Addendum is a weekly 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 Diwali spirit is still in the air, so it isn’t too late to wish all you lovely readers a very happy festive season and a great year ahead.
So which Diwali ads did you like best? Write in tell us. Quite a few appealed to me. You read about Western Union in the last column. Great idea, well executed.
I loved the Big Bazaar film where people burst “crackers” by snapping a piece of paper in a way that it made a little explosive noise. Very innovative, and filled with a great message. To make a little fun-noise you don’t have to spoil the atmosphere with toxic fumes, dirty the streets with all the leftover crackers and ruin your health and that of others. Will it change the way we behave during Diwali? Certainly not. But it plants a good seed in our minds and sets the stage for many more such efforts.
The spirit of giving
The online furniture space saw two good Diwali-oriented efforts. Pepperfry.com had a seemingly tough landlord noticing his young tenant’s broken-down table and replacing it with a nice new table and chair. The festive season is the season of giving and sharing and this TVC brought out that feeling very well. Created by Saatchi and Saatchi, the minimal dialogues, good production values and good performances by both the characters made for a film that was touching without overtly aiming for a teary response.
The Urban Ladder short film had the luxury of time and the digital medium to linger lovingly over the emotions of a perfect young couple who want to create the perfect atmosphere for the young man’s parents to move in with them and stay. Well, if you have seven-plus minutes, and a tissue with you, watch The Homecoming on YouTube. Very syrupy and a tad dragged out, but worth a dekko. It’s been made by a company called Boring Brands. Thank God I don’t have to be introduced as their client! Incidentally one of the investors (not the main one) is Ratan Tata.
Instareviews
We’re short on space but long on commitment. Fevikwik by Ogilvy: Four little TVCs. The typical stamp of quality. Cute. It shows the misadventures of a bumbling Romeo in an interesting way. And how Fevikwik, in its little packaging, is ideal to fix sundry broken items such as spectacles, mugs, toys and the like. But there’s nothing to fix a broken heart.
One cream, many roles: A delightful little gem for Emami Boroplus Antiseptic Cream. It brings out in a really clutter-busting manner the different uses Boroplus has as a beauty cream, for dry lips, chapped feet and so on. With Amitabh Bachchan, Kangna Ranaut and Raju Hirani, you get to see how real talent needs just 60 seconds to shine brightly, and leave a great impression. I loved watching it. And listening to the Big B deliver his dialogues.
The ultimate Monday has come and gone. She will now turn, even if you don’t use SRK’s dialogue and even if you don’t deliver a corny shairi with the panache and elan that only Aamir Khan can muster. Yes, Snapdeal and FCB Ulka had two TVCs for Snapdeal’s Ultimate Monday sale which proved what a great celeb can do. Actually make TVCs like those look good. A good client, a great agency and a towering actor. We need something better, guys! We’ll wait.
Karva Chauth: Fem from Dabur and LK Saatchi and Saatchi come up with this film that defines the complex Indian narrative. A chef who doesn’t taste food in the kitchen because she’s fasting for her husband. A husband who gifts her a Fem makeover with the bleach et al. I don’t know how to comment so I won’t. Maybe you, my readers, will?
Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Mail your comments to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in