Boo hoo!! A sad lass makes a quick dash to her father’s cash stash and tries to bypass the ad-hash-mash. Welcome to the (un)real world of Reliance, where the only thing you can rely upon is a certain insult to your intelligence.
As if the Father-son bedtime story wasn’t enough, here comes another ad on the same lines. It makes me wonder whether the Ambanis want to cash in on the Dhirubhai Factor (him - their ’Papa’, get it?) or whether they want to cash in on the people’s pockets. from the looks of it, it seems they opt for the second, but have chosen a very ’poor’ and sick way of doing it.
The AD...
A newly wed calling up her father on a Reliance cell gifted by him to her and asking this no-brainer - I mean how stupid do the guys think we are? Obviously, the father is not gonna be in a bar or somewhere else, minutes after he ’sends-off’ his daughter!! Add to that, the inescapable flashback, that shows the father playing hide-and-seek with little girl. The question seems to be totally out of context in both the situations, judging by the ’performance’ that the models deliver!! Seriously, the Reliance guys think that we are either too dumb or too emotional to fall for that kind of a stunt!
There is practically no use of talking about the camera effects and other technicalities since the conceptualisation itself leaves a lot to be desired.
I recall an ad spoof that appeared in an ad-awards function a few days ago. They did not name the product but in response to the question - ’’Papa, Kahaan hai aap?’’, all the spoof model could hear was a few broken syllables sounding like curses and finally, the sound of a toilet flush! Sarcasm not withstanding, the public opinion of late seems to have the same quality.
I can understand Ambani Sr’s vision and I can also understand Ambani Jr’s idea of capitalising on the ’parental bond’ that exists so strongly in us Indians. But this is taking it a wee bit too far and insulting our intelligence way too much. The people are not as sentimental as you think them to be, Mr. Ambani Jr.!
Finally...
The people at Reliance have tough times ahead and they have to be real careful. With the market extremely volatile and more of vultures than owls in the market, one wrong step could mean doom for them, literally.