Do baalti paani bachao
Sarv gunah sampanna
Oye Bubbly
Bumper Jackpot .
If some or more of such taglines sound familiar to you, I am sure you’ve been watching TV lately. I am surprised at how many different ways can one sell the same product.
Let’s see:
1> Add’New’ or’Naya’ to it. Naya Chamko powder. Ab do khushbuoan mein! Now, what has a detergent powder got to do with odour.
2> Add a social message to it. Do baalti paani bachao ad is a case in point. When I saw the ad, I asked my dad, how do they know whether one washes a hanky a day or 5 saaris and ten trousers? Why’do’ baalti? He said’ Do baalti is a symbol of saving. It can be a mug of water or ten buckets, doesnt matter’.
Point taken dad. This summer in the heat of delhi when water is scarce, I’ll surely save many buckets of water even if I donot use surf excel.
3> Use a lot of mantras and hymns in the background. Now, I would like to know whether they actually research the upanishads and puranas before making such ads. There have been a deluge of ads where they make references to’sarva gunah sampann’ or’vaktkunda mahakavya.’ or’Om bhuva bhuvah swah’ etc.
Bottomline: The product we are selling is a divine mix of’agni’, ’vaayu’, ’prithvi’, ’jal’ and(not disclosed: pesticides, lead, harmful chemicals etc.).
4> Use a lot of gizmo and hi fi sci fi techniques There are a lot of ads which are high on technique but very low on content. You wont even know what they are trying to advertise. Categories: Mobile phones, consumer goods etc.
5> Invent a tagline and flash it too many times on the cable channels
Oye bubbly?
Pray, I personally feel the ad took the things a bit too far. Whats this fancy about inanimate objects turning into lips and chasing pepsi bottles?
6> FREE(conditions apply) Saabun ke saath car free, Shampoo ke saath haar free, ek ke saath chaar free, jab bhi lo har baar free This is the age old method. My only request is to increase the font size of the conditions apply statements when you advertise the product.
7> Girls will love it. And will chase you. You use our shampoo, girls will love it. You use our perfume, girls will love it. You use our chaddi, girls will love it.
8> Finally, the only thing that consistently strikes chord with the viewer is HUMOUR. And thats why even the most poignant ads have a subtle dose of humour added to them.
I understand the point that an ad maker has just 30 seconds to sell a product. And therefore needs to catch the imagination of the viewer who subsequently becomes the buyer. But if you cant make a good product, at least make a sensible ad.