Now, let me first describe the ad as it went through. It was an Advertising Commercial for the most successful car brand in India - Maruti Suzuki. It shows a typical large gathering of a family most probably for a family function. The main characters are a mom, an infant kid, around 4-5 months old and some other relatives. The Advertising Commercial goes as follows: The mom is busy with some work, and the infant kid is somewhere away from her, so that she can see her from a distance, but since she is busy with the work, she is unable to attend to her. The Advertising Commercial starts with showing the mom busy with work and the baby starts crying. So, the mom signals another relative (a lady) to attend the kid. Unfortunately, the kid continues to cry. The lady then passes on the kid to the kid's father (from the gestures between the kid's mom and the male person in the ad, it is apparent that he is the kid's father), but no success. The cycle continues and the kid is passed on from one person or relative to the other (uncle, aunty, grandfather, grandma, etc.) They all try all methods including scolding, singing, etc., but the kid doesnt get quite. At last the kid reaches the mom and there he is happily playing again.
The message for the Advertising Commercial comes up on screen: Always take your Maruti Car to the Maruti Authorized Service Network.
The ad message is clear- Maruti wants all its customers to utilize the services of its own dealer and service networks, instead of the customers going to other brand services or going to a road side un-branded garage.
Now personally, my first impression after watching this Advertising Campaign was It is a Good Advertising Commercial. However, immediately came a reply from other person - kya bakwas commercial hai?.
Before we get into the details, let's observe some good and bad points of this Advertising Commercial :
Good:
- The theme chosen is realistic - Indian Family, Function, everyone is busy, everyone trying a hand to pacify the kid. So the ad does generate a lot of interest
- The timeline of ad is perfect - Nobody has been focussed for a longer time. It straightaway gets to the main point - to pacify the kid
- There is a variety of methods included - someone dancing, singing, making faces, toys and even scolding - it all looks perfect
- Finally, when the kid reaches the mom, he is happy - everyone wonders what's happening, and there comes the Advertising Commercial Punchline conveying the message.
Before we get into the bad part, Just wanted to mention the reaction of others who saw the ad with me. We have a 5 months old baby at my home, and many family members keep him busy and happy, so it was a real life scenario for us. Moreover, mom & dad leave the kid at home in others care, if they have to go out, and the kid stays happily - something contrary to what was shown in the Advertising Commercial. What other members differed were the following points (& the inference that can be derived):
- Basically, it's a problem of the kid that he is not happy with other family members. So the kid is at fault - basically meaning that the car is not easy to get repaired if there are any problems, hence its a problem with the car itself.
- None of the other family members were able to control the kid - It is true that all family members cannot repair (or even drive a car), but what has that to do with going to the authorized service network?
- Maruti is known for having the biggest network of service stations across the country for car repair and services. But shouldn't it be easy to fix the problems of the car by not any Tom, Dick & Harry from a road side garage, but atleast by some known, reliable garages (like the relatives)
Overall, this advertisement campaign appears to be good to me (personal thoughts), but as pointed above, it may be taken in a completely different way by someone else. Remember, our is a country that gives a very high regard to family relations - so anything can be interpreted in any way.
No comments:
Post a Comment