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Absolut Advertising

Which ads are like to keep the As Asia 2003 crowd busy? Some partly educated guesses.

Jaipur: Crowning creativity

As adfolk of assorted stripes and gripes converge on Jaipur, it might pay to hazard a few guesses on which Indian ads are likely to be the focus of attention.

On such occasions, the safe thing to do is to showcase some of the universal-appeal ads that have been crafted locally. The stuff that can be understood -- at least in terms of the proposition -- without any need of a market context. The Cannes winners would be the obvious ones in this category. So bring 'em on.

But, as Pepsi fans will say, playing safe is not the idea of advertising, at least not creative advertising. You'd rather have a campaign die bold than live to see the light of day whimpering. So once the palace formalities are done, expect a lot of 'whaatz ups' around the place. The very campaign for Ad Asia 2003 is likely to be in the air. This makes sense. The challenge of advertising, true to its original logic, is to translate palace talk into something the masses can get. And act upon.

Of course, no matter how much fun it seems, advertising is about problem-solving. Like any other business contingency. Except that the tool here is strategic communication rather than any of the other sort of brainwork executives use to get themselves out of sticky situations. This is borne out by the fact that the classic problem-solution format remains critical to advertising potency. Formulaic? Sure, but the difference in efficacy is made by the creative translation. Your ad can either go completely unnoticed, or, like LG's teary-eyed TV proposition, secure long-lasting space for the brand in consumer heartspace.

Anyhow, whatever it is, strategy formulation requires a lot of talk, talk, talk. Not as in words spoken, but words meant. Airtel's 'Express Yourself' could be another campaign that runs as a sort of theme.

Noise levels might be high, but adfolk might still want to keep their ears super-sensitive... pricked up to catch even the softest sound, a la Daikin's AC commercial. The term 'AC', though, might just mean 'AC Black' to a lot of people. This would be a tribute to the latest AC Black whisky commercial, the 'voodoo tumblers' spot that has caught wide attention but still needs some tweaking (towards the end) to get itself some acclaim.

In the arena of 'quantum dances' (some physics thing that makes a big deal about randomness in the universe), however, Idea's song SMS spot could perhaps have been even more interesting -- with a more provocatively timed soundtrack.

Some commercials might make an appearance just to indicate the extent to which ideas are zipping around the industry. Pears' 'hidden mischief' spot, for instance, with its inky tea cup. This campaign is more coherent that it may seem at first.

Whether the same can be said about Unilever's Fair & Lovely, India's top fairness cream, though, is a question worth pondering -- at least in terms of overall brand strategy. The brand has two distinct spots on air (admittedly for two different skin-shade variants), one encouraging its ambitious young female target to bust job barriers, and the other offering a prophylactic against an inferiority complex. Other than those two, there's also an ayurvedic variant, the ad for which is straight out of Sanskrit school. Whoaah --- whaatz up? Which of these ads is doing a better job of selling? Was the barrier-buster crafted just for ivory-tower critics?

If the company's reported results in the newspapers are accurate, Fair & Lovely is flying off shopshelves across the country like hot buns. Kwality-Walls' family sundaes, on balance, are not -- despite the smart advertising strategy of selling the audience a particular time slot as ice-cream time.

Well, maybe it's all in matching the strategic brilliance with creative wizardry. The stuff that smashes through. The 'thanda and lightning' of advertising that cannot be ignored. The stuff that has fizz of its own.

Throw people into a blazing desert for an outbreak, and what do they crave? There, you have the answer. A problem-solver. A chill-pill in a bottle more than a tub. Ask around. The word 'thanda' ('cold' in Hindi literally) means Coca-Cola more than ice-cream.

And 'Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola' ('Cold means Coca-Cola') is the Indian market's campaign of the year, too. Spunky, riveting and absolutely single-minded (yeah, actually, if you think about it), this extended campaign has had a prolonged buzz about it. Deservedly so. It has relevance. Originality. And impact. R.O.I.

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