'Ad'-ing value to brands

Advertisements on television have always been fascinating. They make audiences sit up and notice the product. We still remember certain ads which were aired many years ago. Like the Cadbury Dairy Milk ad, where the girl comes dancing on to the cricket field; and the Fevikwik ad in which a guy puts a stick in water and catches 4-5 fishes in one attempt.

In the past few years, we are witnessing a trend where a comprehensive ad campaign is being launched on television to market a product. Multiple ads, which promote the campaign line, are aired on television. These ads show multiple instances to prove the campaign line true and ensure that it remains in the minds of audiences, for a longer duration of time. The most popular of these campaigns has been the Vodafone’s ZooZoo campaign. Launched for the first time in April 2009, the campaign has been voted as the best ad campaign in many surveys.

The above discussed trend in television advertising seems to have gained significant popularity, in the past year or so. Many brands in different sectors like telecom, beverages, automobiles etc. have implemented ad campaigns on these lines. While most of these campaigns have been popular, some have not struck the right note with the audiences. Let us have a look at some of the campaigns, which have been highly appreciated by the audiences.

(a)               Brand: Maruti Suzuki. Tag line- “kitna deti hai?” The campaign successfully targeted the Indian mentality of “a country obsessed with mileage”. Instances of people asking mileage for space rockets, cruise liners and even military tanks were shown.

(b)               Brand: Tata Docomo. Tag line- “Keep it Simple, silly.” The campaign has Ranbir Kapoor as the brand ambassador, posing as a stand up comedian. The different services offered by the mobile service provider were shown through stand up performances given by Ranbir Kapoor.

(c)               Brand: Pepsi. Tag Line- “Change the Game.” The campaign was launched just before the 2011 Cricket World Cup and was on air for the complete duration of the tournament. The innovations in cricket like Helicopter Shot by MS Dhoni, Palti Hit by Kevin Pietersen etc were linked to Pepsi’s tag line of Change the Game.

(d)               Brand: Ceat. Tag Line- “When the streets are filled with idiots…” The campaign advertised for bike tyres with better grip by Ceat. It showed different instances on Indian roads, when the rider has to put sudden breaks, to avoid accidents; which, is a regular occurrence. Instances like manhole left open on the road, kid walking out on the road while mother is busy with shopping etc are shown.

(e)               Brand: Airtel. Tag Line- “Har ek friend jaroori hota hai…” The campaign advertised for its special plans and rates by relating it to different situations in which youngsters are caught up, and how a different friend helps in each of those problems; like the Kanjoos friend (friend gives missed call to cops) and Lifesaver friend (waiter at a restaurant acts as a lifesaver by reducing bill)

Many more campaigns have come up, similar to the above mentioned campaigns. The Idea Cellular 3G campaign, the Idea Cellular “Get Idea” campaign for mobile number portability, Vodafone’s “Happy to Help” campaign are a few examples. All of them have had an impact on the audiences and connected with them.