Sunday, May 06, 2007

making sense of an ad

Recently, I saw an ad of Aditya Birla Group. It was a visual treat; good shots, great camera work and a very simply tag line- taking India to the world. But the entire ad forced a common man like me to ask a very common question-how these jumping models, walking on fire, sand and water, would take India to the world. Maybe, these ads are not meant for us (remember, common man) or I am not made for these ads. But, for me, the Aditya Birla Group ad fails to say what it intended to speak to its audiences; who ever they are. Let us take a closer look at the ad itself.

The Aditya Birla Group ad starts with a model running on water. He hits the water hard creating a cyclone. Some drop of these water hits an another model that is standing on a sand dune in a desert. And he whirls his kurta and we see a woman doing the same. She, however, is standing on a dragon. Oh! Fire is coming out of the dragon's mouth. Phew!!!

What could be the obvious meaning of this ad?

  1. The ad may say that Aditya Birla Group is gaining enough momentum to walk on fire, water and sand. Air, earth and sky were the obvious missing factors.
  2. The ad could even suggest that Aditya Birla Group is launching a product, not available in the world that could work alike in fire, water and sand.
  3. The ad may suggest that Aditya Birla Group is a textile company that has launched a new textile range that could keep you warm in winters and cool in summers.
  4. The ad could even suggest that Aditya Birla Group is an ad that nobody understands.

These are my explanations, I may be wrong. But, what I feel is that Ads are meant to communicate a product and a concept to the possible customers. They have to be simple and straightforward.
An ad may attract tricks to gain attention, but it has to justify that attention. It has to say something, loud and clear. It can't leave its audiences guessing.

Ads and the entire process of making them have evolved. They have become more inclusive.

They may adopt different strategies, but all these are meant to be more engaging, more inclusive. An ad may make you laugh or cry, but it has to convey its message. An ad that manages to convey its message in simple and clear words is a winner. Those who give more emphasis on style part lose out.

Cheers
Kundan

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Vajpayeeji would be the best man to speak on this subject coz the India Shinning campiagn cost him the PM's chair.The BJP got it wrong right from the start as the ad did not reflect the true picture of India. In a way u have correctly written that the ad must be simple enough to convey the meaning of the product or brand.BJP might have been in a better position had they coined it a India Emerging campaign.
Some of my personal favourites are Liril,fevicol,Cadbury chocolate,hamara bajaj and above all Mili sur mera tumhara ad.The moment u think about all these ads the first thing which strikes u is the simple and clear way with which the message is communicated to the audience be it the freshness of liril,the adhesive strength of fevicol,uninhibited dance of the girl or the brand India which was shown in mili sur ad. In short all these ads did not leave the audience much to guess about.
But the real winner in terms of simplicity and conveying the message goes hands down to Neighbour's Envy Owners Pride,Onida!
To sum up the ads should have:
- simplicity
- clarity
- catchy one liner or a humable tune
and above all a very pretty model coz beauty can sell everything in this world.
Long Live the Beauty.