Addendum

Matka message

There was a time when public services messages were of two types. The messages from the Government departments that were dull, dreary, and a waste of public money. And the messages from NGOs which were largely unseen except during award shows. In a ruder mood I would have called these scam ads. Oops! I just did. Anyway, times are changing, for the better.

The Government has decided that the DAVP need not be entrusted with creative efforts. They can just stick to arbitrarily fixing media rates. The creative part of Government advertising is farmed out to professional agencies and we are seeing the difference.

On a similar route, there is the advertisement for pure drinking water that is, in a major part, funded by UNICEF. While this might not fall into either category described earlier, the genre is still public service advertising and hence the introduction. This is a very interesting commercial. With a catchy ditty, the film uses a very ethnic choice of words and tune rather effectively. The effort is aimed largely at a rural audience and shows how various family members pick up glasses of water with unwashed hands and explains the risks they are exposing themselves to.

The arrival of the lady doctor (I like the fact that it is a lady) who shows them how simply and effectively water can be stored in a matka and dispensed with a little tap, thereby ensuring clean drinking water, is very well done. I particularly liked the touch where she applied a little dot of kajal to the matka as if to show that it is special and one needs to ward off the “evil eye.”

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The Amazon campaign rolls on relentlessly. Keeping with the theme that the Indian consumer wants a wide variety, and that is what she will get on Amazon.in, this variant has a delightful little kid who is agreeing happily with alternate suggestions being made by his father and mother about what will be placed where, in their house. The direction, editing and acting of the moppet makes the film memorable. And finally he tunes in with the tag line Amazon has been using where he says “aur dikao. Kuch aur dikhao” ensuring the continuity that is so important to a campaign.

Wires but no fire

I used to wonder with admiration when Fevicol began advertising aggressively many years ago. I had renovated my office and house and had never bothered to even ask which adhesive was being used. But then the next time I had the opportunity, I did. Similarly, I’m sure you have redone the wiring for your office or house and ensure that copper wiring was used. Did you ever ask the electrician which brand of wires he was using? I’d love to hear from you if you did. I didn’t.

And now with the amazing advertising for Havells wires created by Lowe Lintas, I wonder who decided to brand electrical wires first. The consistent high quality advertising is worth mentioning. This time around they show the emotional bond between a father and a little daughter very well.

Set probably on the achingly beautiful Dal lake in Kashmir, the film shows a little girl making every effort to keep the tiffin box carrying her dad’s lunch from getting cold as she paddles to his workplace on the lake. The overworked father brusquely brushes her off when she urges him to eat quickly while the food is still warm. Finally the little girl hangs the carrier over a makeshift fire using a wire.

The message, of course, is that Havells wires are flame-retardant. I love the way the emotional route is used. The production values are excellent. The casting couldn’t have been better. The next time I do some re-wiring I’m checking which wires are being used.

Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Mail your comments to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in