Know Thy Breaks
Sexy Ads
Say Cheese- Miss Universe Is Taking Your Order
May 30th
Tag line: NA
Client: Pizza Hut
Brand: Cheesy Bites
Creative Agency: JWT
Senior VP: Rohit Ohri
Director: Kunal Kapoor
Production House: AdFilmvalas
Duration: 30 secs
Year: 2009
Story: The ad film opens in a Pizza Hut restaurant with a teenage boy having a dinner with his friends and placing an order for the new Cheesy Bites pizza. To his surprise, his server turns out to be the sizzling Lara Dutta, dressed in a sassy red outfit paired with red boots. Here Dutta with her actions reiterates the ‘twist it, pull it, pop it’ positioning of this new launch.
Message: With 22 twist-able, pull- able, pop- able, cheese-filled bites that form the pull-apart crust, Cheesy Bites is a pizza to have loads of fun with. As Cheesy Bites is a fun pizza, therefore a fun campaign to promote it in India. The ad internationally has been a big hit so it gives it a ‘desi twist’ with Lara, who brought a lot of energy, freshness and a fun element to the campaign. (****)
Freshness: The film’s original version featuring Jessica Simpson launched in 2006 was a huge hit, that’s why, perhaps, JWT simply just Indianized that American campaign for Cheesy Bites. Revealed that, it’s not so ‘cheesy’ or stale at least for most of the audience who don’t know this. Also because it has Lara Dutta in a red hot avatar who’s not done much endorsements before. In a few last shots she’s been tactically shown using the mischievous lure of her two of the best assets… hey! I’m referring to the eyes & lips. So the teens were bound to go slurp… of course for the hot Pizza I mean! This cheesy and witty TVC brings alive the ‘Twist, Pull, Pop’ fun element in the pizza. (***)
Verdict: The ad romances well each of the three playful features of the brand making a spicier, naughtier brand. This tongue-in-cheek script is executed fairly to give it a humourous edge maintaining the balance between the product & its brand ambassador. Thus it guarantees a good recall with viewers with its spunky, enjoyable & fun approach. The essence of the campaign and the range is captured by the line ‘Twist, Pull, Pop’.
Every Bite Makes Her Horny
May 5th
Tag line: Baahar se kuchh, Andar se kuchh aur
Client: Britannia Industries Limited
Brand: Britannia Bourbon
Creative Agency: McCann Erickson
National Creative Director: Prasoon Joshi
Creative Head: Anil Thomas
Art Director: Ratish Subramaniam
Director: Anurag Basu
Production House: Red Ice Productions
Duration: 50 secs
Year: 2009
Story: Hoping to strengthen its appeal with the youth, which it couldn’t boast of until now, Britannia is bringing one of its oldest biscuit brands to the fore with an eye on the youth. Its very first TVC shows a girl who wants to watch a movie with boyfriend, the competition is a match on TV and his friends… but she drives them away in a way that is very clever. The audience may find this kind of a cleverness very aspirational, cool and also funny.
Target Audience Connect: ‘Youth’ seek independence, believe in self-centered satiation, want brands that enhance their lifestyle and also get some flaunt value from the brand. The tag line, ‘Baahar se kuchh, andar se kuchh aur’, implies the surprising resourcefulness of youth with the biscuit’s characteristics of chocolate sandwiched between biscuits. Bourbon, through the ad, becomes a partner in their pranks. (***)
Sex Appeal: The objective is to romance every aspect of the brand & the need is for a spicier, naughtier brand that would ooze mystery. This sensitive script is executed fairly to give it a humourous edge without denigrating the woman. The girl is quite a good choice as she played along, and ensured that her beau did drive his friends out of the house, out of his own accord. Saap bhi mara, aur lathi bhi na tooti. (**)
Freshness: It is a bit disconcerting to see moaning women all over TV these days, what with the male deodorant category having hit upon one big, clichéd idea ‘use this and the women will salivate’. So here’s more moaning on TV, this time for chocolates, I guess. It is a nice commercial in terms of the creative idea, but not that lucrative. For chocolate biscuits, traditionally, it has always been about sensual pleasure for the taste buds, and this ad sticks to tradition. (*)
Verdict: After its new package colours and size, Britannia Bourbon has come out with a new tongue-in-cheek ad that, shorn of its product shots, would have made it hard to guess it is for a biscuit. It has no concern for what one assumes is the value/core of Bourbon biscuits. I wonder if it is about taste at all. Or is it about a clever young girl who pretends that the taste is so sensuous? And if she is pretending, then is the advertiser trying to imply that it’s not such a great taste?
Umm! Woww! Pornaliciously Yum!!
May 4th
Tag line: Really Thick, Really Tasty
Client: KFC
Brand: Krushers
Creative Agency: O&M
Creative Director: Ajay Gahlaut
Creative Team: Shailender Mahajan, Divya Bhatia
Production House:Nirvana Films
Duration: 35 secs
Year: 2009
Story: In an innocuous restaurant setting… KFC of course— there’s a PYT busy making puckering sounds much to the confuzzlement of the gentleman sitting at the next table. He finally realizes that no, the girl is not coming onto him, but rather relishing her Krushers, because she is so lost in savouring the taste that she is oblivious to the sounds she is making. The premise is that drinking Krushers makes women seem all flirty, confusing the men around them. 
Message: The Krushers ‘Pucker’ TVC tries to show that the multiple taste explosions, a sensuous unique combination of chocolate, cookie bits, coffee, dairy and ice make the person eating it get lost in it. Every ingredient of such product needs to be felt through the film. And thus, the ad-makers have romanced the ingredients. (****)
Execution: The high point of the TVC lies in its execution. The film rides on extremely short shots throughout. What sets this film apart is the way a number of such detailed singular shots of things have been edited and put together to make sense, along with a unique soundtrack– a sound that wasn’t literal, yet something one can ‘sense’. (****)
Sex Appeal: Food (especially cocoa-based) has often been associated with both the sensuous and the sensual. Here also, things have been done on a very sensory level, keeping a fine balance, so that the film borders on temptation, rather than getting saturated with sexual innuendos. It takes enjoyment to an all new level where one is so lost in taste that the mind is unaware of what the body is doing. (***)
Freshness: The thing about this ad is that it wasn’t unusually different. A premise somewhat similar to a Five Star TVC, which had the guy on a bench eating a five star and getting lost in the taste, becoming easy prey for nimble-fingered thieves. In a strange way, this ad’s KLPD moment is also too close to comfort to the old 96’s classic Ericsson mobile, ‘One Black Coffee please’. So the idea itself didn’t come as a surprise and the execution was its only saving grace. It’s perhaps copied from the Australian KFC ad made by O&M Sydney. Though similar routes have been used before internationally, this was something different for the Indian market. (***)
Verdict: There’ve been cold drinks… there are tasty fruit drinks. And then, there’s the really thick & really tasty Krushers. ‘Product is the king’ – an emphasis on the ingredients by the close up detailing of ‘Krushers’ will make us go and grab one and slurp. There’s hardly anything on the story front, but all said and done, the TVC will definitely stay in the mind & coax consumers to give it a try.
Little Nice, Little Naughty
May 3rd
Tag line: Thodi Shararat, Thodi Sharafat
Client: Frito Lay
Brand: Aliva Crackers
Creative Agency: JWT
Creative Director: Soumitra Karnik
Creative Team: Sachin Das Burma, Amish Sabharwal, Kunal Gaur
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Production House: Blue Sky Mind Communications
Duration: 40 secs
Year: 2009
Story: The Aliva ad is a fun commercial highlighting the light and playful interaction between a young couple & tries linking it to the product which has the sharafat of wheat and daal and the shararat of chatpate flavous. It showcases a progressive young Indian woman who is confident, fun and an individual in her own right while nurturing and taking care of the needs of her young family.
Message: The story gets given away when the wife opens the cupboard and the pack is shown. The suspense could have been maintained till the end. The brand should never have been revealed till after the guy burst in and asked, ‘Kaun Hai?’ It’s like giving away the punch line of a joke in the middle and still expecting the joke to work as hard.
The tag line is also nothing to talk about compared to Lay’s earlier campaign ‘No one can eat just one’ or Bingo’s ‘No Confusion, Great Combination’. The launch ad also does not highlight the core positioning of a healthy snack. There was too much focus on the plot rather than the brand. (**)
Freshness: We have seen this theme earlier if not for a snack brand then for some other category. If the brand talks about being chatpata, it fails to show that in the TVC. The launch ad is nothing great to talk about. The theme is not new and there is no big idea. The brand could have come out with some clutter breaking stuff but chose to go for a lousy also-ran commercial. (*)
Sex Appeal: No chemistry exists between the guy and Chitrangada. The dubbing’s all flat especially on the guy’s side. The ‘cute factor’ quite vital to this category is just missed. Also, an aside, it is tough to assume that any man with a beautiful wife like Chitrangada Singh would be whiling time away at the office. And it’s like watching a badly executed play with amateur actors. (*)
Verdict: As its positioning, Aliva has chosen the ‘taste with health’ combination that many food brands are adopting now. When we have commercials like those for Bingo chips happening in and around the category, there’s really no excuse for marketers and advertisers to do stuff like this. It is boring, hopelessly outdated and just not funny. However, it may make better sense to find a new, more compelling argument for the brand. Why harp about the ‘chatpata‘ taste (fast becoming synonymous with mischief), with all the ideas that lie unexplored.
Sync & Synonymy of Size Zero
Apr 26th
Tag line: The New Size Zero. VAIO X.
Client: Sony Corp
Creative Agency: JWT
Creative Team: NA
Production House: Good Morning Films
Duration: 30 secs
Year: 2009
The new ad campaign for the ultra-slim Sony VAIO X laptop features Kareena Kapoor and highlights the laptop’s sleekness by referring to it as the new size zero. In the TVC Kapoor carries the Vaio X, while the commuters envy the laptop’s, and her, size zero. The ad is targeted at the young working population, which demands efficiency, portability, easy usability and luxury.
I think it works better than most celebrity campaigns. While the association has nothing to do with the character Kareena has played and everything to do with the physical attributes of being ultra slim, elegant and sexy, to my mind the fit is really good. It also manages to portray itself as an aspirational product, by associating with a Bollywood A-star. Had they used a regular model, the ad may not have worked. With the aspect of size zero, there is a clear connect with the ambassador, unlike, say, a SRK & Compaq; Vidya Balan & Toshiba; or even a Hrithik Roshan & Acer.
The words ‘X’ & ‘X Factor’ have been repeatedly used in mass media in India now for making the customers feel closer to their sexual fantasies. However when it comes to educated customers who want to own a PC, the ad goes enough to grab the eyeballs. The product placement is in sync with the persona of the actress. The copy of the ad ‘the new size zero Vaio X’ strongly reinforces the USP of the product i.e.’ its slim look. So the ad scores three stars (***) out of five for the youth & (sex) appeal of the brand ambassador.
It’s for the first time that Sony has used a brand ambassador for its product range in India. Sony’s products are celebrities in themselves. But this time, the qualities of Vaio X i.e., slim, stylish and sexy, are also synonyms to Kareena Kapoor, whose zero figure is still talk of the town. I will say this is the most evenly matched product and brand ambassador in the recent times.
