Advertising Opinions

The three ad TV campaign for Bisleri 500 is surely among the good ones I have seen in recent times. The 500 ml pack is now a special pack with Bisleri 500 prominently shown on the label; the ad campaign aims to popularize this pack as a convenient-to-carry pack for all age groups. In a category like bottled water it is difficult to say anything new in its advertising in order to bring about any kind of product differentiation, after all how different one brand of bottled water can be from another? The only differences there could be are the shape of the bottle and the design of the label. After a point there is also a fear that the advertising of various brands might not appear distinctly different from one another in the eyes of the consumer, a consumer might remember the ad but might not be able to recall the brand. This campaign is based on the insight that many people do not carry their own drinking water and prefer to drink from someone else’s bottle, as though this was not enough...

Godrej Consumer Products Limited recently launched HIT Anti Roach Gel. A product in this category was first introduced by Godrej Hicare Ltd. some years ago, though not in the FMCG space but was part of the pest control services offered by the company; today there are other companies offering pest control services who also make use of anti cockroach gel. Use of anti cockroach gel is relatively a new concept; it is a simple, clean and by far the most effective way of getting rid of cockroaches. The gel is applied in form of small spots at places frequented by cockroaches, it attracts cockroaches that eat them and die, and other cockroaches who feed upon the infected dead cockroach also die. This is truly a revolutionary concept and I do not think there are too many players in this category in the FMCG space. HIT Anti Roach Gel is not the first anti cockroach gel to be introduced in India in the FMCG sector as claimed by Godrej Consumer Products Limited in their ad, at least not technic...

For over the last decade or so advertising in the property market in India has been becoming increasingly vibrant; I had written a post on this subject (see Selling Property Creatively ) earlier but I felt an update was necessary. In the past print ads of properties presented only bare facts that the prospective buyer needed to know and usually carried an architect’s illustration of the building, ads of this type can still be seen but increasingly several property developers have been going beyond presenting basic facts and are addressing the various other needs of today’s buyers; thus making ads increasingly creative and innovative. However some developers’ ads merely carry stock images with cleverly written copy in the name of creativity; but there are developers who realize the importance of brand building in order to secure a place in today’s competitive market.  This article is based on ads seen in Bombay, I am sure that the story will be more or less the same in the other maj...

The above press advertisement caught my eye both at Pune and Mumbai and I decided to write about it; since I was curious to know more I contacted the ad agency ICOMO Advertising (I) Pvt. Ltd. and they were kind enough to answer my queries.   Before I begin discussing the ad let me give a brief background of Faaso’s. Two young engineering-management professionals set up Faaso’s -- a chain of quick service restaurants. Currently Faaso’s has several outlets in Pune and in and around Mumbai. Fasso’s specializes in various kinds of rolls or wraps as you would choose to call them, kababs, biryanis and few other items; these items can be ordered by phone or through the internet. The founders of Faaso’s identified a gap in the market between the western style fast foods such as pizzas and burgers on one end and local Indian street food on the other. Faaso’s offers convenience and quality of the western style fast food chains and the desi flavours of Indian street food. For more on Faaso’...

I wanted to post this article at least by 5th January 2013 if not on the New Year’s Day itself, but could not manage it; anyway better late than never so here goes. I have listed below ten of my favourite ads launched in India in 2012, they are not arranged in any order of preference; I  also wrote about one ad which has left me bewildered.  1.  Sprite:  "Uske paas car hai..." and "Uske paas guitar hai..." This ad is very entertaining and high on energy, an excellent way to get the message across that one who drinks Sprite is smart and quick thinking. I like the way the main model has acted. 2.  Voltas All weather AC: Murth y This set of three ads is one of my all time favourites despite the small accuracy with regard to Cherrapunji. I had written about it in this blog, see Murthy  Knows Best . 3. Bournvita: "Aap ko hindi aati hai? Mujhe bhi aati hai" I have no comments to make for the ad speaks for itself, the ad effectively conveys the message that Bour...