Six TVCs spanning a range of products such as pressure cookers, mixer grinders, induction range, cookware and so on and so forth. You think anyone can hold your attention through six TVCs? Well, they just did. Sonal Dabral and the DDB Mudra Group team have this series of advertisements for the Prestige range of kitchen products and to keep you riveted they’ve got Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhiskek Bachchan. I must say Abhishek must be the most overlooked actor in Bollywood. I find his sense of comic timing absolutely fantastic. And pair that with his voice which is sounding even more like the Big B’s, his pleasant looks and his charming style and I begin to sound like a star-struck fan. If you needed anything more you have Aishwarya, yes, the Aishwarya Rai with the drop-dead good looks, some clever scripting and you end up with a perfectly acceptable set of commercials for Prestige cookware, even as the festive gifting season just kicks in. I actually enjoyed watching them, and that, my friends, is saying a lot.
Boy Hero
So what if
Have you seen the international Old Spice ads? If you have you will remember the masculinity, the zany dialogues, the subtle humour and the seemingly unconnected script. Well, the Indian TVC is no different. Weiden+Kennedy obviously have their job cut out for them and they try and deliver the Indian equivalent of the global message. The result? The handsome Milind Soman trying to act regal and failing. A remote-controlled helicopter that brings in the can of Old Spice deo, a giggly girl who tries to look cute and almost succeeds and a whacko script that is faithful to the international ads but that really isn’t saying much. A brave attempt to get away from the normal deo mold of screaming girls throwing themselves into the arms of innocent deo-sprayed young men. It’s different. But I’m still waiting for an original deo advertisement that can show a man wanting to smell good for himself instead of for a bunch of girls. And in case you didn’t notice P&G have a new term for the fragrance. It’s mantastic!
When God retires …
Where else but in India can you live to see a God retiring? Well, the moment Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar announced his retirement, TV news channels suspended normal programming and became the sporting equivalent of Astha channel. Imagine what will happen on November 14th? I can see people cancelling their plans to go to the AdAsia in Hanoi to be there, all teary-eyed, and bid the master blaster farewell. To advertising fans, Sachin is an enigma. He has endorsed a wide range of products and has been true to the values attached to his own brand. Top class quality, long-running, consistent, a great role model for the youth to emulate. The first brand endorser to break the Rs 100-crore barrier and probably the most bankable brand ambassador we’ve known. Don’t worry, this is not a eulogy for the big man. We can look forward to see him in different more mature roles very soon. We love you Sachin, and the other 756 gods in our pantheon.
Feeling blue?
If you thought being funny meant keeping your tongue firmly in your cheek, think again. Now you can wiggle it, waggle it and stick it out for the world to see! And it’s no more the boring red that every Indian tongue has been coloured at some time or the other. This is Center Fruit’s new chewing gum and it offers you a bright blue tongue. That is the story that O&M tells, using the element of hyperbole to its fullest extent, showing a little boy whose pen has run out of ink, popping a Centre Fruit “Colour your tongue” chewing gum and then dashing off his answers with the dexterous use of a wagging blue tongue. Kids should love it – the TVC and the blue tongues.
And blue elephants
If there is festivity in the air can the animated blue Fevicol elephants be far behind? Here we have typical dandiya music and lovely animation to make the elephants do the raas with broken stumps of sugarcane. I never liked these elephants the last time around. They are growing on me, though. The connection of Fevicol with festivity is fascinatingly clever.
(Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. 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. >addendum.brandline@gmail.com )