Addendum is a fortnightly column that takes a sometimes hard, sometimes casual, sometimes irreverent, yet never malicious look at some of the new or recent advertisements and comments on them.
The great Indian summer is on, and it's really hot out there. Just the time to be thinking of a really cool air-conditioned atmosphere. R. K. Swamy BBDO has created a TVC for Vestar air-conditioners that has two jobs to perform. One, to establish the name of a new brand, Vestar. The other, sell it on the basis of its attributes. On both counts the TVC comes out a winner. Using Javed Jaffrey as a stern Sardar who wants to know everything about the air-conditioner, the viewer is explained the features. And then, using a little idiosyncrasy of the character where Javed insists that Vestar should be called Bestar, and the salesperson keeps correcting him with the right name, one is rather creatively treated to an exercise that hammers the new name right into our skulls. Very cool!
The IPL is on, and the fever evidently hasn't caught on in the way it was expected to. OK, they had a film award function, sorry, an IPL opening night where film stars and politicians had their say. But at the end of the day the viewership of IPL is all about cricket, right? Wrong. For the fanatics of advertising (like yours truly) watching the IPL in the cool comfort of home is all about cricket, and the new advertising that this eyeball fest generates. And I can now understand why people are worried despite the high ratings that the first few days have garnered. The cricket is fine, but the advertising??? The Vodafone advertising for Internet on your phone is a great example of what is wrong with advertising during the IPL. I was teleported to a time where Doordarshan played out those dreary tele-matches with canned laughter and applause, and one watched it because they had no choice. Now O&M has dredged up its version of those tele-matches and these are evidently supposed to be played in some Czech town so there is the Czech audio in the background and an English translation. It needn't have bothered. It could have saved the cost of an English translation and kept the Czech audio on full blast. It wouldn't have made a difference. Penguin or Chicken would have won and the little five-year-olds in the room (who are not yet the audience for Internet on the phone) would have giggled loudly. And the rest of the viewers would thank Vodafone for a good break and run to the bathroom or the kitchen.
Whither gems?
Ekle Pekle ping ping . Yes, this is the latest gem in the TVCs for Cadbury Gems. The lady in the park notices one Gem(s) and grabs it. Some more flow out from the chocolate spring that has emerged on the grass. She greedily collects more. Seeing an approaching man, she falls flat on the Gems that are now materialising at a brisk pace. And then the gush of Gems makes her levitate, as the super announces there is no age for lalach (greed) so Raho Umarless . I'm sorry, I'm not going to dignify that with a translation. Please tell me this is not by my favourite agency O&M. If you understand the TVC, write in and enlighten me. If you don't, I will understand why. Thank God for cricket! Even if they sometimes score just a hundred runs. Ekle Pekle ping ping . When copywriters cannot figure out what to write, they probably start producing sounds instead. That's the big idea.
Mr Yatra
There's Salman-mega-hit-Khan endorsing Yatra.com. No kidding. It's true. And he is putting his reputation (?) on the line with this campaign. Mr Yatra (Salman) bamboozles Mr Smarty-airline-man into agreeing to a 50 per cent discount by blackmailing him with some pictures of him without his wig. The poor man agrees to the discount. Salman Khan then looks the camera in the eye and says that he will get you the deal you want. That is his commitment. OK, let's not get serious about Salman Bhai's commitment. It's a nice way to draw attention to a TVC, if a trifle expensive. I mean getting Salman to endorse a travel portal. Who would have believed it would have been possible? But then who would have believed Ready could be a Rs 100 crore-plus grosser? Or Dabangg or Bodyguard … The man is an enigma. And people love him. So I guess Yatra.com has a winner on its hands. Commitment or not. McCann did it for Coke with Aamir. Now it's doing it for Yatra with Salman. Prasoon, Shah Rukh is feeling a little left out …
Satyameva Jayate
So Aamir Khan will soon be releasing his TV show on Star Plus. And the promos for it are on air now. Aamir the marketing man has ensured that he rouses the interest of the viewer without saying anything about the show, as yet. Shot in a very informal format, Aamir is at his casual best. Yet, the perfectionist must have had a zillion takes to ensure he looks casual, and that is what audiences like about him. There will be more promos, and the usual marketing blitz that Aamir turns on before any release of his, so watch this space. And keep watching ads.
(Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. addendum.brandline@gmail.com )