What kind of ad would sell a product? Hmmm lets see. First we have to identify who the target is. Then we write the copy so that it suits that target.(Copy is the script or the basic written idea for an advertisement. Thus we get the term copywriter).
For example if the product is something simple like toothpaste we will involve the entire family in the advertisement. The ad will most probably be in Hindi. This makes sense because even the non-English people use toothpaste. Ahhh but it is not so simple. You may want that specific toothpaste to cater to a different kind of crowd. You might want to make a toothpaste look funky so you will involve college students and the usual girl-boy relationship thing.
Colgate usually looks at the family while Close-up would focus on the college kid confidence. Now this is an example that will do no justice to explaining the working of the advertising world. It is only the tip of the iceberg the rest of which most of us including me have not seen. Lakhs and crores of rupees are spent in a single campaign. Every type of media has its own form of advertising. For television you can book a ‘spot’ for a ten to thirty second ad. For newspapers it will depend on col cms. You will notice that a newspaper has several columns. So your ad can span across one or two columns and be of a certain height in cms. Rates vary according to the type of media. The media would include TV, radio, print, outdoor (billboards). An interesting fact is that rates vary according to the popularity of the show. This is how the channels make money.
For example on Star Plus you could book a ten seconder (sounds cool doesn’t it) for around three lakhs during a particular show. When “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (The Indian version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’) was popular a ten seconder would cost Rs 9 lakhs. So to make your product famous you would have to spend 9 lakhs for a lousy ten seconds on a show. Right? Not quite. You first have to produce the ad. So you hire an advertising agency (O&M, Grey Worldwide etc). You pay them some money. They will dream up the formula to make your product famous. So they will formulate a campaign of three to six months or more depending on the product. They may hire a production house to do the job of bringing the copy to life.(more money). The production house will then use that money to hire models, camera men , directors, equipment, food(for the crew including trainee filmmakers like me), bribes (to shoot at locations without)etc. I don’t have an idea about the costs involved but I’m sure it must be phenomenal. Any Mouthshutter out there who can help me out here is welcome. So obviously when you have so much money involved , you must be doing some kind of research to make sure you do things right…right? Hmmm… so how come we still get to see really annoying ads. Right now the inspiration for this article came after watching the Thums up campaign.
They have created an imaginary concept that states that people who like sweet things are kids and need to grow up. Therefore those who drink sweeter drinks are children and also “losers” (I hate this word). The campaign is trying hard to make us believe the same. Do You believe in a such a concept? Okay now. The ad guys are supposed to be really savvy about what’s hot and what’s not right? I doubt it. They use an actor who is famous for being shirtless in 99% of his movies and photos. Sadly he has ended up with a less than sexy image. Ironically he is now the b-utt of ridicule for his penchant for being shirtless. Those in India would know that the actor is often made fun of by saying that he cannot afford a shirt. So, in effect you are associating an “uncool” personality with your product. What is the logic? I have no clue. Now we have Thums Up which has more fizz and less of a sweet taste making it a somewhat strong drink. Pepsi has less fizz and is a lot sweeter. Coca cola has a unique flavour and has a balance of both the sweet taste and fizz. So each drink has its own quality. For all you know, the respected Mr. Sylvestor Stallone may be drinking Pepsi right now. Are you going to be the one to tell him that he is drinking a child’s drink? So in conclusion I would say that the Thums Up campaign is in a fruitless struggle to make people think that drinking Pepsi is uncool or only for kids. The advertisements follow mindless logic, they are devoid of any creativity and a waste of money and ironically infantile.
They are very unconvincing and now even the advertisements are being made fun of. So are the copywriters doing their job? The answer can be yes. Sometimes the client (Thums Up in this case) may insist on a particular concept and are too dumb to consider any concept other than their own. I guess you’d like to know what drink I prefer. Here it comes. One - Thums Up Two - Coca Cola Three - Pepsi Everyone is entitled to their own taste. If you like Pepsi please drink it. Enjoy!