Mad(dening) Ads
Having nothing much to do these days (injury-time, so no long walks, no treks, no gym) I have been watching TV. It also helps because it’s the cricket-tennis season. If you watch TV you can’t ignore the ads. And if you watch ads, you’d have your favourites, pet-hates and ‘what-was-that-again?’ ones. On a single day I watched several ads that caught my eye – all for the wrong reasons.
The new Ariel ad. Mom lovingly talks about the son’s love for oil-massage (chumpee) before sleeping as the boy’s shown leaving oil-stains all over the place. Now, the boy left the stains on the pillow-case but the mom shows off the clean bed sheet after the wash! An easy way to escape being panned for the inability to wash off oil stains I guess?
The second was that of Gillette Shaving gel - ‘Daadi hai ki jhaadi’ ad. I noticed a glaring faux pas. The groom gets off the train and the welcome party of girls simply ignores him (even as he bows to them) and walks towards the compartment’s door even before the other boy (groom’s friend) can appear (how did they guess that the one who’s gonna get out of the compartment would look better than the groom?). Another thing about the ad was how the groom managed to shave the other side of the friend’s face without turning him and waking him up! Beats me!!
Incidentally both ads are for products of P & G. I hope the firm wakes up to its follies.
Ultratech Cement’s (formerly L & T cement) ad was the corniest of all. ‘Chalo India banaaye’ slogan irked me no end. I don’t know if anyone buys such stuff (both cement and the message) anymore! One another ad that came a close second in being the most irritating was that of Voltas AC. The Tatas haven’t been known to make the best commercials. I was thrown back to the 80’s (or early ‘90s) when the Tatas were still in the FMCG market and had introduced Effermint toothpaste. The toothpaste ad still probably ranks as one of the worst ever ads made (I don’t know which agency made this ad though) in the country. Another one that grated my nerves was Airtel ad (‘Ab baap ko rulaayega kya?’). But the ad’s continuation is really good.
I liked the Greenlam Laminates ad’s concept. But the execution is really tacky. ‘Dikhaane ka jee kare’ but what is being shown off is hardly impressive!
The last campaign didn’t really boast of any such glitches. It was for NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) – a clutch of ads using Celebrity endorsements to promote the importance of mother’s health for the health of the family. They could’ve made the ads better by telling (the masses) that these stars are not only successful actors but also successful mothers too. And, why are they showing these ads on NDTV24X7, CNN-IBN and such other channels that won’t be watched by anyone who needs to get this message? Of course these channels are NOT airing these ads for free? Another way for the babus to squander public money!
The new Ariel ad. Mom lovingly talks about the son’s love for oil-massage (chumpee) before sleeping as the boy’s shown leaving oil-stains all over the place. Now, the boy left the stains on the pillow-case but the mom shows off the clean bed sheet after the wash! An easy way to escape being panned for the inability to wash off oil stains I guess?
The second was that of Gillette Shaving gel - ‘Daadi hai ki jhaadi’ ad. I noticed a glaring faux pas. The groom gets off the train and the welcome party of girls simply ignores him (even as he bows to them) and walks towards the compartment’s door even before the other boy (groom’s friend) can appear (how did they guess that the one who’s gonna get out of the compartment would look better than the groom?). Another thing about the ad was how the groom managed to shave the other side of the friend’s face without turning him and waking him up! Beats me!!
Incidentally both ads are for products of P & G. I hope the firm wakes up to its follies.
Ultratech Cement’s (formerly L & T cement) ad was the corniest of all. ‘Chalo India banaaye’ slogan irked me no end. I don’t know if anyone buys such stuff (both cement and the message) anymore! One another ad that came a close second in being the most irritating was that of Voltas AC. The Tatas haven’t been known to make the best commercials. I was thrown back to the 80’s (or early ‘90s) when the Tatas were still in the FMCG market and had introduced Effermint toothpaste. The toothpaste ad still probably ranks as one of the worst ever ads made (I don’t know which agency made this ad though) in the country. Another one that grated my nerves was Airtel ad (‘Ab baap ko rulaayega kya?’). But the ad’s continuation is really good.
I liked the Greenlam Laminates ad’s concept. But the execution is really tacky. ‘Dikhaane ka jee kare’ but what is being shown off is hardly impressive!
The last campaign didn’t really boast of any such glitches. It was for NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) – a clutch of ads using Celebrity endorsements to promote the importance of mother’s health for the health of the family. They could’ve made the ads better by telling (the masses) that these stars are not only successful actors but also successful mothers too. And, why are they showing these ads on NDTV24X7, CNN-IBN and such other channels that won’t be watched by anyone who needs to get this message? Of course these channels are NOT airing these ads for free? Another way for the babus to squander public money!
posted by Quintessential Critic (Sudhir Narayana) @ 9:54 AM
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