Wow, man!

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.

Wow, man!

Finally people are realising there are things beyond female seduction that attract men. While the believers in stereotypes would be happy to be glib and say “Really?”, most deodorant ads are to men what some fairness creams and sanitary fitting ads are to women. They stereotype them. And that’s not entirely fair. No pun intended. So when Park Avenue launched its Storm deo spray I thought to myself “Yawn! Another deo spray ad. I’ll either see the women swooning all over this hunk or I’ll be told this deo has no gas (that really doesn’t sound good you know) so there’s a price proposition somewhere.”

Well, Publicis seems to be cracking the mould. The film begins by showing the pack which opens up dramatically to show us a series of activities that men would revel in. There are men dancing, singing to a gorilla (I loved the super that no animals were harmed in the making of this ad, not that they had a very realistic gorilla to begin with), winning at soccer, trying out dangerous stunts and the like. All situations or activities which a man would feel very happy doing. And then there is this completely avoidable scene where some nymphs all dressed in white like they are at some pagan ritual adding fragrances labelled courage and elegance to a large vat simmering with the good deo.

I like the thought behind this ad. There are attributes which men like about themselves. Attributes which make everyone say “Wow!” And these are the attributes that this deo salutes. Good. Now it is established that you can actually make a deo ad which doesn’t pander to the common and rather lazy insight that all a man wants is every girl in the street swooning around him as he walks by. Sure, he would like that, but there are other things he likes as well!

Are you smitten?

In a chocolate-starved market where one brand commands about 70 per cent of the market share, there is a new kid on the block. It’s smart, sassy, cheeky and hopefully (I haven’t tried it) tasty. And it’s trying to tell you that once you take a bite, you will be smitten. Sorry, Schmitten.

It’s also creatively telling you that it is so good that asking for a bite is a crime. A crime that deserves punishment. And so it enumerates several whacky punishments like a tattoo, waxing, and so on. And if you justifiably wonder why a tattoo or some waxing would be considered a punishment, well, take a look at their commercial and wonder some more.

There’s this gorgeous Priyanka Chopra dressed in some kind of oriental pattern, yodelling a very Western song in a setting that is a mix between a Fifties bar for senior citizens and jail birds. And this little Oriental-looking chap (there we go on this eastern design element again) who is desperate to commit a crime. He wants the Schmitten chocolate even though Ms Chopra is singing that it would be a punishable crime. So you have this German-sounding chocolate that the little guy gets in the end and is shown lying back and well, being smitten by the taste of the chocolate. Just goes to show, crime pays. And to remove some of the confusion that this complex bit of communication puts out, this is a Swiss chocolate being made in Surat by some Rajhans Group. Clear? No?

Vox pop: VVR Sarma, a reader from Visakhapatnam, writes in to inquire what we think of a certain mattress ad “in which the teenage daughter cheerfully says, “Dad, you are only divorced and have not taken sanyas ,” as they both eye a lady in the closing shot. Well, we haven’t seen this ad. It would have been nice if you had named the brand, Sarma. On the face of it, provided it was shot aesthetically, I would just call it a sign of our times. Nothing more, nothing less.

(Ramesh Narayan is a communcations consultant. Mail your comments to >cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in )