Sunday, November 15, 2009

Kalyan Jewellers Malayalam TV Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaJBJjrSg3k

Click to view


The reason why I chose this ad for inaugurating this blog (tadaa!) is simply because it is all over the place these days. Before I tell you what I really feel about this ad, let me just briefly explain the storyline.

The ad shows a girl eloping or rather trying to elope with her boyfriend after leaving a message for her parents, in the form of a letter, telling them that she is going to do the unspeakable (considering that she could never speak to/discuss with/convince her parents about this). While on her way to her boyfriend, she zooms out into her childhood remembering all the times her father had been with her, as a friend, guide and mentor. She has a sudden change of heart and she goes back home and embraces her father in a tight hug and breaks down. All is forgiven and forgotten. The voice-over tells us ‘Vishwasam, athalle ellam’ (Trust is everything or isn’t trust everything?) and then the logo of Kalyan Jewellers appears.

And that’s when you get to know what the ad was about, after 1 min and 11 seconds of scratching your head, wondering what the product being advertised is. The ad stands out for its difference. While you may never remember which model appeared in which jeweller’s ad or what a particular jewellery’s jingle is or even which of the hundred jewellery ads belongs to X, Y or Z, you will never have a problem remembering this one. The background score, the way it is shot and the voice-over are all pretty decent – enough for an ad to be called good? Wait, I am not done yet.

The problem with this ad is perhaps the story or shall I say the treatment to the story. They are speaking of trust here. Trust, a father has for his daughter. She breaks his trust but comes back to him. The message going out is simple, longer relationships which have stood the test of time are more important than short ones. Or, come to our jewellery which has been around for quite some time and not the new ones which have popped up during the recent years.

But what about the trust the boy had in the girl? Of course, her parents who have been with her throughout her life are more important but when we are talking of trust shouldn’t we look at it from all perspectives?

My problem really isn’t with the betrayal by the girl, I couldn’t care less. But then, this ad which talks of years of trust and bonding has used a very melancholy theme. The ad could have ended with the parents getting her married to her boyfriend showing that they have faith in her choice, ending it on a positive note. They could have shown the young couple contemplating elopement and then finally deciding that they should marry with their parents’ blessings no matter what. This would have also brought out the ‘we can’t even think of breaking your trust’ message. ‘Vishwasam, athalle ellam’, would have worked there too. What say?

To sum it up diplomatically, it is not my favourite ad. To be outright honest, I don’t like it one bit. But I guess this is one of those classic examples of ‘Love me or hate me, you just can’t ignore me’. You just won’t forget this ad for its cheesy theme and the number of times it keeps repeating itself on so many channels.

That was my take on it. You are welcome to strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree, as you please!

14 comments:

  1. well....when i saw the ad for the fisrt time...i was intrigued to know what was it all abt...it the interst going...but once it was done...i was all "ayyee" for it....but as u siad...its a ad hard to forget n if the ad had ended ina way u wanted i wud hav looked better...:)
    keep reviewing ads...let them come!

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  2. hmmm...people tend to remember the good ads and the bad ads (can prefix 'really' to both, but nothing in-between). Plus, with the number of times the TGA is exposed to this ad, it isn't surprising that we remember the ad - albeit for its very "weird" storyline (esp. for a jeweller...bcoz unless 'they' get married where's the question of buying jewellery at all!). Glad u chose to critically analyse advertisements...a good way to learn what u can do and shudn't do:)

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  3. Good because it remains in memory. Bad it doesn't reason enough to choose the jeweller over others. An interesting blog, will keep track.

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  4. Haaai!! New Blog! A marvelous start and I am sure this is going to be a superhit ;-)
    Aah the Kalyan Jewellers ad- In plain words -didn't like it one bit. It uses a really crooked way to convey the message. As you said the treatment could have been different.

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  5. Angel
    Yup, it kept the interest goingand then down it came with a loud ugly thud!

    RGB
    I missed that one! Yes, how does the jewellery come into the picture without a wedding? Thanks for the encouragement. :)

    Holy Lama
    True. There are others we have vishwasam in too. Thanks for visiting.:)

    Lekshmi
    Thanks for the warm reception you gave this blog!:) Keep visiting :)

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  6. surf through any Malayalam channel and its chunks and chunks of jewelery (gold wonly)

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  7. But this is one of my fav ad.....far better compared to lot of non sense ad came recently

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  8. Haddock
    Chunks and chunks of ads on chunks and chunks of gold jewellery...true...

    Anish
    I guess its really quite subjective...somehow, it didn't work for me...thanks for your honest opinion on the ad...:)

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  9. I can pick many holes in this concept. If the girl was as lovingly bought up as is shown in the flashback, then she would have confided her love to them. The fact she didn't shows she is either afraid of her parents or has no communication with them. Again if she was as lovingly bought up as shown in the flashback, then falling for any random guy would not be possible, as girls from loving families are emotionally more confident and mature. She would pick a guy who would perhaps talk to her parents instead of exhorting her to elope. And lastly, the fact that she wanted to elope means, she was serious about the guy and perhaps not happy at home, so her coming back to her parents does not make sense. The ad would have made sense if the flashback showed that her dad was always willing to listen to her and she relaises that she would have told about the guy instead of running away with him. Too many glitches here. Th ad maker went for a cliche and that was his mistake as this ad has become the butt of ridicule with colleges making a parody of the same during the recent mad ad competition...and frankly I do not remember which brand it represents. That has to be a branding failure! :)

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  10. Silverine
    Colleges making a parody of it durign the mad ad competition? How I wish to see it!
    I know, too many glitches in the ad...and even if we correct those, the flashback, the conclusion or whatever, it still remains, far from a sensible ad for a jeweller...

    Thanks for stopping by :)

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  11. What about that guys trust? He too might have a family.
    :-( :-P

    Another part is that, they discourage such marriages because they don't like eloping, it brings down their jewellery sales!!!

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  12. Kiran
    It seems like it has too many flaws. And it is repeated so many times on tv that I switch channels the moment it appears. Getting on my nerves, really!
    Thanks for visiting this blog:)

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  13. This was a bad ad, which needed a lot more editing, and a better script writer. Such hackneyed, unoriginal theme too. Manju Warrier disappointed. Instead of saying these things plainly in a paragraph, why go about spending so language on it?

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