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 :)

Hamaraa Bajaj

One of the old advertisements, that would be remembered for years to come.

A very touchy piece, that reflects the Indian culture, values and emotions in it's true sense. Depicting the bajaj scooters as the most used vehicles for every purpose, right from romance to spirituality. From respect for elders to toughness of the youth. Watch the video here.

What an IDEA Sirji

Yet another campaign from IDEA cellular. The theme is fantastic and with stars as Abhishek Bachchan it definitely draws attention of the viewers.

The theme goes like this... A small village gets caught into riots. After a lot of devastation around, finally two fighting groups come together in front of the "Sarpanch" to resolve the issue. But, the fight starts again, in the meeting itself. And suddenly the phone rings. The Sarpanch gets a brillian IDEA and announces that no one would be known by his or her name any more, but everyone will be identified just by a mobile phone number!! And with that the village seems to be happy and enjoying the life. The nameplates on the doors are replaced with the mobile numbers, the statues, the banners everything. The Sarpanch is very happy and his aid apprises - "What an IDEA, Sirji!! " And obviously followed by IDEA punch line - "An IDEA can change your life!!"

The ad definitely is a genius concept where it points out the fallacies of our believes and helps people to realize that name has nothing to do with how that person is. If names are replaced with the phone numbers, then there will be no way to identify if the person is from upper class or from lower class, from Hindu community or from Muslim and thereby reducing the chances of unnecessary clashes.

The ad happens on the backdrop of a village in UP or Bihar. The sets and the cast are very much matching the theme. and overall leaves a very good impression.

However ... :) I have a few doubts about the success of this theme.

First of all, IDEA is an established brand with very well reach within the circles. I don't think they need a campaign emphasizing on the brand. This commercial focuses more on the brand, than it's services and affordability. My general feeling about this ad, after watching it a few times, is that it in general promotes the mobile service and not the IDEA service. Vodafone or BSNL can run the same campaign with the brand changed. Then what is IDEA achieving out of this commercial?

Watch the video live on: Any Hindi channel or at youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STZAcD2R6YI

Everything is the same, except the name

What else, other than identical twins, can represent this concept? A very cute ad that captures the exact theme of brand name change from UTI Bank to AXIS Bank.

A cute little girl, all in pink, enters a class room and asks sweetly, "May I come in teacher?". Teacher takes a look at the girl and nods. The girl enters the room and finds a place in a corner bench for herself. Even before she is settled down, another similar voice comes "May I come in teacher?" And when the teacher turns to the door, to her surprise, she finds the same little girl again at the door. Not understanding what's happening, teacher looks back to the place where first girl was sitting, only to realize that they are twins. The second girl enters the room and sits next to her sister. And caption appears:

"Everything is the same, except the name. UTI bank is now AXIS bank."

A direct impact ad, guaranteeing a same level of service to the customers even though there's a brand change. This ad definitely succeeds in conveying this message to the customer and retains their confidence.

When I first saw this ad, I got curious. Why they are changing the name? And if they are changing the name for whatever reason, why can't they attribute it to the requirement of improvement in the service? All of these questions got answered in a recent article in business standard. A good read.

When I read the article, the ad made more sense to me and I can say that this ad is having the exact impact that creators wanted.

Here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7vOj5tX3mg

The ad creator: Ogilvy & Mather Advertising