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.
We’ve enjoyed the Sprite advertising and its smart solutions to tricky situations. “ Clear Hai ” is the tag line and all the communication revolves around that clever premise. This time around there is a subtle difference. Normally the protagonist is himself embroiled in the tricky situation and swigs some Sprite for clarity. Here you have a situation where the clarity is needed to help someone else. You have the elderly Kamini Kaushal (yes, I’ve seen her films so you know how old I am) and a friend driving up in a vintage Fiat Super Select (I never forget a car I’ve seen) to park in a crowded driveway. They find just one vacant slot and are gingerly reversing into it when a big black Mercedes limo rudely screeches into the spot, and the driver arrogantly gets out of the car and begins reading a newspaper.
Three young friends are watching the helplessness of the two ladies and to the strains of a peppy song, one of them decides that something needs to be done to fix the rude driver. He quaffs some Sprite, gets the clarity he needs, saunters up to the hailing desk of the hotel and tells the attendant to call “his” car, giving the number of the Merc. The surprised driver quickly pulls out his offending car and the magic clarity of Sprite wins the day, yet again. I like it. This creation of O&M and Prasoon Pandey is well thought out. The soft side of the youngsters comes out rather well. Showing them helping the women was a nice touch. Everything else about the TVC is slick and the overall effect gets a thumbs up. They won’t mind that, I’m sure.
For every Sachin fan – and they are legion – the unforgettable chant of the crowd yelling “Sachin! Sachin!” each time the little master walked in is almost an anthem. Something that one longs to hear again but never will. Well, there’s sweet music to the ears for all those fans as they watch Aviva Life Insurance’s new TVC for its Children’s Plans. The film shows Sachin walking up to a very young Sachin as he pads up and encourages him to go out and greet the great Sachin anthem because “they are waiting for you”. BBDO has nicely selected footage of a young Sachin with the appropriate facial expressions and as technology becomes a momentary hero, the young and the old Sachin live again. The idea is that one never knows the vast potential locked inside every young person, and Aviva with its insurance plans can help discover that. The timing of the ad and the use of technology to further the idea makes the TVC very watchable.
Full of flavour
What is it about kids and milk? They can’t seem to stand it. Then they grow up and can’t seem to get enough of ice cream, milk shakes, cheese and the rest. I remember running away from a glass of milk as a kid. And my own son running away from his. So maybe it is what you add to milk that really does the trick. And so Horlicks seems to have decided that the age-old flavour its formula always had needed to be jazzed up a bit. It introduced a chocolate flavour, I recall, and now has opted for the traditional Indian favourites, kesar (saffron) and badam (almond). And to highlight this it tells a wonderful story of a precocious little sultan who turned and ran when faced with his biggest nightmare, a glass of milk. And cheat every time his mother the queen tried many ways to get this glass of good health down his throat. The story-telling style, the costumes, the sets, the script all add to the flavour of this TVC created by JWT. Who doesn’t love a good story told well? And who wouldn’t fall for the charms of a glass of Horlicks replete with the wholesome taste and nutrients of almonds and saffron? I’ll raise a glass of Horlicks to this film. Flavoured, of course!
Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Send your comments to >cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in