I’ve been watching the Scorpio since its debut in 2002. I’ve liked it. I liked the fact that Anand Mahindra drove around in one. And I liked the fact that Interface was faithful to the persona it tried to project in a series of ad films it had made. The basic elements have remained unchanged. The exotic locales, the foreign cast, the sexy women, the Nothing Else Will Do song, and the larger-than-life image. The TV commercial for the 2014 Scorpio is no different. It begins with a ruggedly handsome foreigner using his mud-caked Scorpio to pull a horse out of a bog. The line that said “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” allowed me to proceed further. And then as the begrimed SUV drives along, a lumbering turboprop aircraft with another one of the lovely women piloting it swoops down low over the SUV and bathes it in several tonnes of water, dramatically revealing the new look of the 2014 Scorpio. Of course, the ungrateful wretch of a driver then pushes the spotlessly clean car into several more muddy puddles before driving into what looks like an opulent Australian stud farm to be met by the pilot who suggestively remarks that he looks like he could do with a wash himself, as she walks away. The new Scorpio. The vintage Scorpio advertising. Nothing else will do.

It’s in the can

I confess that while I know fizzy aerated drinks are not the healthiest thing, I still opt for a “diet” cola when I feel the urge to indulge myself. Having tasted Coke Zero overseas, I have lamented its non-availability here in India. Well, the real thing, in its Zero avatar, is here, and to launch it, Coke came up with a 2.5-minute film in digital media that showcased an activation in South Mumbai. It is made like a documentary. Just reality, no frills. It shows people in the Inox multiplex at Nariman Point, Mumbai, a heartbeat away from where I work, walking up to the snack bar and ordering Cokes, and being served up the familiar red-and-white can by a salesman with a thick, tousled mop of hair. The film is about to start and suddenly the screen comes alive with the visage of the same salesman who reminds the audience that they just bought their Coke cans from him outside the hall. He then explains that people often think a zero-sugar offering just cannot taste like a regular Coke, and urges them to take another sip of the Coke they are holding in their hands. Then he takes off his wig and false beard and the audience howls as they see Farhan Akhtar and realise he was the salesman. Farhan then asks them to tear off the wrapper from the can in their hand and the black can that holds Coke Zero is revealed. And before anyone can say “Farhan Akhtar”, the doors beneath the screen open and the star walks in to meet his fans. Very neat, strategically spot on, and the use of a male star instead of a female star works well. After all, it is assumed that more women consume diet colas than men. Present company excepted.

Cutting to the chase

Maruti Suzuki. The company that prides itself on its cars that give India a great mileage is airing a TVC for its new offering, the Alto K10. I am informally told this car is the Maruti 800 that died, went to car-heaven and has returned in this new, larger, improved avatar. There’s this young man who asks the young lady for a reply to a question he has popped, and she laconically says ‘chase me” and jumps off a cliff. No, don’t worry, she para-glides downwards while the determined young man jumps into his Alto K10, makes short work of the hairpin bends and reaches the grassy field ahead of her. “Not fair” is the next comment from the woman of few words who then accepts the proffered engagement ring and rides off to a happy future with the man. One could ask for a better dialogue, but I hear this is the “chase generation” so I guess with all the flying and chasing there’s precious little time to say things to each other. May be they whatsapp each other?

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

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