The BAJAJ lineage

Has Indian advertising come of age??? well in some cases yes and in some cases
like manforce condoms you feel like bashing up the agency and the client. But then there companies and then there COMPANIES like BAJAJ who have set such high standards with their advertising.

NOt that they celebrated their advertising with a book release on all their ads like Hindustan unilevers did but the storm has been brewing, albeit slowly.

It began in 1980's and am guessing the agency was LINTAS which created one of the brilliant "hamara bajaj" campaigns. The TVCS were brilliant and almost set a new standard in advertising.
It captured the moments of Indian lifestyles in all its distintivness, creating an emotional aspect for the brand.


Then came their corporate ads...showing range of their offerings


Then the scooters died out, Hero honda ate into their market share with their superior technology. Competition was high and changing lifestyles meant that they had to infuse life into the product, strategy and communication..they had tried with CT 100, boxer, excel and BAJAJ Kawasaki but failed to take off, almost to the extent of driving the company to closure....

THe came PULSAR and avenger..the product and communication chaged their fortunes.
Feel like GOD ......Avenger ad


PULSAR definitely male

Evolved into full blown stunt TVS

The transformers ads were another league


What got me researching on BAJAJ was this particular ad for DISCOVER...discover india in 1 liter...brilliant concept...execellently communicated "fuel economy" point.

The Ads talk about places in India which awe you like this villiage which only speaks Vedic...brilliant

Hats off to BAjaj and their startegy to pick a new agency for every product...hope to see more of such ads which are not only creatively brilliant but also make an impact on the cash registers.

Vagina of contention...

Full frontal nudity is absolutely frowned upon by humanity...we can see our winkies in private but on television...no no no.

Provacative ads have worked before and I like the idea of tinkling with the vagina..pun intended:)

A day in the life of a vigina...fantastic


Playboy..quite obviously. The ads about how playboy has evloved over the years


This ad is about a womens magzine and emphasises on the fact that there's lot on a womens mind...hmmm or should i say women are really deep

When happiness was a cigar.......

Does the headline ring any bells...maybe, maybe not but the product was a phenominal success in the mid 60's and lasted till late 90's. Again one of those retro classics that has become an advertising folklore.

After the old Volkswagen, THE HAMLET cigar is one of my all time favourite campaigns. Their positioning with " no matter what the situation, Lighting and smoking this cigar makes a man smile and forget his woes" touched a nerve and was beautifully executed with a tag line "Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet" and a set of brilliant TVC's, billboards and print ads.

The slogan and the entire campaign was created by the Collett Dickenson Pearce agency in 1966....some of the best adverts ever



This baldy man had almost become a cult in those days




Some print adeverts that caused a lot of controversies


This may have not been the most creative campaign but did a great deal to the brand with simple commnication effective use. The concept, the message and styles remained same increasing brand awareness and driving the brand deeper into the consumers.

common sense unleashed

I simply adore Google, they are the best at whatever they do and I have to cause they own 90% of the world internet advertising pie. Heres the latest by them to engage people...they released a doc which helps marketers establish an online presence with minimum budget for maximum impact.

it has been wonderfully compiled and is a must read but let me tell you that its a subtle way of saying pls use me ......I guess the yahoo bing tie has something to do with it..hmmm

4Common Sense

TVC...a perspective

Here's something funny..why is makin a TVC such a pain in the ass

7657935 What Filmmakers See

will traditional media DIE........

Well its too early to predict that but the prognosis is that its suffering from cancer. Ya..and hell it is a cancer called the INTERNET. Now I didn mean to portray internet as some ominous thing but then if you are in advertising better get online.

I have been a fan of traditional media advertising..and seriously love some good work but except for some really small portion I guess rest all is crap. I hate when marketers waste loads on a shitty TVC because thats in their budget..its criminal.

On the other hand theres the Internet with a booming population and ever increasing reach... which is measurable, interactive and totally coast effective. There are agencies like Pinstorm.com who work on the pay for performance model as opposed to the prehistoric retainership model.....which is more effective????

your TA is out there..look even twitter managed to cross 600k users in India alone
http://www.pluggd.in/twitter-traffic-in-india-297/



Though there are some drawbacks of the medium itself but its amazing and I wonder whether it will ever provide the kind of platform like television to create some kick ass work..well even Sir Martin Sorrell was skeptical in his interview with AFAQS but did not play down the growing importance of internet.

You better don't take my word for it...Lets get some dope....
There is a report by webchutney an online agency...interesting facts
16945866 Web Chutney Digital Media Outlook Report 2009

Death or no death..but internet is here to stay and is changing marketing perspectives already..check this


Only time will tell......

what do you do with your old vinyl's??.....shoot

Was surfing scribd and came across this crazy thing called SLEEVEFACE...be the vinyl. Its a really cool concept..what you do is take your old records..I mean the cover..that has a head shot of the artist and place it in front of your face and click...the results are funny...its awesome..they also have a website and people send in their shots...its got lot of creative posibilities



Sleeveface

Car with a superstar!!

Is it just me or is that some marketers beat the shit out of rational thinking. why are superstars important in marketing a car, that too without any creative approach....I know right from LUX to orient PSPO uses stars to market their stuff. Is it really worth it???
There was a time when Amitabh Bacchan endorsing a product would command attention, thats not the thing anymore. He endorses life insurance, banking products and for crying out loud chavanprash aur tho aur 1 rupee ka tailmalish in the same breath.

When it comes to cars I don't really care who endorses my car..really Sharukh or Yuvraj Singh. The theory used by marketers is their characteristics match the TA...balls.. We never really connect to them. For God's sake our flats must be smaller than their bathroom nor did my neighbour Gupta uncle select his Santro cause Sharukh endorsed it...naaahh

The other day I was driving along Mahim causeway and happen to see a billboard with Yuvraj Singh in the front and the new Fiat Punto somewhere in the back...what a waste?? what are they trying to tell...is that the product manager or did the agency give into his demands...such a shabby work. Have a look at this.......


May be they are trying to say..his scarf matches the colour of the car.;)

I think so there are some sectors like Fashion and cosmetics where their appeal is obviously the greatest but cars and chavanprash really..well its not that one can't use them but in a way that creates a sensation ..like play with their attributes, may be physical or characteristics peculiar to the star or reverse snobbery...be creative while maintaining finesse. One of the best campaings that went into advertising folklore was introduced in 1959 by New York ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach for their client Volkswagen. This was a time when huge fuel guzzling, metal beasts ruled the roost in the American market. The task was to create a new market for a small, fuel efficient and a practical car. The execution was perfect, cool understated style, reverse snobbery and other such antics appealed to the American masses.

Check the way they have used NBA superstar Wilt Chamberlain in the ad...too goood


The headline reads like this: They said it couldn't be done, it couldn't.

Wilt is 7'1, the bug is known to have great head room but not for someone as big as Wilt but for an average American, thats what the ad's body says. They featured Wilt and communicated their point with finesse.

Also, have a look at these gems...the agency and the client had the balls to do this



This was a time when the moon landing mission was a big buzzzz...totally captured the essence.







There were couple of TVC's which were brilliant in what they wanted to say...check these story boards...

Did zoozoo eat Vodafone??

This is branding at its best. The maverick Mr. Piyush Pandey from O&M has scored big time, the Zoozoo storm has taken over and given Vodafone a complete makeover or so we think. The other day I was having a discussion with some peers in the office and they seem to remember the zoozoo but not the service it markets like the alerts, call rates etc.

You can check the videos here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqndA5F3i8

Maybe I am not a subject matter expert but I guess zoozoo has become bigger than Vodafone or has it?? We cannot with certainity say that it has had a major impact on the cash registers..or has it.



Well lets cut open the strategy...layman style..Vodafone certainly is a well evolved brand and at the pedestal in the brand cycle. Maybe it didn require a Zoozoo to reestablish the brand as against the competitors or maybe it did to shake off the pug image..but than thats too much cost to do just that.

The earlier commercials of Vodafone that had people and emotions like that guy who was about to propose to the girl and everyone in the way seemed to know about it..SMS at 10 paisa or something was perfect effective in drawing a common frame of reference with the TA.



What my point is.... is this media wastage, if we call it that?? or plain satisfying the agency appetite for something sensational. Was the cannibalization worth the buck??

I am not denying the ingenuity or the freshness in the campaign but I am questioning the strategy...does anyone have an answer??

Cannes:2009 and some beauties

The verdict is out, there were some cool works on display. How does a repressed Junta get back at a dictator, while the agency gets the Grand Prix well well well....This Zimbawean newspaper banned by its government gave it back with the help of TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris, Johannesburg.

The emphasis is on the devalued currency, simple but effective communication.



My favourite is this beer ad and not for obvious reasons but I really like a communication strategy which is interactive and involves the TA.



This is about Jamesready brewery, the campaign was created by Leo Burnett, Toronto.
They only advertised on 1/3rd of the page and rest was open to public to chip in and advertise whatever they wanted. It said that every dollar saved could help them reduce the cost of the bottle. It was divided in two phases...the second phase on the right hand side of the screen shows ads put up by people..awesome...I say maximum impact, totally appeals to the TA.

Check this Cupid condom piece by Publicis Ambience, India. Totally hits the nail on the head. Cover it, or pay for it..hahaha.

Let the Ads begin!!

I don't know what compelled me to start this blog...may be it was the lack of experience in the industry or all those rejections from various agencies or simply recession.

All I want do is bring out the most ingenious work, kick ass campaigns, news and updates from the industry..cause I am so freaking obsessed with it..and hopefully there would be some takers, right???? I know a really shitty post but I had to start somewhere.