That India is a cricket crazy nation is stating the obvious. Major cricketing events like the World Cup attract record Television audiences. These events are like an advertiser’s dream. You may have noticed that the major brands plan their big bang advertising campaigns around such events.
If events like World Cup or a bilateral one day series are an advertiser’s dream, IPL would be paradise for them. One, the events spans over almost two months. Two, no risk of India getting knocked out and viewers losing interest! Three, the slam dunk colourful format ensures plenty of leeway for plugging your brands (strategic time outs, DLF maximums, Citi moments and Karbon Kamaal catches, Vodafone star …)
Besides being a cricket fan, I am an old student of marketing. I have during the past IPL seasons looked forward to viewing the latest advertising campaigns.
One of the brands that never lets us down has been Vodafone (the advertisements my friend, I am not talking about the actual product). You might remember Cheeka the pug during Vodafone’s previous avatar as Hutch. During IPL 2 they came out with the ZooZoo ads which were a big hit. They innovated each year thereafter (with and without the ZooZoo concept) managing to wow the audience and at the same time ensuring brand recall.
This season however Vodafone seem to have a hit a low. The first time I watched the ‘tele match’ style ad which on purpose has been voiced over by Javed Jaffrey-ish voice, I was partially interested. Now after watching it like almost after every over, it’s irritating to say the least! At least that’s how I felt.
Idea in the past has been another brand full of ‘ideas’. The ‘What an Idea Sirji’ campaign with a major star (Abhisekh Bachan) has always been intelligent and interesting. However this year, the addition of the ‘after life’ angle and the somewhat stale jokes/puns has not gone down too well with me. At least the Idea ads are not as obnoxious as the Vodafone ones.
The saving grace has been the simple (dancing girl) bijli ko bachaao ad from Havell’s. Don’t know what’s special about it – a simple setting and an even simpler line - yet it never fails to bring a smile each time it is played out.
When I watch the Vodafone ads I am tempted to shout out ‘Viewer, viewer – viewer ko bachaao’!
If events like World Cup or a bilateral one day series are an advertiser’s dream, IPL would be paradise for them. One, the events spans over almost two months. Two, no risk of India getting knocked out and viewers losing interest! Three, the slam dunk colourful format ensures plenty of leeway for plugging your brands (strategic time outs, DLF maximums, Citi moments and Karbon Kamaal catches, Vodafone star …)
Besides being a cricket fan, I am an old student of marketing. I have during the past IPL seasons looked forward to viewing the latest advertising campaigns.
One of the brands that never lets us down has been Vodafone (the advertisements my friend, I am not talking about the actual product). You might remember Cheeka the pug during Vodafone’s previous avatar as Hutch. During IPL 2 they came out with the ZooZoo ads which were a big hit. They innovated each year thereafter (with and without the ZooZoo concept) managing to wow the audience and at the same time ensuring brand recall.
This season however Vodafone seem to have a hit a low. The first time I watched the ‘tele match’ style ad which on purpose has been voiced over by Javed Jaffrey-ish voice, I was partially interested. Now after watching it like almost after every over, it’s irritating to say the least! At least that’s how I felt.
Idea in the past has been another brand full of ‘ideas’. The ‘What an Idea Sirji’ campaign with a major star (Abhisekh Bachan) has always been intelligent and interesting. However this year, the addition of the ‘after life’ angle and the somewhat stale jokes/puns has not gone down too well with me. At least the Idea ads are not as obnoxious as the Vodafone ones.
The saving grace has been the simple (dancing girl) bijli ko bachaao ad from Havell’s. Don’t know what’s special about it – a simple setting and an even simpler line - yet it never fails to bring a smile each time it is played out.
When I watch the Vodafone ads I am tempted to shout out ‘Viewer, viewer – viewer ko bachaao’!
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