AD - Nestle Milky Bar

AGENCY: Lowe Lintas (I think)

Now this one I really like.

In a space that markets chocolates through smooth taste appealing to the kids love of taste or through promotions and toys, this ad stands out for taking a different positioning.

Chocolates, by definition, is something that children love and would eat anytime. They are also 'not good for health and teeth' as agreed by all parents but are also a necessary evil - again as agreed by all parents. So how do you position it so that parents like it and will be agreeable to their kids having it? Nestle's Milky Bar does try to fill that gap through this ad.

In an age where kids are stuck to their TVs and computers, where its the easiest thing to do for parents to give their kids gadgets to keep them occupied, where we all agree that our kids need to get outside, this ad tries to pass on that message.

I like the ad for that message and its execution. Notice how the mother tells her daughter to 'Get out' of the house and how the kid on the cycle proudly shows off his hurt (as the background lyrics spell it out) to the kid showing his PSP. We need more ads asking our kids to step out of the house.

My only negative point is I don't know if this positioning goes well with the chocolate segment. I would have thought that Nestle would have used this ad for their Milk product rather than the chocolate product. I guess the reasoning was that its a Milk chocolate and so straddles both the segments. I don't see parents giving their kids Milky Bar and telling them to get out. I would have seen the connection if it was for Nestle Milo as an energy drink and encouraging the kids to step out.

All in all a good ad for a wrong product.

But just for the positioning, thinking and execution; I would give it a 7/10.

AD - Bajaj Pulsar DTSi

AGENCY: Ogilvy India

I'm the man by El Espanges - thats the song that plays in the background of the ad. And its a catchy number at that.

I have to admit though that I had to watch the ad a couple of times to get what it was about. The visuals are good but they could apply to any product.

I like the basic concept of the ad. Its key message is speed and that nothing on this earth is faster than the Bajaj Pulsar DTSi 220cc bike. The visuals and the execution support that statement but it takes a couple of viewings to understand that statement.

You see visuals of the police coming in frenzy towards the town but the 'bank robber' is relaxed and slow, as if he has all the time in the world. The location seems to indicate Mexico as the Bank building too seems derelict. The visuals indicate that the bank robber has a lot of charm as he gets away with the money from the teller even after he shows that he does not have a gun. In fact he even has time to put some money in the boy's piggy bank. As he comes out of the bank the police cars and copter all surround him but he has a small smile on his face. He sits on the bike and the next instant he is gone leaving the police flabbergasted as the background dialogue comes that 'He's got away'. Notice the exasperated expression of one of the cops.

All in all a good visual execution. At least it stands out from the same old bike executions of stunts and bike visuals. And therein is the catch. When you see a bike ad, you expect to see the bike up close so that you get a feel for it and an excitement about the looks. None of that happens here. In fact you hardly to get to see the bike at all. Is the Pulsar DTSi a cool looking bike? Don't know cause we don't see it. The only thing we know is that he sits on the bike and the next instant he's gone. That must be some speedy bike. But is that what you look for in a bike when you want to buy one? Speed? What about mileage, looks, style? And I think that's where the ad looses out.

It does not show the bike! How can a bike ad not show the bike?

Even for the speed angle it takes some time to sink in as the only indication is the change in frame - with and without the bike. If they could have shown a simple streak it would have been easier to understand the speed angle.

If Bajaj was trying to exploit the Speed USP then this ad wins just on that message. It stand apart from the rest of the ads and is fresh in its approach. It has recall value and the 'The Fastest Indian' tagline is obviously a take on the movie 'The World's Fastest Indian' which was about speed and racing as well. But I don't know how many will get that pun and also how many will understand the linkage between Bajaj (Indian bike) with Mexico visuals. They could have at least shown an Indian Bank robber to make the connection slightly easier.

I can't decide if this is a good ad or a bad one so am going to rate it at 5/10, if only for the fresh approach to bike ads and call it a good one.

But Bajaj needs to do a better job at connecting and stop being subtle.

(B)AD - Honda Jazz

AGENCY: Ogilvy, Delhi

So here is I think what happened.

The team at Honda and O&M Delhi sat in a meeting. The Honda guys briefed the agency on a new car that they are launching. They spoke about the features and the benefits and how the car is 'different' from the other cars.

They all probably realized that the car space in India is very cluttered. There are many car brands and car ads that vie for the same space in the potential Indian consumer's mind. The challenge and the objective would be to stand out from the crowd and get the consumer to notice the ad, notice the new car, register it and then ask the Honda guys about it.

So the O&M team went back to their office very excited. After all they hadn't made an ad for a new car from Honda in India for quite some time. Well there was the new City ZXi but that was really bottling a slightly different wine in the same bottle. This was different - this was a new heady drink in a new bottle and a new brand! Excitement was pulsing through them.

They all sat down, put their heads together and..............and..............they came up with this?

The ad falls flat on a lot of aspects. The tagline "Why so serious" is a great tagline but it does not link to the ad in anyway. The execution could have slightly humorous to convey the message. But this ad is so serious that I can't figure some of the subtle messages.

The ad begins with the guy picking up his coat and key and a cactus plant (?!). Notice that its a corner office and the sun is shining bright.

He then pulls up a part of the seat and keeps the cactus there - shows that the car has space though it doesn't show how much space.

As he starts driving the other cars on the road are represented as bubble cars. That's a good refreshing representation of the fact that the Jazz is the only viable car on the road today while the rest of the cars are all frivolous. Good creative touch there. Notice the expression of the people in the bubble cars. They seem to like the Jazz and get jealous of it. Good expressions and message delivery. As he drives all the cars around him burst into bubbles though I can't figure out why all the cars don't do that when he is on the flyover.

He then drives into a lane which looks like an apartment complex or a small gully - so its targeted at the middle class segment. His wife / girlfriend comes over to the car and opens the back seat door, has a look at the cactus and has a angry (?) expression on her face. Why would she open the back door? And why is her expression one of angst?

The cactus has grown a flower which was not there when the guy started. How? I assume this is meant to show that the cooling is so good that the cactus grew a flower or that the distance traveled was so large that the cactus had enough time for the flower. Either way I started getting confused from this point onwards.

Why is the guy angry when he sits back in the car? What is the history behind this interaction? Did I miss something in the ad? And finally why is the cactus plant in the middle of the road?????

The background music score could have been better. Is Jazz used because of the name of the car? Would we have noticed that they did not use Jazz music if they had used something else? I doubt that!

All in all a great ad till the girl arrives, then it gets confusing. The tagline execution could have been much better. The ad does not stand out. The car features do not get mentioned and I don't carry back any info of the car.

A 6/10 only because of the 'bubble' representation.

I think Honda lost out on a great opportunity.

I liked this ad of Jazz in UK although I am sure only women must have bought the car after watching the ad. Notice how the ad is cute and touches upon all the key features - interiors, mileage, handling etc.

O&M Delhi - Jazz did not strike a tune!

AD - Vodafone 'Busy Message'

AGENCY: Ogilvy, Mumbai

Vodafone has three distinct identities in the ad world today from the perception of a viewer. The dog, The ZooZoos and The Humans. But the one underlying theme of all these distinct assets is the out-of-the box presentation of the ideas. When a new ad of Vodafone airs you look at it with great expectations. And most of the times, these expectations are met or exceeded.

Like in this ad of 'Busy Message'. There are so many different ways that the same message has been conveyed by different telecom providers. But the one that will stand out amongst all those will definitely be this execution.

If there is one characteristic of most of the Vodafone ads, its the fact that the message comes out very clearly at the end of the commercial. This could be attributed to the final tagline but the fun is that after you've seen the tagline you feel as if the entire commercial made so much sense. Watching Vodafone's commercials for the first time you are usually riveted to the screen if nothing else than to find out what the ad will convey and as it ends you usually find yourself smiling thinking that it made perfect sense.

My screen-riveting is usually to see if a new Vodafone ad can outclass the previous one or at least match its execution. There have been few times when I thought that the ads were far fetched but those occasions are few.

This particular ad even rivets my two year old son to the screen. He stops, watches the whole ad, has a smile when he sees the last shot of the Dad sleeping with the baby and then he carries on.

I like this ad for multiple reasons:

• It meets its basic objective in conveying that you can set your own busy message.
• It does that by showing you different scenarios and how each person has set their message.
• It does this in a manner that makes you watch it again and again.
• The people and situations used are normal day to day activities but conveyed in a different manner. You can relate to at least one activity from this, if not all.
• It starts in a 'hatke' manner with a fat guy in a bathtub and then continues with 'regular' people.
• It matches all previous 'human element' commercials of Vodafone.
• It does not disappoint!

I would rate it as 8/10, if only because you expect this from Ogilvy for Vodafone.

As an afterthought, it would be interesting to know how Vodafone decides on which element (dog, zoozoo, human) to take for which message.

(B)AD - Sprite Fridge Pack

AGENCY: Ogilvy India

Now this ad I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!

I've seen it multiple time but I am at a loss to figure out what is it that they are trying to communicate. I've seen it, viewed it and still am at a loss.

The idea (I think) is to communicate the new Fridge Pack bottle sits in the fridge easily. The tagline tries to convey that at the end : Sprite Fridge Pack - Fridge mein jayega, Bade kaam ayega!

Sprite is known for some really cool ads and tongue-in-cheek presentation. Their previous ads have been pretty good and they have positioned themselves in that space in their communication. When you see a Sprite ad you expect some nice take on a regular situation and a tongue-in-cheek humour. Sadly it is lacking in this execution.

With this ad nothing is clear:

• Why would Sharma aunty come to a bachelor pad for dinner?
• Why would Sharma aunty cook food for them once she gets there?
• Why would the guys think that Iyer aunty and all other aunties would come for food to their house?
• What is the Fridge Pack bottle useful for?

I wonder what the brief for this ad was and exactly what the marketing team was thinking when they approved this creative and decided to spend money to shoot and then air it. Given the earlier ads, I am sure the creative team at Ogilvy could have come up with a much better execution of the same tagline.

After all Sprite is Seedhi Baat, No Bakwas, Clear Hai!

Sorry to say Ogilvy and Coca Cola there is no seedhi baat in this ad, it is all bakwas and definitely not clear.

I would give it a 2/10!

AD: Limca 'Fresh Ho Jao'

AGENCY: Ogilvy India

The first time I saw this ad I stopped in my tracks to make sure that I saw it completely. The artists, their chemistry, the music, the lyrics and the visuals just seemed to make a complete picture to me.

Coming off the 'Fresh Ho Jao' campaign with Raima Sen where they showed the youth falling into water when they drank Limca, I thought this was a good extension to that story. While the Raima Sen ad targeted the youth and appealed to their sense of play, this ad seemed to appeal to the middle age or should I say successful youth and asks them to go get a Limca and get fresh.

The affluent car, the dress sense and the models suggest a DINKS (Double Income No Kids) target segment and appeals to their sense of play. The ad also build very well with boredom as a starting point leading up to the serenity and peace after getting fresh with Limca. You can almost sense the fact that maybe this couple were having a few issues and needed to jump start their romance which is also helped by Limca. The playful nature of the ad asks you to get in touch with the child in you and live life.

But the key grabbing point of this ad has to be the soulful music, the soothing voice and the brilliant lyrics.

“Fuhaarein, bochharein, nazaaare chura lo na, kuch boondein chura lo na; Thaki si zindagi se, ruki si zindagi se, kuch lamhe chura lo na…; Kuch yaddein, aur sapne, apne chura lo na; Ruki si zindagi se, thaki si zindagi se, raftaarein chura lo na…”

“फुहारें, बोछारें, नज़ारे चुरा लो ना , कुछ बूँदें चुरा लो ना ; थकी सी ज़िन्दगी से, रुकी सी ज़िन्दगी से, कुछ लम्हे चुरा लो ना…; कुछ यद्दें, और सपने, अपने चुरा लो ना; रुकी सी ज़िन्दगी से, थकी सी ज़िन्दगी से, रफ्तारें चुरा लो ना…”

These words and the music just grab you as the ad starts and then stay with you long after its ended.

Here are my perceptions of what the client and the agency wanted to communicate and how they fared.

Target the working successful youth - YES
Extend the 'Fresh Ho Jao' campaign - YES
Capture mindspace of the viewer - YES
Ensure unaided brand recall through music/ jingle - YES
Ensure brand stands out from clutter - YES

I would rate this ad as 8/10.

For a more objective analysis of the ad make sure you visit AsMi blog What an Advertise-Meant?

Definition

I decided to pull up some definitions of 'Advertisement' and came up with these from the Encyclopedia.

Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinforcement of "brand image" and "brand loyalty".

Egyptians used papyrus to create sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompei and ancient Arabia. lost-and-found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America.

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse is the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability.

At the turn of the century, there were few career choices for women in business; however, advertising was one of the few. Since women were responsible for most of the purchasing done in their household, advertisers and agencies recognized the value of women's insight during the creative process. In fact, the first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a soap product. Although tame by today's standards, the advertisement featured a couple with the message "The skin you love to touch".

In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularised, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a brief mention of the business' name at the beginning and end of the sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses throughout their radio station's broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to single businesses per show.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought.

Another good resource to read would be the Wikipedia on Advertising.

Some examples of early Print Advertising.

The Beginning

In the beginning there was TV. Then came the programs. Money was needed to run these programs. The organisations that wanted to sell their products were prepared to pay money. They asked for their pound of flesh and got time to show their products in between the programs.

Soon, the 'TV advertisements' became more important than the programs. And then there came people like me who love to watch the ads, pass judgment on them without knowing anything and analyze them.

I love ads. I love the fact that organisations are forced to convey their key messages in 10 or 60 seconds. There are ads that do this beautifully and then there are ads of which you can make no heads-or-tails.

I will try and view these ads from a layman view and try and pass my judgment on them. I will then try to use my marketing knowledge of 9 years and try to analyse what they were trying to communicate or at least what I think they managed to communicate.

So Ad makers, creative guys, marketeers - BEWARE! Here comes one more critic to add to the mass out there.

Let the analysis begin!