Advertising Opinions

Shilpi Bose, my co-blogger, emphasizes the importance of consumer insights in advertising campaigns in this post. While writing about the current Tanishq Diamonds she also recalls the 'Zara Sa Rin' campaign which was one of the most successful ad campaigns of the early nineties. Aroop Bose No mixing of diamonds                               Zara Sa Rin I like the latest Tanishq commercial, why? Though I do not much care for celebrity endorsements, this one probably features Amitabh and Jaya together in a commercial for the first time. Besides I like the interesting use of consumer insight. Amitabh Bachchan while presenting his wife with a diamond necklace informs her that there are different qualities of diamonds. Through the ensuing dialogue the commercial conveys to the target audience that there is no mixing of diamonds in Tanishq’s diamond jewellery. This reminded me of what a friend –an estate agent- once told me while we were a cruising along Bandra’s (a suburb of Bombay)

The right consumer insight can lead to great and memorable advertising campaigns. Companies spend large amounts of money on market research to learn consumer behaviour and gain insights that would enable them to build a campaign around it. Whenever I see the recent TV commercial of VIP Skybag I cannot help but wonder as to what could have been the insight on which the ad was based. The ad appears to inspire the target audience to bring about a change in their lives but it is done in a bizarre way. The message in this ad is to emphasize that VIP Skybags are stylish and can bring a change in the user’s attitude, you become more stylish and confident and as a result of which people admire you. The underlying message makes sense but the manner in which it was conveyed, that is the creative, is rather difficult to digest. Johnny the bear transforming into John Abraham, the actor – I wonder what made the agency think of such a script. What does the Johnny the bear represent? Does he repr