Airtel- Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai

This one from Airtel had me humming it to myself the very moment I saw the ad. And the next day, in college, when I rebuked my friend for being so mean, he told me with a fake 'sad pout' 'Har ek friend zaruri hota hai'. Do I need to say more? I just love this one!

Watch the video and sing aloud with the right lyrics! :)

Anchor White Toothpaste TVC – Daant fit toh life hit

All toothpaste ads I can remember have either a dentist telling kids about the importance of strong teeth, a fair n chubby kid complaining of tooth ache, or a distressed mother watching her kids buy ice candy from a street vendor. Breaking through and standing apart from the clutter of these toothpaste ads is the latest TVC of Anchor White Toothpaste.

The TVC shows a young urban newly married woman reading a cook book. She bakes a cake for her hubby and is so happy about it that she starts dancing. It slips off her hand and hits the refrigerator leaving a dent on it and leaves a crack on the floor where it lands. Meanwhile the hubby is home and is already making his way towards the cake. And before she could stop him, he easily bites into the cake much to her astonishment. He even gives her an approving smile!

The hep woman and an average looking husband make for a rather interesting cast. The story is exaggerated and that’s where its appeal lies. The remixed ‘Javaan hai muhabbat, haseen hai samaa’ background score is one you would love to hum (I can’t seem to stop humming it). The makers of the ad have kept away from all things that suggest ‘toothpaste’. Precisely, white coats, clean-shaven dentist dads, salwar or saree clad moms, ugly keetanus and cute children.

The Voice over at the end, ‘Daant fit toh life hit’ is as neat as it can get. Good Ad, without doubt!

Bingo Red Chilly - TV Ad

Ads remembered for long are the ones which are very good or very bad. There is nothing in-between. But there is another category of ads which are hard to forget- The bizarre ones. And Bingo, be it mad angles or glad bangles or whatever (phew!) has ads that are so wacky that you come to associate the brand with fun, spunk, spice, madness and masti!

The latest one is the Red Chilly flavoured Bingo. The ad shows a guy and a girl, both standing on balconies of their houses, opposite to each other, communicating in a lovey-dovey sign language. The girl is apparently upset with the guy for not coming to the balcony on time and he is trying to woo her. Though the sign language lets the viewers comprehend each word of their sweet nothings, the ad makers have gone a step ahead by playing a song in the background with funny, mushy lyrics which explains what they are saying to each other.
Here are the lyrics of the almost senseless song...

Day and night I am waiting, waiting...
Are you asking for a beating?
Under your love I am fainting, fainting,
but if you die you'll make me cry,
your naughty thoughts make me shy!

When the guy asks her a kiss the girl tells him that she feels shy (the funny song is still there in the background and the female voice just sang, ‘Your naughty, thoughts make me shy’ lol!) but then she throws him a flying kiss and he catches it. Everything was hunky-dory until he puts the kiss into the breast pocket of his shirt. Suddenly his pocket is on fire and he has a flabbergasted look. So does the girl.

Any guesses why it was on fire? No points of course! She was having bingo-red chilly flavour, just before she threw him the kiss!

The message is clear, the new flavour is red, hot and spicy and yes, Bingo is as crazy as ever. To say the least, that is. The ad like all other Bingo ads has an uncanny appeal and you won't (rather can't) forget it easily. For a product like chips, which we keep munching with no worries in the world, this crazy strategy really works.

It seems like Bingo has a lot of other wild ideas in their kitty. Bring them on!

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!