My Favourite 2011 Ads

In this post I would like to briefly discuss my favourite ads of the year 2011:

• Policybazar.com

• Airtel
• Bournville
• Tata Sky – Poochneme kya jata hai
• Volkswagen – Metallic press ad
• Tanishq – Mr. & Mrs. Bachchan

• Greenply Laminates – Always Hoyenga

 I have also given links to our earlier posts or to the relevant TV commercials, so read on ...

Policybazar.com

This is a very entertaining and humourous TV commercial. It shows a man being turned into an ullu or owl quite literally. What I like most in the ad is the manner in which the voice-over says “Ullu banna koi achchi baat to hai nahin…” (Becoming an owl is not really a good thing). Ullu banna is a Hindi phrase meaning getting fooled or cheated. Humour has been used very effectively to convey the message that one needs to do a proper study before buying an insurance policy and Policybazar.com will help you do that. Link to the ad Policy Bazar Ad - Ullu Campaign

 

Airtel

 This TV commercial has an energizing quality and truly stands out in the clutter; Airtel must carry on with this campaign for sufficient length of time to exploit it to the maximum and not give it up for some other creative idea too soon. The lyrics are really interesting. For more read my post Airtel - We all need friends.. What I haven’t mentioned in my post is that I like the selection of the voice for the jingle, not because it is a good voice but because it is very ordinary voice; it is certainly not a trained singer’s voice (unless the singer is faking it) and therefore it suits a common college student.  

Bournville

  

The purpose of this TV campaign is to draw attention of the consumer regarding the superiority of Bournville over ordinary chocolates; it also gives ‘the reason why’ rather effectively. Read what Shilpi Bose has to say in her post I Have Earned A Bournville.

Tata Sky – Poochneme kya jata hai

This is a three ad TV campaign; these ads have the ability to grab attention, arouse curiosity, and engage the viewer by entertaining and conveying the advertising message very effectively. These ads have been very well executed and I admire the actors. For more read my post Tata Sky – PoochnemeKya Jata Hai.

Volkswagen – Metallic press ad

The press ad was truly attention grabbing. Volkswagen created a sensation last year with the ‘Talking Newspaper’ and now this metallic press ad. I have written about this in my post Metallic Press Advertisement. Wonder what innovation we might in 2012.

Tanishq – Mr. & Mrs. Bachchan

I like this ad not because Mr. & Mrs. Bachchan have acted well but because the ad makes good use of consumer insight, for more read the post Effective Use of ConsumerInsight.

 

 

 

 Greenply Laminates – Always Hoyenga

Very entertaining TV commercial, it uses entertainment and humour to emphasize the product benefit – durability. Even in the past Greenply used humour very effectively in their ads. Link to the commercial Always Hoyenga Greenply TVC 2011.

 

 

I am tempted to also make a mention about some of the ads I did not like or found them rather bizarre or in bad taste.

 

Stop Not Golz

I do not have any idea how the product tastes but the TV commercial is certainly in very bad taste. What do have to say when an ad makes fun of the Indian soldier? The ad treats him as though he is some kind of a crackpot who sacrifices his life not for his country but for the product Stop Not Golz. Read my post Stop This Stupidity.

TVS Wego

This one is truly bizarre, when I saw this TV commercial I thought that the ad agency working on it had run out of creative ideas, I had also written a post on this – Strange Gimmicks To Be Different. However there are people who do not seem to share my view. While watching the TV programme All About Ads recently I learnt that the ad has received NDTV Car & Bike Award. The judges for the award R. Balki, Chairman & CEO, Lowe and Agnello Dias of Taproot India actually found the ad very creative. When appointing judges for advertising awards it is high time organizers should consider appointing non-advertising people also on their jury, this will give a very different point of view after all ad agency creative people can get stuck in a certain way of thinking and may not be aware that they are actually patting each others’ backs.     

VIP Skybags – John Abraham

I have watched this ad for over a hundred times but could never understand how a bear could turn into John Abraham. I know this not to be taken literally but the story simply does not make sense whichever way you look at it. But I think an ad like this will certainly appeal to children. Read my post VIP Skybags – Johnny The Bear.

Looking forward to seeing some good work in 2012.