I have earlier written about the E Factor in advertising, combine it with cutting edge messaging and you've got a winner.

Most parents try everything to ensure that their children are able to live their dreams, unlike many that they themselves could not. You know anyone who didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a movie star/ rock star/ star cricketer/ footballer? I don't. Powerful insight converted into a memorable an interesting series.

Don't you love these 2 TVCs from Aegon Religare? I am sure there others in the making...

Enjoy.

One of my colleagues suggested that the message "ताकि हमारे बच्चे वह बन पाएं जो हम ना बन
सके" seem to suggest that we want out children to live 'our dreams'. I interpreted it as, everyone wants their children to be the 'star' that they themselves could not, rather than associate it with a particular activity/ vocation. I agree that it is subject to interpretation. What do you think?

Many a Wednesday evenings, during my growing up years, the 7.30 pm - 8.00 pm slot was spent in front of the tube. Chitrahaar, the iconic film songs programme, would roll out at 8 pm and given its enormous viewership, most and some of the best advertising of its time would be scheduled prior to it - full 30 minutes or so of it, non-stop. I loved it. 'This' was entertainment.

While most brand advertising typically focuses on the product - features/ benefits, rare are campaigns that focus purely on entertainment value and the brand message reaches subtly, without the need to shout.

One such campaign that I instantly loved was the recent Nike "cricket/ traffic jam", capturing, so vibrantly, India's cricking obsession and energy.

And now a campaign that's already amongst the most talked about ad campaigns of all times!!?? One that will perhaps create wonderful new possibilities for the brand, not just in terms of the brand message, but also revenue streams? People are already demanding toys and merchandise.

You have already guessed - it's the Zoozoos - by Vodafone. Much has already been written about the appeal, engagement that the lovable Zoozoos have brought Vodafone, a brand with the legacy of some very memorable branding & advertising - Hutch orange; Hutch orange turning pink; the pug; Vodafone launch with the pug; and now the Zoozoos. Interestingly, and clearly by choice, the brand has always been, and continues to be, positioned as - sophisticated and urban.

On the net too, several touch points have been created by the brand - millions of page views have already been achieved; lacs of people are engaging with the brand on social networking sites. Such entertainment value can sometimes bring forth interesting scenarios...

One such "Ad on Ad" phenomenon that I witnessed, and captured, on You Tube is www.zibica.com, an insurance company, harvesting a windfall with its contextual advertising on Zoozoo films playing on YouTube (see below).

Don't know what Vodafone thinks of that - not that they can anything much about it - the perils of using a free service :).

Many a big brands are re-incarnating this season. But the top grosser in terms of eye-balls and adoration are Vodafone's semi-alien, semi-ghostly & cartoon-like white bodied creatures called the Zoozoos.

While they were launched to co-ordinate with the second season of IPL and push the Value Added Services (VAS) offered by Vodafone, the happiest news is that with Zoozoo, Vodafone has finally found the antidote to the Hutch pug.

The egg-head, as its being lovingly called in many circles, are not even animated characters. Instead, it's humans wearing specialized body suits, shot in creatively adjusted environs. The simplicity of the icon is actually what gave it the edge. With 10 creatives already on air, and 15 more en-route, the team had obviously expected this as well.

The most interesting bit, however, is that the name Zoozoo isn't even mentioned in any of the ads/print campaigns. The popularity of the phenomenon is a result instead, of their attempts on the digital media. See, for instance:

1. The Official Zoozoo fan page - collating their entire online presence on to one, and alongside giving live IPL match updates.
2. What kind of a Zoozoo are you? A quiz, on their website! A temporal & catchy move, Quizzes are the new phase with Facebook flooding up with them anyway. Three questions and they give you an answer. The answer can then be shared with friends on one's blog, through e-mail, on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, FriendFeed, et al!



3. Less than two weeks into the campaign, the Facebook page has over 68,000 fans. Not just that, the much loved Zoozoo who falls into the perils of a crocodile, has a fan page to himself!



4. On Twitter - Well, it's not trending ;), but it sure is invoking a lot of interest. Don't you wonder why the Zoozoos aren't tweeting? ;)
5. An Orkut community, initiated by fans, running polls, forums around the phenomenon.
6. On YouTube, a channel has been set up. People are demanding more videos, and as a result, the making of the Zoozoo is now doing the rounds as well.
7. A Zoozoo community toolbar.

That's more than sufficient buzz. However, a lot of conversations are happening on these fora. What people like - or don't like - from how they feel it reflects on the brand, how it compares to the earlier ads and what they think of the transformation, to even complaints in the VAS offered by Vodafone.

Not just are fans engaging, they are even giving suggestions on Zoozoo merchandise, and what all that should be! Not just the egg-head, the customers are trying to interact with Vodafone as well. Hope someone's listening in to that.

A mix of simplicity, stupidity and hence, the charm, in both the figure and the nomenclature is what's driving the fan-wave for now. That the Zoozoo, like a star-campaigner, may just overshadow the brand, or come to define it in inextricable ways, much like the pug, remains to be seen; but for now, it's generating oodles of revelry.

Do share your Zoozoo thoughts with us :)

Sometimes I really don't understand why brands do the things they do. Take the new global 'Go' campaign by Visa.

The description along with the ad on YouTube saysIt's one tiny, two-letter word that makes amazing things happen. Go is action. it's the spark that starts the flame that sets everything in motion..., and then you put a stop after go. You put a 'stop' after Go? It just doesn't belong there - a stop is, the end, it kills motion, it says the action is over. Sigh.

See the ad:

I rarely watch television; even my exposure to advertising, which I love watching, is mostly at cinema halls or on You Tube. Today however was one of those rare afternoons and I just got up after watching a fun interview with Shubha Ji on NDTV Profit, which was immediately followed by Cell Guru on the same channel- I didn't know they had a programme like that.

They were talking about Samsung appointing Aamir Khan as their brand ambassador for mobiles and a few things caught my attention :). Here they are:

1. Such a funny thing, perceptions are. I have always, only, associated Samsung with consumer electronics like television, DVDs etc. even though they have been in the mobile business for many years now. What I saw from their new mobile collection is seriously cool stuff. The needle moved for me and decided that I need to check out their new stuff.
2. While I did listen to him, much more intently than I would ever listen to the MD or the official spokesperson, Aamir is not the most comfortable spokesperson. It obviously comes from his natural aversion to the media - he kept looking down, almost like he was reading from a sheet of paper. It seemed that he wasn't really familiar with the product.
3. In sharp contrast is Shah Rukh, who I have engaged with professionally for a similar, large, brand endorsement media engagement. Shah Rukh is perhaps the best spokesperson I have met - better than any CEO. He has played with the product before-hand, has the message all figured, it shows in his confidence... and the media loves him.
4. However, he did miss a beat (SRK) reacting to Aamir's comment on him being No. 1 (Aamir). I think SRK was trying to be modest, in his attempt to acknowledge that he would be quite delighted being No.2, after Aamir. However, modest is not his natural style and he fumbled a bit, I thought. In his mind, he is the clear No.1 and I guess THAT'S what works for him :)
5. Dear Mr. Makhni - what made you ask (something to this effect) "Do we need something that complicated?" - he was taking about feature rich phones - music, camera, internet etc. He should know better: feature rich isn't necessarily = complicated.

   Aamir's reply was equally weak (something to this effect) "Some people like to have music/ camera". It's about the mobile being the ubiquitous device guys! No?

Even though I haven't followed the campaign closely, I have my questions about The Times of India's - Lead India initiative. I could point to some gaps, but this post isn't about that at all.

In times when I find most advertising flat, and uninspiring, comes this ad, part of the Lead India campaign. I am talking about the 'Tree' ad - I just LOVE this one - it gives me goose pimples every time I see it. But then the same campaign recently released their next film, with Amitabh Bachchan reminding us that India is set to take off, all we need now is our hero, who we are waiting for, and WHO will show us the right direction. There doesn't seem anything wrong with that, isn't it does there?

But why then, everyone time I see this ad, I cringe and feel disturbed. Why?

There is a hidden paradox that I notice in what the two ads seem to be saying. They are promoting the same initiative, but driving messages in different/ opposite directions.

Read on and tell me if you agree/ disagree:

1. Uprooted tree and boy: Every time I see this ad play (mostly at one or the other movie that I am out to watch) I feel elated, motived to bring about change. It says 'I' need to make the beginning...

   A tree has come uprooted and is blocking the road. Everyone is impacted but prefers to wait, until our little boy decides to take things in his hands...others join in. Watch the ad, if you haven't seen it yet:

   When I wrote my previous post about the CSR opportunity in the Delhi -Expressway Toll Plaza Crisis, I was somewhere inspired by this ad too, as by my own thoughts "Agar ham nahin karenge toh kaun karega?" (If we don't do it ourselves, who will?).

Cut to the second ad:

1. Amitabh Bachchan See it first (my apologies in advance to our non-Hindi speaking readers... I will try to capture the essence, but not sure if I will succeed fully. Let's see):

Suddenly these stickers are everywhere - featuring people and the written word - strategically pasted on 'high-footfall' passages in cinemas, malls and stores.

Except that, call me old-fashioned, I cringe every time someone steps on them. It's like stepping on someone.

I understand visibility, but is that all a brand seeks, so blatantly? What about people featured on these stickers? What about the written word that many still hold sacrosanct? And the sanctity of our brands?

This comment was not relevant to the post and I would usually not encourage something like this, but as a somewhat popular marketing, communication blog, the subject is topical and indeed contentious.

Indian Advertisers held to Ransom by IBF.

"The festive season is on and this is buzzing time for all advertisers in the Indian advertising industry. Bang on this time all TV channels have unilaterally decided to increase rates by 25% through a surcharge route across all current and new deals...

AAAI categorically refuses channels acting in unison and increasing rates by fixed percentage by certain rates as against the idea of IBF advising its member channels to renege on existing agreement deals. As this drama goes on, IBF is allowing PSU and Govt clients to advertise without surcharge. They are also incentivizing clients to come directly to them by not applying the surcharge and running on existing rates. They have gone ahead and also accepting campaign from non AAAI agencies with a lower surcharge of 10%."

Read the comment here:

Exchange4Media.com reported on 12 October: ISA, IBF lock horns over 25 pc input cost surcharge on TV ad rates

UPDATE: 18 October 2007, 4.21 p.m.

Exchange4Media has 2 stories updating the status on the issue. Matters are HOT at the moment:

1. IBF–ISA row: IBF honouring existing deals – correction or back off?


2. Now, AAAI differs with IBF on net rates.

Mint of this morning had a nice piece too.

1. Ad war between IBF, ISA hots up

I was talking to one of my media planner friends and wondering when will marketers start to move from number of viewers to engagement? Agreed, online is tiny in comparison and within that social media is even tinier, but that's if you go by numbers alone. The viral effect that it can deliver offline through word-of-mouth can be huge. Time to engage your customers? I love the slide with little yellow umbrellas' in this post - see and let me know what you think!

Cheers.

Blogworks™ Ad Affiliate Network is committed to connecting influential bloggers with relevant advertisers/marketers and vice versa.

Micro Marketing is the acknowledged way forward for many a brand today. Many individual publishers today enjoy as much credibility, and sometimes reach, as traditional media and marketers are beginning to see value in associating with them.

However, blog advertising, isn't necessarily the same as mainstream advertising - it doesn't have to be; maybe it shouldn't even be...

Reasons are many: where mainstream online ads are mostly focused on numbers and clicks, advertising on blogs and independent author sites may need to focus on brand associations and sponsorships with the site, its popular properties; widgets and other creative and dynamic ways of reaching the audience.

An injudicious focus on plain numbers and traffic, on these neo-publishing platforms, usually leads to disappointment for both the advertiser and the publisher - certainly the publisher.

For example, a blog with page views running into millions is no-brainer, but what is the value of a top research scientist's blog - read in-turn only by a few hundred other scientists - as a recruitment ad vehicle for a research lab? Or to build traction with that community? We think very high - focus on pure numbers, in this case, is not that important. On the other hand a youth blog will perhaps need numbers to support it's advertising claim. Both publishers are valuable, but need different approaches.

Similarly credibility matrix' that are purely based on just 'number of links' can often be misguiding - it is not lost upon any of us how easy it is to generate fake links.

That's where the Blogworks™ Ad Affiliate Network comes in:

What's in it for blog writers and publishers!

1. No worries - you write; we market
2. Creative options - we deploy our past learnings
3. Transparent deals - we value your content and effort
4. Choices - does advertising in traditional media compromise credibility, it doesn't 'have to'. You stay in control, you choose

What's in it for the advertisers/ marketers!

1. Influencers - high-quality; hand-picked
2. Bouquet Offerings - by verticals/ readership/ geographies
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If you wish to register your blog into the programme, fill in these details on and send across, with subject line - Enroll for Ads. Feel free to tell your friends too.

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This is not a 'pay-per-post offer' and wouldn't infringe upon your editorial integrity.

Writing in to us doesn't necessarily 'include' you into the panel or guarantee any advertising

Hmmm, so you wondering why this may have won theCannes 2007 Grand Prix? No story - go and see.

Oops, forgot :) : It is the Dove Self Esteem Fund (Evolution Film) by Ogilvy, Toronto.

When times were simple fun and we were 'crazy about the 'zing thing'! Still are...

Some of our younger audience might not have seen these before and I specifically urge them to comment on what they think about these ads. Do send me links to more stuff like this - maybe we can run a classic ads festival here on Blogworks!

Many of Gold Spot's initiatives were memorable stuff - The Jungle Book promotion being a case in point. Another post to talk about those, for now though, the ads:

This really couldn't wait - saw this at the cinema hall last night and just HAD to post this. Reminded me of days when I was growing up and I would switch on the television 15 mins before Chitrahaar, just to watch the ads, and then move on as the songs began.

The ad has no mention of any Nike product but the connect with the Nike spirit of 'Just do it' is so strong that no product is needed - its about a way of life. With cricket fever reaching a crescendo in the country, the timing is great.

Advertising and entertainment will seamlessly merge, I think- focus would be again creating brand communities rather than highlight 'a product'.

Just when I had thought that the guys at Tata Sky and Rediffusion-DY&R were a bunch of geniuses themselves, having managed to break away from the clutter in the CAS/ DTH space with their "...Einstein jaisa genius" campaign, using Active Whizkids to leverage the 'edutainment' positioning, as against the competition, which had been crying hoarse over the number of channels viewers can watch. Now which parent doesn't want her child to be like a genius (let's not get into authenticity that claim holds, for advertising ceased to anywhere close to the truth a lonnng time ago - ok, most advertising!).

But then I saw the service's new 'World Cup' burst featuring Hritik! Sigh! What a waste of a great face & name!

 

Here's why I don't like this one, one bit:

1. Oye Pappe? Oye Pappe? Can you visualise Hritik uttering those words? I just cannot. It is so unlike his positioning as a suave, urbane dude
2. So what that you may have named that strange character - wrapped in grass, holding a pack of popcorn - Pappe? Pappe is the name of this character? What a waste - I am sure there is research backing up the name and the concept - there always is....
3. The expression on Hritik's face says he may well have just finished watching one of his most forgettable movies or did we lose a game? Semi-finals? Well, in that case I don't think anyone wants to watch the finals anyway - with or without Hritik. Where is cricketing passion in this pic?
4. Poor copy and too much of it; the character's in the back seat (not with Hritik) - does he represent the customer? The customer is not the hero?

Disappointed!

Have you seen the new Idea cellular commercial?

The one with the exotic monkey child who steals the sleeping man's phone, hangs it around its neck and then selectively takes it to a basement; light house; jungle etc., all places you'd typically the network to be weak.

The man's obviously in demand, for the phone keeps ringing (great network), but our protagonist, scared/ tired of the constant ringing, travels all the way back to the man's house (man's still asleep), leaves the phone, heaves a sigh of relief. The phone rings again, the man picks up the phone...

Point 1- There is a true lesson here: Only 'man' wants a hand-phone; everyone else thinks it's useless. Agreed.

Point 2 - Does it in anyway resemble the Hutch (puppy follows the boy - our network follows you, wherever you go) ad. Sure the treatment is different, and the execution is indeed very classy, but is the core 'network' idea the same?

Let me know what you think.

Original post is here