad, if he has ever lied in his life. Now irritated with such an awkward question, Dad tries to play innocent and say "may be". This gives courage to the son and he speaks out. Tells dad that his friends were being boastful and so he also joined them and told everyone that he has seen ice. The cold reply from dad is - "Tell the truth to everyone on Monday".

This surely is going to disappoint the kid big time, and it actually does. Feeling completely low, the boy reaches home and sleeps. He wakes up in the morning, only to realize that he and his family are already driving towards the ice covered mountains through their car. Overjoyed boy plays to the fullest of his heart content and realizes what his father meant by "Tell the truth" He is so happy now that he knows he doesn't need to lie as his father can fulfill all his desires through DZire. And there comes the desirous statement from the little boy - "Dad, I'll tell my friends that I have seen desert too :)", implying let's go the desert soon..

The kid has given fantastic facial expressions along with amazing toning. His uneasiness about lying, relief to realize his dad may have also lied, and sudden disappointment when Dad asks him to tell the truth, the joy on his face when he sees the ice... all these emotions have been captured very well.

Not much of a focus on the car features, except showing the comfort that one gets in the car, I think the ad does make an impact and feel you desirous of this this car :)

Here is the YouTube Link.

Kent Water Purifier - ab to istemaal karo

For quite a few years now, Kent is running the ad to sell their water purifiers. Initially it was at a level where they were introducing the brand and had a humongous task of breaking down the monopoly of Aquaguard - largest selling water Purifier of India.

Since then the advertisement by Kent has taken multiple turns. Initially it was Isha Deol and her sister, almost around the same time, Hema Malini also got in to the frame. It started sounding like a family affair.

However, it was still okay until the Deol family was asking "aap apana purifier kab badal rahe ho?" (When are you replacing your current water purifier with Kent?) - a fair statement. But if you look at the current version, it is filled with complete helplessness and clearly pointing out that Kent has not acquired as much share as they wanted in last couple of years. Read the tag line - "aap apana purifier badal rahe ho naa?" (Are you changing the purifier or not? - skepticism all over the ad)

Here you can find one of the older clips. and for the current one - watch any of the IPL season 3 matches and you can see the difference :)

Sone se bhi Sona lage - Sizzling Aish with Abhishek

In their first every commercial together, Aishwarya and Abhishek have definitely created a magic. Together, both of them are now endorsing the much sought after brand of Lux Soap.

The theme of the ad revolves around how a wife entices her tired husband to go after her even after the day long work!! The glimpses of Ash using Lux, the naughty looks that she gives throughout those 40 seconds, it's simply awesome. The moment she nears Abhishek to blindfold him, see the expressions on Abhi's face - it clearly depicts how he gets mesmerized with the fragrance from Lux and then the chase begins. The sensuous moves from Ash sizzles through the ad, making Abhishek run behind her through the house. And when finally both of them hug, the brand name appears on the buildings visible through full length windows - Lux -background music becomes audible - soNe se bhi soNaa lage...

The thing I liked - fantabulous chemistry, vivid expressions and obviously the beauty queen Aishwarya :)

Here is the youtube URL - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ46a_xNugY

Reviving has become easier

Thanks to the facebook app "adofthemoment" that couple of my friends have put together. Colleagues turned entrepreneurs have created this Facebook app which takes you to the golden memory of your old days. Ads like Amul, Cadbury Celebrations, Fevicol etc have been featured in this app.

So even though I am not able to review the newer advertisements, this app will help me write about some memorable ads along with their YouTube links.

thanks to Shrinand and Jyoti :)

Karo Jyaadaa Kaa Iraadaa

Rather old one, but a very cute ad from Max New York Life Insurance.

Mom and Dad are busy with their own work and the kid is playing around. Suddenly the kid utters some words resembling "Daddy" and it suddenyl fetches Dad's attraction. Then starts the attempts to make the kid say words like Mama and then Banana. When the kid successfully utters "Banana", Dad starts asking for more and asks the kid to say "Czechoslovakia" - the kid is baffled, doesn't know what to do, Mama is asking Dad to "slow" down, but daddy knows what's the best way to achieve the bigger goals - step by step - and explains Mama how it can be done - "pahele "cheko" bolega, usake baad "slow" bolega and then "vakia" bolega - simple" ... But the kid seems to be still confused and cutely reacts in a typical kid's manner - "Brrrrrrr", disappointed Dad satisfies himself with "Banana bolaa" and goes back to reading paper; and suddenly kid starts attempting the word "czechoslovakia"

And there comes the tag lines - karo Jyaadaa kaa Iraadaa

Things I like most - the expressions from all three; the script and picturization everything - eyecatching!!!

Youtube link for the ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5yaLbZ6VQ

Reviving this blog

I know this has been a longest of the breaks and I haven't posted anything for a long while. I guess it happens always with me, but this time the gap was very long. Planning to spend some time in updating this blog on a regular basis.

Wish me luck :)