Vodafone pug gets new avtaar
Monday, May 05, 2008
As any marketer would swear, brands are made in years and it takes lot of toil and sweat to maintain one. The kind of the effort and streamlining that it takes to develop a successful brand pushes the brand manager in later years to go by what remains basic to the brand identity. Now it may be the color, the packaging, the association with some event or person or any strong identity or a jingle (remember “Kya aap close up karte hain” or “Raamu tumhare daant to motiyon jaise chamak rahe hain” or music of “You and I… in this beautiful world…”?)
Problem is once a strong brand is built, it produces a drag effect wherein the brand manager would not dare to change any constituent of the brand lest it loses the brand recall; hence he is dragged by the already set associations. One has to always remember that brand exist not physically but only in the mind of consumers. So if there is decline in recall then the brand manager just eroded the brand! But at the same time a brand can’t exist eternally without a change. There has to be an innovation to make sure the brand connects to the present need of consumer and that is the reason why the drag effect can kill.
Now a very valid question may arise – If the brand can’t be changed for fear of losing on brand recall and then brand has to be changed to make sure that it is relevant to today’s consumer needs; it’s a dead end as both are complementary! The answer lies in making the change slowly, in steps and most important of all making the consumer to learn the change. It was best shown lately by Sony Erickson mobile phone ads in India where the logo of company was put between various sentences like, “I (logo) music”. Here the sentences were shown with logo at the places where our mind would automatically put the word as “love”. And then the use was further expanded once people learned to replace the logo with that word.
Coming to Indian telecom market again, Hutch (now Vodafone) is one brand that has tinkered a lot with the brand elements. It is one really successful brand that has kept its customers although it changed some very basics of its brand. Few years back it changed its strongest identity – Orange color. But then there were extensive campaigns which made customers learn the change and accept it. (Many times loyalists won’t accept the change to the brand as they are emotionally linked to it). Then last year after its controversial take over by global giant Vodafone, it was decided to change a series of things – Pink was changed to Red (it clashed a bit with Maroonish Red of Airtel, the market leader in India in same domain), its boy was out of the famous duo of a boy and a pug and its jingle gave way to just the music of the composition.
If you see the latest ad campaign (see video below) that is being shown extensively; even the jingle has gone. Guess whom do they upset with this change… it’s me! Always been a fan of the way the pug was used and how the jingle or even its music was used in ads to join the dots between the changes ; it surely was disappointing to not hear the tone anywhere. Although I also like the new song “…be my side” but then … :)
Here is the latest ad:
Here is the latest ad:
posted by Jas @ 10:16 AM,
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DLF - The entertainment's daddy
Sunday, April 13, 2008
After the much hyped about auction of players by BCCI and then selling the title sponsorship to DLF and media rights to Sony, here comes another high decibel advert for Indian Premier League (IPL). Famous or say notorious now by the the title - ManoRanjan ka baap - IPL (Entertainment's daddy - IPL) this advert is a big hit. The 75-second TVC which will run all through the 44 days of IPL and is directed by Rajesh Krishnan of Soda Films. DLF IPL kicks off at 4 pm on 18 April.
StoryBoard
The ad starts with a lady delivering twins but the irony is that the father of the kids is unknown. The twins are named as 'Ranjan' and 'Mano'. During the next eight years, it’s become the norm for people such as the local pujari (priest), kiranawala (small shop owner) and chapris (roadside romeos) to torment the kids with the question, “Kab aayega tumhara baap?”, and to tease their mother lecherously.
Tired with all this, the three lead a hopeless life. One day the mother thinks its enough and decides to jump in a well; but suddenly the bells in the temple ring and the kids holler for their mother, saying, “Maaaaa! Baaaapppuuuu!” in a typical Rajesh Khanna style. The mother knows that the wait is over. She puts red sindoor in her hair and enters the house. The scene is hilarious as the voiceover says: “Aa gaya Mano-Ranjan ka baap (father). DLF Indian Premier League. Sirf Max par.”
The best part is that if you are watching the advert for the first time, you won't get any idea of what is going to happen. The names are spelt as Ranjan Mano, with only once going as "Mano Ranjan". Its not easy to hold on to the idea when you know you have got a winning ad coming out.
Going by the public appeal, this is one of the most funny and clever commercials currently on air. Its a simple idea, executed really well. Ads like this more often than not, go wrong in the execution phase, but this one is bang on the target. That filmi eighties kind of look and dialogs from Indian cinema, perfectly suit this ad.
Rediff wrote that , ‘An industry source said BCCI had allocated roughly Rs 100 crore as its (IPL) advertising budget,’. And aptly mentioned by Adholik, normally with such high bugdets, creativity goes for a toss, because its easy to get all the stars with such money and have them sing and dance, shoot it on camera and call it an ad. But thankfully, things din't become figurative over here.
"The campaign projects IPL more than a sport. It redefines the entertainment by taking this sport to a new level," said Max VP marketing T Gangadhar. The radio campaign has a different treatment as it is a listener's medium. Out-of-home (OOH) hoardings displaying the IPL event have been erected in 150 towns. Besides the channel will have on-ground promotional activity across India as the tournament approaches.
"Males were always skewed towards cricket but with a 360 degree approach our attempt is to get the entire family to view IPL as the matches are scheduled for prime time," added Gangadhar. The biggest challenge is to predict the viewership, admits CD Mitra, CEO, Optimum Media Solutions: "It is a big gamble for all those who have invested in it and also for those who haven't. For most programmes the value and money is preceded by some evaluation. But in case of IPL the variations of prediction are very large."
StoryBoard
The ad starts with a lady delivering twins but the irony is that the father of the kids is unknown. The twins are named as 'Ranjan' and 'Mano'. During the next eight years, it’s become the norm for people such as the local pujari (priest), kiranawala (small shop owner) and chapris (roadside romeos) to torment the kids with the question, “Kab aayega tumhara baap?”, and to tease their mother lecherously.
Tired with all this, the three lead a hopeless life. One day the mother thinks its enough and decides to jump in a well; but suddenly the bells in the temple ring and the kids holler for their mother, saying, “Maaaaa! Baaaapppuuuu!” in a typical Rajesh Khanna style. The mother knows that the wait is over. She puts red sindoor in her hair and enters the house. The scene is hilarious as the voiceover says: “Aa gaya Mano-Ranjan ka baap (father). DLF Indian Premier League. Sirf Max par.”The best part is that if you are watching the advert for the first time, you won't get any idea of what is going to happen. The names are spelt as Ranjan Mano, with only once going as "Mano Ranjan". Its not easy to hold on to the idea when you know you have got a winning ad coming out.
Going by the public appeal, this is one of the most funny and clever commercials currently on air. Its a simple idea, executed really well. Ads like this more often than not, go wrong in the execution phase, but this one is bang on the target. That filmi eighties kind of look and dialogs from Indian cinema, perfectly suit this ad.
Rediff wrote that , ‘An industry source said BCCI had allocated roughly Rs 100 crore as its (IPL) advertising budget,’. And aptly mentioned by Adholik, normally with such high bugdets, creativity goes for a toss, because its easy to get all the stars with such money and have them sing and dance, shoot it on camera and call it an ad. But thankfully, things din't become figurative over here.
"The campaign projects IPL more than a sport. It redefines the entertainment by taking this sport to a new level," said Max VP marketing T Gangadhar. The radio campaign has a different treatment as it is a listener's medium. Out-of-home (OOH) hoardings displaying the IPL event have been erected in 150 towns. Besides the channel will have on-ground promotional activity across India as the tournament approaches.
"Males were always skewed towards cricket but with a 360 degree approach our attempt is to get the entire family to view IPL as the matches are scheduled for prime time," added Gangadhar. The biggest challenge is to predict the viewership, admits CD Mitra, CEO, Optimum Media Solutions: "It is a big gamble for all those who have invested in it and also for those who haven't. For most programmes the value and money is preceded by some evaluation. But in case of IPL the variations of prediction are very large."
Labels: Brands, Funny, Launch, TVC
posted by Jas @ 8:39 PM,
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Bajaj Pulsar - Corporate Ad
Sunday, April 06, 2008
I had written about a quarter back that how the companies across India are increasingly focusing on the corporate brand identity and not just its brands. The advertisements have been carrying the main logo in the end to make a uniform mental impression and instigate a consumer bookmark. Latest to join the wagon is Bajaj Pulsar.
While Bajaj is primarily known for its line of retro-style scooters in America, Bajaj is a major player in their home country of India back here in the motorcycle market. Their flagship model, the Pulsar, is a very respected motorcycle in India. This bike has virtually redefined biking in this country. Pulsar launched in 2001 is the market leader in the 150 cc + performance bike segment. More than that , this brand changed the fortune of Bajaj Auto Ltd.In the wonderfully executed latest TVC, the ad gets what it was made for. Good videography, professional stunt riding and well planned choreography make quite a display, even when the riders are mounted on machines with a mere 200cc of engine capacity. In case you were wondering, that 0.2-liter manages 18 horsepower, which looks to be plenty to have fun with, especially as I have been really happy with the 13.3bhp (@8000rpm) from my darling Honda Unicorn.
Story of success for Pulsar starts with the elder son of Rahul Bajaj coming to India and pushing for higher power bikes. Bajaj had been making mainly scooters and had small range of bikes with technological collaboration with Kawasaki. To prove himself, Rahul gave his son Rajiv (fresh post-grad in engineering from Warwick then) made a new plant - Chakan (near Pune). And that is from where a new bike called Pulsar rose from the ashes of Bajaj Scooters! And a good part of the success is also attributed to the 'Definately Male' campaign made by O&M for bike's launch.
According to agencyfaqs, the birth of the "Definitely Male " campaign is interesting. The creative honchos found the new product from Bajaj distinctly different. It was Bajaj's first bike without Kawasaki label. The new bike was an R&D and design marvel. Pulsar was designed by the renowned design house Tokyo R&D. O&M knew that the communication of this brand should also be different.Starting with lot of ideas, O&M stuck upon the Big Idea of India's He-Bike. Although lot of bike take the persona of Macho bikes it was more oriented towards being "sexy". The Big Idea was to position the bike as World's first bike endowed with a Sex ( Gender).Thus born the classic campaign of all times " Definitely Male". The campaign together with the design and performance catapulted the brand into stratospheric sales level.
Bajaj targeted the 18-24 with Pulsar but later found that the brand appealed to a much older audience. This helped Bajaj to change its target audience to 21-35 years.
Unlike its old ways of doing things, Bajaj did not rest with the laurels. It knew that Pulsar is the golden key to control the entire bike market. Hence Pulsar got undivided attention from the company. In 2003 another milestone event happened in the product lifecycle of the brand. Bajaj launched its new technology DTSI. DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition which delivered more power and efficiency. The increased performance of the brand took Pulsar to greater heights. 2004 and 2005 saw some cosmetic changes in the brand which excited the customers and thus cementing Pulsar's position in the market.
I agree with Bajaj here that its high time they start focusing on the brand image of Pulsar. The adverts now need not to target sales but the brand building - to make Pulsar reach the status of a cult bike. These kinds of adverts, mainly seen from biggies like Nike, Coca Cola, Dove etc make you gasp and maybe even clap! And this ad is no less. Take a look here (ad culled from YouTube)
Story of success for Pulsar starts with the elder son of Rahul Bajaj coming to India and pushing for higher power bikes. Bajaj had been making mainly scooters and had small range of bikes with technological collaboration with Kawasaki. To prove himself, Rahul gave his son Rajiv (fresh post-grad in engineering from Warwick then) made a new plant - Chakan (near Pune). And that is from where a new bike called Pulsar rose from the ashes of Bajaj Scooters! And a good part of the success is also attributed to the 'Definately Male' campaign made by O&M for bike's launch.
According to agencyfaqs, the birth of the "Definitely Male " campaign is interesting. The creative honchos found the new product from Bajaj distinctly different. It was Bajaj's first bike without Kawasaki label. The new bike was an R&D and design marvel. Pulsar was designed by the renowned design house Tokyo R&D. O&M knew that the communication of this brand should also be different.Starting with lot of ideas, O&M stuck upon the Big Idea of India's He-Bike. Although lot of bike take the persona of Macho bikes it was more oriented towards being "sexy". The Big Idea was to position the bike as World's first bike endowed with a Sex ( Gender).Thus born the classic campaign of all times " Definitely Male". The campaign together with the design and performance catapulted the brand into stratospheric sales level.
Bajaj targeted the 18-24 with Pulsar but later found that the brand appealed to a much older audience. This helped Bajaj to change its target audience to 21-35 years.
Unlike its old ways of doing things, Bajaj did not rest with the laurels. It knew that Pulsar is the golden key to control the entire bike market. Hence Pulsar got undivided attention from the company. In 2003 another milestone event happened in the product lifecycle of the brand. Bajaj launched its new technology DTSI. DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition which delivered more power and efficiency. The increased performance of the brand took Pulsar to greater heights. 2004 and 2005 saw some cosmetic changes in the brand which excited the customers and thus cementing Pulsar's position in the market.
I agree with Bajaj here that its high time they start focusing on the brand image of Pulsar. The adverts now need not to target sales but the brand building - to make Pulsar reach the status of a cult bike. These kinds of adverts, mainly seen from biggies like Nike, Coca Cola, Dove etc make you gasp and maybe even clap! And this ad is no less. Take a look here (ad culled from YouTube)
Labels: Brand Check, Brands, TVC
posted by Jas @ 12:17 AM,
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Motorola - is climax coming?
Sunday, February 03, 2008
When a company announces that it is going to do away with one of its key business units it is definite to impact the stock price in exchange. And if the stock rises by something like over 10% then it surely rings a bell (and in case you haven't noticed, even the trade volume is high). It doesn’t take much of analysis to understand that Motorola had been doing badly in handset business. Its only ticket to cash registers was Razr, except for that one model, rest all just came and were lost in clutter. After grabbing world market share of 23% in 2006 on momentum led by its Razr phone, the company has lost nearly half that as rivals outpaced it with successful new products. So it was not surprising to see Motorola slip to number three spot behind market leader Nokia and now runner up Samsung.
I personally feel that Motorola has been too laidback, they are trying to catch the market based on some engineering innovations and aren’t really able to connect to the normal consumer who can give them volumes. Nokia relies on design innovations rather than engineering innovations in the electronic part. The ease of operation and sturdiness has been two main selling points of Nokia. If you have used Nokia once, you can use almost all Nokia phones as they are similar on usage, unlike other phones which are difficult to learn and the interface change with the handset.
Motorola has come up with another model W230. Looks like the handset was launched after a careful gap analysis of features and market need. With features like expandable memory upto 2GB,MP3 player,FM with recording, large phonebook memory and USB1.1 data connectivity, its loaded with features; I felt the handset was priced quite aggressively at Rs.3,400. The ad for the set is again a very typical of Moto phones with TG of middle class. It’s targeted at youth and boils down to the same word - Attitude. But it is actually a nice ad than the earlier one where father loses his head!
Labels: Brands, Business, Launch, TVC
posted by Jas @ 2:21 PM,
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Vodafone Alert TVCs
Thursday, January 03, 2008
I was at home for last one week, and whatever time I spent along with our idiot box proved the same point - advertising is becoming more of a noisy clutter! But among the indifferentiables in this clutter, there come some fresh changes that really brings back the charm of advertisements. One among this lot is Vodafone's new series of ads promoting its Value Added Services (VAS) - alerts.
Indian telephony has already become a commodity product. Today people easily switch between the brands whenever they get an eligibility (the serious users of one SIM card are also the long term users, as they prefer to keep same number. Hence switching is not frequent but only on special occasions like location change, serious differences with operators etc will the person change the operator.) Due to this only differential is the VAS.
One of these ads start with a guy entering the life but not getting down on any floor. From the morning, it changes to afternoon, then evening and finally night when even the lift attendant leaves. Then a charming lady enters the lift and acknowledges the guy's encouraging looks. The screen then changes to the SMS alert the guy had got in the morning - "You will find your soul mate in elevator today".
There are series of ads and each one is very nicely executed, backed with a fresh idea and a synergised background music. These ads showcase how the role of a professional advertising team helps in the branding exercises. Last few years have seen lot many ads which appealed a lot, were loved by the general audience but still didn't move the sales figures much. But this ad scores well on all fronts; it hits the right chord to the right target group. Its only the SEC A and B mostly which use three or more VAS and hence the subtleness of ads is apt. But the VAS like astrology, news, stocks etc have the scope of volumes due to attractiveness to SEC C which is quite large in number. It will be nice to see how they react to these advertisements.
Here are the the ads on the roll-
PS: Although all seems well with these new series of Vodafone campaigns, just that only one question remains in heart of Hutch loyalists - where has the Hutch dog gone and why!
Indian telephony has already become a commodity product. Today people easily switch between the brands whenever they get an eligibility (the serious users of one SIM card are also the long term users, as they prefer to keep same number. Hence switching is not frequent but only on special occasions like location change, serious differences with operators etc will the person change the operator.) Due to this only differential is the VAS.
One of these ads start with a guy entering the life but not getting down on any floor. From the morning, it changes to afternoon, then evening and finally night when even the lift attendant leaves. Then a charming lady enters the lift and acknowledges the guy's encouraging looks. The screen then changes to the SMS alert the guy had got in the morning - "You will find your soul mate in elevator today".
There are series of ads and each one is very nicely executed, backed with a fresh idea and a synergised background music. These ads showcase how the role of a professional advertising team helps in the branding exercises. Last few years have seen lot many ads which appealed a lot, were loved by the general audience but still didn't move the sales figures much. But this ad scores well on all fronts; it hits the right chord to the right target group. Its only the SEC A and B mostly which use three or more VAS and hence the subtleness of ads is apt. But the VAS like astrology, news, stocks etc have the scope of volumes due to attractiveness to SEC C which is quite large in number. It will be nice to see how they react to these advertisements.
Here are the the ads on the roll-
Elevator 
Husband and Wife
Onion
Goat
PS: Although all seems well with these new series of Vodafone campaigns, just that only one question remains in heart of Hutch loyalists - where has the Hutch dog gone and why!
posted by Jas @ 10:40 AM,
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Cadbury India repeats innovation success
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, India
Creative Directors: Anup Chitnis, Rensil D'silva, Piyush Pandey
They did it with Perk about a decade back and they have done it again with 'Ulta Perk' now. Cadbury brought the chocolate coated wafer category to the Indian cocoa confectionary market with launch of its highly successful brand - Perk, then popularized by brand ambassador Priety Zinta.
Perk was launched in the market in 1995 and has seen consistent growth through the years. The cocoa confectionary wafer market is around 35 % of the total chocolate market and has been growing at around 13% annually. Perk has been one of the best sellers in impulse buy market. Priced at Rs5 these days for regular size and at Rs10 for 'Bada Perk' (Bigger Perk), the Perk set the trend for Nestle's Kit Kat and Munch to be followed.Cadbury has come up with a new innovative product line extension now, by having wafer on outside and chocolate inside. Lucratively priced at Rs.5; the new concept is surely going to pull many consumers. According to Cadbury, extensive consumer research and testing has been undertaken to determine the product taste, format and the communication campaign. ‘Ulta Perk’ has been test marketed in the South Markets – Tamil Nadu & Karnataka (South of India) for over 6 months and has received excellent response from the consumers.
Even the advertisements are really interesting ones. The problem with these impulse buys is that in starting, a good amount of money needs to be pumped in marketing activities before a significant return can be achieved. And Even after you have done, you still need to keep pumping a decent money to make it rememberable on impulse. The TVC is featured below while the print adverts take on the mantra of situations in a totally opposite context than it would be normally. Like man chasing a dog up a tree, a fly complaining about a man in its food, a balloon playing with a child floating in air etc; all going with the tagline -"Cadbury's reverse bar. Wafer outside, chocolate inside."
What is best part for Cadbury is that its a festive time in India and according to the recent urban practices, people have started giving dry fruits and confectionery items instead of traditional sweets / mithai. So in assortment packages, which by the way are quite popular from Cadbury, may be having few Ulta Perks embedded adding to sampling opportunity. This may soon give it desirable sales, provided the taste and texture is nice.
Sources: Cadbury India website, Ads of the World
Labels: Brands, Business, Launch, TVC
posted by Jas @ 3:35 PM,
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A mark in marketing - WonderBra
Saturday, October 06, 2007
They are bold, they are funny, they are creative, they are hilarious and most important they are subtle (ok, only some!)... like them or hate them, but you just can't ignore them!
Here I come on the with one of my most awaited posts, the writeup on the adverts of WonderBra. The brand has been criticized by many for the obvious but the sales of the brand has always been successful to make the brand have the last laugh. It comes as a default choice for many for functions and social interactions; while others are still wondering what the hoopla is all about. What ever, the only 'point' am concerned over here is the advertising done by the brand. Its brand are one of the most subtle ones and many times are requires a long perplexed view by people to understand them.
Question is are these adverts targeted at the consumers? A majority feels against it, they say that the ads are made just for the jury of advertising awards. Ask me and my opinion is - Maybe yes, obviously not! Why do you think such a product will be sold? Or lets answer what is being sold by WonderBra? Is it just an inner wear? I register a denial. An inner wear is for a personal use, the use here is for others, the product's money spent will be taken recovered by the consumer when she gets the glances being promised by adverts. So target one is the base consumer here who is wearing the product. Target two is the rest of public, especially men. With these adverts they actually will be recognizing the use of such a product whenever they see one, this builds up the response that the consumer of the product is actually looking for, hence drives the sales in other way. So target two here is the intended evaluator of product (not necessarily the men).
Hence to make it an iconic brand, the marketers have done the best thing : attach it to the behavior, derive the impact of social cognition and consumer behavior. Who doesn't want to be recognized ? and thats where these marketers target. And when we say that intended impact is on social cognition, then it in itself encompasses both the targets, making the mental constructs or schema in consumer as well as the evaluator (society and esp men). Just look at this - there was one print advert which shows just a blonde model wearing a black WB, and only one sentence
Here I come on the with one of my most awaited posts, the writeup on the adverts of WonderBra. The brand has been criticized by many for the obvious but the sales of the brand has always been successful to make the brand have the last laugh. It comes as a default choice for many for functions and social interactions; while others are still wondering what the hoopla is all about. What ever, the only 'point' am concerned over here is the advertising done by the brand. Its brand are one of the most subtle ones and many times are requires a long perplexed view by people to understand them.
Question is are these adverts targeted at the consumers? A majority feels against it, they say that the ads are made just for the jury of advertising awards. Ask me and my opinion is - Maybe yes, obviously not! Why do you think such a product will be sold? Or lets answer what is being sold by WonderBra? Is it just an inner wear? I register a denial. An inner wear is for a personal use, the use here is for others, the product's money spent will be taken recovered by the consumer when she gets the glances being promised by adverts. So target one is the base consumer here who is wearing the product. Target two is the rest of public, especially men. With these adverts they actually will be recognizing the use of such a product whenever they see one, this builds up the response that the consumer of the product is actually looking for, hence drives the sales in other way. So target two here is the intended evaluator of product (not necessarily the men).
Hence to make it an iconic brand, the marketers have done the best thing : attach it to the behavior, derive the impact of social cognition and consumer behavior. Who doesn't want to be recognized ? and thats where these marketers target. And when we say that intended impact is on social cognition, then it in itself encompasses both the targets, making the mental constructs or schema in consumer as well as the evaluator (society and esp men). Just look at this - there was one print advert which shows just a blonde model wearing a black WB, and only one sentence
I can't cook, who cares!But I wont deny that some of these ads are more inclined at awards' jury rather than any of the two targets. And not to mention that even after guessing the meaning you are not very sure in some adverts that if you got the meaning! Here are some of the ads, though I couldn't find some of my favorites coming from WonderBra's stable -
Some video adverts, really interesting -
This ad was launched at the 10th anniversary of WB in 2005:
Now this is one of the ad campaigns for which I appreciate the ad agencies of WB, see if you can understand it :)
And let me know if you can understand this one, I couldn't!
src="http://www.netscape.com/widgets/med_vote_if/http://markconfetti.blogspot.com/2007/10/mark-in-marketing-wonderbra.html">
Labels: Brands, Marketing Practices, TVC
posted by Jas @ 11:05 PM,
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i-pill :The emergency contraceptive pill
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Year 2005 onwards Indian government has allowed the sale of emergency contraceptives (EC) in the chemist shops without prescription, better known as OTC (Over The Counter) sale. Following this Cipla has launched its product pill 72 as i-pill in Indian market, making it the first ‘morning after pill’ to be marketed in India. It is already available in market and its single dose tablet is priced at Rs 75.
The pill is significant for Indian market as different studies have pointed out that nearly 30 per cent of conceptions in the country end in abortions. It has also been proved that 75 percent of pregnancies are unplanned (!!!!). It is just one of the EC products available in market and with its huge marketing the category itself will benefit a lot.
For those curious about the pill functioning, the product's website reveals that i-pill can work in any of the three different ways depending on where the consuming female may be in her menstrual cycle.
The pill is significant for Indian market as different studies have pointed out that nearly 30 per cent of conceptions in the country end in abortions. It has also been proved that 75 percent of pregnancies are unplanned (!!!!). It is just one of the EC products available in market and with its huge marketing the category itself will benefit a lot.For those curious about the pill functioning, the product's website reveals that i-pill can work in any of the three different ways depending on where the consuming female may be in her menstrual cycle.
- It may stop an egg being released from the ovary.
- If an egg has been released, i-pill may prevent the sperm from fertilizing it.
- If the egg is already fertilized, it may prevent it from attaching itself to the lining of the womb
To encourage responsibility in the use of the medicine, the company has started a toll-free helpline (1800-22-9898) and Web site to share information on the product. According to Cipla, i-pill is 95% effective if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, 85% between 25-48 hours and 58% if taken between 49-72 hours of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.
Coming to the marketing and the advertisements which are aired widely across channels, the product is targeted at SEC A and B, the urban class. With tagline " Get Back to Life" the TVC strikes bang on the target. The packaging and the ad theme all relate to a new age Indian female. Lets analyze it one by one.
Firstly, the choice of models has made sure the urban ones relate to her, the simplicity of the character, with white as dominant color stresses on the lifestyle any female of today's rising India will want to be related with.
Secondly, the ad stresses on the relation between the couple. The pill has already been christened as "abortion bill" or "infidelity pill" by NGOs and many others as they suspect it will be used for wrong reasons. So a strong image needed to be portrayed, which has been done beautifully.
Thirdly, the full focus of brand is on its consumer - female. The men even though they are there in ads, still are subtly left out as the decision maker has to be female and its aptly depicted that she is taking things in her control. Attack is on the tension that comes 'the morning after'.
Have a look at the adverts here: http://www.ipillcipla.com/resources.htm
Ad campaign rating -
Coming to the marketing and the advertisements which are aired widely across channels, the product is targeted at SEC A and B, the urban class. With tagline " Get Back to Life" the TVC strikes bang on the target. The packaging and the ad theme all relate to a new age Indian female. Lets analyze it one by one.
Firstly, the choice of models has made sure the urban ones relate to her, the simplicity of the character, with white as dominant color stresses on the lifestyle any female of today's rising India will want to be related with.Secondly, the ad stresses on the relation between the couple. The pill has already been christened as "abortion bill" or "infidelity pill" by NGOs and many others as they suspect it will be used for wrong reasons. So a strong image needed to be portrayed, which has been done beautifully.
Thirdly, the full focus of brand is on its consumer - female. The men even though they are there in ads, still are subtly left out as the decision maker has to be female and its aptly depicted that she is taking things in her control. Attack is on the tension that comes 'the morning after'.
Have a look at the adverts here: http://www.ipillcipla.com/resources.htm
Ad campaign rating -
Labels: Brand Check, TVC
posted by Jas @ 2:12 PM,
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Rs500 adverts on Gandhi Jayanti
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti (meaning birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi), here lets see an advert by UNICEF, a real brilliant piece. In case you aren't able to understand why, try concentrating at the lower side where the promise to pay is written. But although its a nice idea as a concept but its a bad ad as the result of ad wont be as required by business. I mean such an ad will be appreciated as an idea but wont ever stop a person from giving a bribe! So thanks but no thanks...But there is another ad using same Rs500 note thats worth its salt, its of Iodex. The film opens on a man walking on a lonely road. Seeing a five hundred rupee note he stops in his tracks and is tempted to pick it up but then he ponders over something. After much deliberation he moves on in disappointment without picking up the note.
The ad ends with the super and product shot: “Peeth dard? Iodex.”
Labels: TVC
posted by Jas @ 5:48 PM,
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Scintillating Fragrances
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
A twenty thousand euro dress, two thousand hairdo, 24carat diamond set jeweled in platinum... still your dress-up wont be complete without that subtle or expressive élan by virtue of a fragrance. How many times has just a sniff of it changed our mood? or made us float in air, brim with confidence or just bring a smile with closed eyes!
With such a stake they don't command a cost based price, but get based on perceived price. It becomes a high involvement and in many cases the highest. As such it becomes a marketer's dream turf. Some reach the zenith and other get branded for life in nadir.Idea always is to make the customer move to non rational purchase, make it go through heart and not mind. Once its done then it paves a huge path for extraordinary profit, changing of brand name to a symbol or an icon.
Chanel No.5 has been such a brand that has ruled now for almost a century (it came out in 1921) and is still fresh. Coco Chanel had once commissioned Ernest Beaux to make six perfumes, which were labeled No. 1, No. 2, etc. through No. 6. It was bottle No.5 that was to Chanel's liking and became the chosen formula. No. 5 is famous for being the first perfume to heavily rely on synthetic floral aldehydes as a top note. Before synthetics, perfume either had to be applied very heavily before going out to ensure that the fragrance would last, or frequently throughout the night. The expensive manufacturing process of No.5 had made it to be the most expensive perfume at that time; which still holds true.
The cost to marketer for maintaining such a brand? The following 180 seconds commercial for television broadcast and cinema advertisement was made at whopping budget of $42 million USD which was financed exclusively by Chanel.
The cost to marketer for maintaining such a brand? The following 180 seconds commercial for television broadcast and cinema advertisement was made at whopping budget of $42 million USD which was financed exclusively by Chanel.
Now Keira Knightley is all set appear as the new face of Chanel,to launch an advertising campaign to promote the fragrance Coco Mademoiselle. Keira has replaced star model Kate Moss as the latest face of the firm. Chanel had earlier decided to abandon Kate Moss from its promotional campaigns after her drug scandal.
The second brand that has been catching my eye is the range of Bulgari (BVLGARI) which has come up with innovative designs of packing or 'vials'. The packing of perfumeries is amazing to eyes and the olfactory organs of our body. I in particular liked the product on my right. An impressive packing, then the usage leads to a complete experience of having this perfume for self. Quoting from wiki, The company was founded in 1884 in Rome, Italy. The current flagship store was opened in 1905 by Bulgari with the help of his two sons (Costantino and Giorgio) and the store quickly became a place where the world's rich and famous came for the unique, high quality jewelry designs combining Greek and Roman art. Although the company made a name for itself with jewelry, today it is a recognized luxury brand that markets several product lines including watches, handbags, fragrances, accessories, and hotels.Labels: Brand Endorsement, Launch, TVC
posted by Jas @ 11:07 PM,
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TVC with cupid's touch
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
What would a successful advertisement be composed of? A catchy jingle some say, others argue a video that prompts consumer to wait and search for it, and the mainstream critics would point out on the tangibles and intangibles that the company gets from the ad say brand equity, sales surge, brand loyalty.
While the mainstream critics will have to wait to react on this Parachute Advanced ad, the others are all up in cheer; me being just one of them. A perfect ad to my eyes and ears ! The other results can wait ;)
*sigh* yes, I AM in love with this ad!
Labels: TVC
posted by Jas @ 5:12 PM,
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Kajol as brand ambassador of Alpenliebe
Thursday, August 23, 2007
As has been from some time I agree even this post is coming bit late. It’s about Alpenliebe roping in Kajol as its brand ambassador. Mind it; this is the first time in fourteen years of successful existence of the brand in the India that Perfetti Vanmelle is relying on celebrity endorsement. Earlier it tagged on children and their innocent naughtiness.
The new campaign has taken from what has been the ad strategy of various mint based candies like Mint-o-Fresh or ChlorMint. They all use what has been labeled as the 'Absurdism'.
Plot is that Kajol pops the candy at an Alligator at a zoo and the alligator starts following Kajol everywhere. The brand now uses the tagline "Lalach Aha Laplap" instead of hugely popular "Jee Lalchaye Raha Na Jaaye". According to a report in AgencyFAQs, the company feels that Kajol is the right fit for the brand and will help to take the brand to the next level. In Kajol I have no doubt, question is whether the ad is a right fit for the brand or not? All these impulse buy brands have one problem; getting consumers to buy them which is driven largely by mind recollection when one visits purchasing point. Hence the absurd ads; so that the people remember or a jingle or tagline. Now with already a hugely famous tagline "Jee Lalchaye Raha Na Jaaye"; I guess its dilution of brand image in mind of consumer to shift from there. Striking gold with such a concept is not easy so it’s a gamble that Alpenliebe has taken.
As has been talked about, the brand would have paid a good amount for the animation and even Kajol would have cost them nicely as she has showcased her ad presence very profitably as far as attention and recall is considered. But would it take the brand to further levels of sales is a question I really doubt!
The new campaign has taken from what has been the ad strategy of various mint based candies like Mint-o-Fresh or ChlorMint. They all use what has been labeled as the 'Absurdism'.
Plot is that Kajol pops the candy at an Alligator at a zoo and the alligator starts following Kajol everywhere. The brand now uses the tagline "Lalach Aha Laplap" instead of hugely popular "Jee Lalchaye Raha Na Jaaye". According to a report in AgencyFAQs, the company feels that Kajol is the right fit for the brand and will help to take the brand to the next level. In Kajol I have no doubt, question is whether the ad is a right fit for the brand or not? All these impulse buy brands have one problem; getting consumers to buy them which is driven largely by mind recollection when one visits purchasing point. Hence the absurd ads; so that the people remember or a jingle or tagline. Now with already a hugely famous tagline "Jee Lalchaye Raha Na Jaaye"; I guess its dilution of brand image in mind of consumer to shift from there. Striking gold with such a concept is not easy so it’s a gamble that Alpenliebe has taken.As has been talked about, the brand would have paid a good amount for the animation and even Kajol would have cost them nicely as she has showcased her ad presence very profitably as far as attention and recall is considered. But would it take the brand to further levels of sales is a question I really doubt!
Labels: Brand Endorsement, TVC
posted by Jas @ 6:54 PM,
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Bingo! by ITC
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
If you are an Indian who has an access to TV then there is no doubt you would have gone through the ad-space bombardment by "Bingo" snacks. After venturing into biscuits and Pasta food segment, Bingo is the third attempt by ITC to enter into the Rs 20 billion fast-moving branded snack market. The market has been growing at an impressive 30% rate and has already made Pepsi gain its double figure growth rates in last two years. Kurkure, the only second Indian brand where an MNC developed a product for Indian market and then took it abroad based on its huge success, has already shown the preference of Indian taste. Not to be shunned by market, ITC has poured in months of research of consumer behavior and consumption habits insights. Its team of people, according to the strategist (the Strategy supplement of Economic Times), had visited all over India to come up with these research results.
The adverts, done by O&M, are being perceived by many as irritatingly boring. Some feel that these are worst TVCs done by ITC as there is no entertainment factor. Irritating - Yes, but these adverts arent that boring. The idea of any advert is not to be entertaining, it may become one as a consequence, but the aim is to get the person buy the product. Now with heavy bombardment of these ads ITC has made sure everyone knows about the brand Bingo, and that too not as just another local snack maker's but from some respectable name. The quality of ad execution does make an imprint. One may not like the ads but when one goes to marketplace, then a string of Bingo's is sure to catch attention. Then one can remember the Mad Angles from the TVC and connect to present visual. And then is when this TVC does a goal.
Ready to eat food segment is an impulse buy segment, so top of the mind recall is very necessary. And with such advertising, it surely will get more first time testers. At second step comes the consuming experience, if the snacks are able to hold back the consumer for a next consumption, the cycle gets complete. Now how will consumers respond to the taste is yet to be seen. So lets see if Bingo will go the Sunfeast biscuits way up or the Pasta way down.
The adverts, done by O&M, are being perceived by many as irritatingly boring. Some feel that these are worst TVCs done by ITC as there is no entertainment factor. Irritating - Yes, but these adverts arent that boring. The idea of any advert is not to be entertaining, it may become one as a consequence, but the aim is to get the person buy the product. Now with heavy bombardment of these ads ITC has made sure everyone knows about the brand Bingo, and that too not as just another local snack maker's but from some respectable name. The quality of ad execution does make an imprint. One may not like the ads but when one goes to marketplace, then a string of Bingo's is sure to catch attention. Then one can remember the Mad Angles from the TVC and connect to present visual. And then is when this TVC does a goal.
Ready to eat food segment is an impulse buy segment, so top of the mind recall is very necessary. And with such advertising, it surely will get more first time testers. At second step comes the consuming experience, if the snacks are able to hold back the consumer for a next consumption, the cycle gets complete. Now how will consumers respond to the taste is yet to be seen. So lets see if Bingo will go the Sunfeast biscuits way up or the Pasta way down.
posted by Jas @ 11:30 PM,
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