Thumbs up Nano

And there it came…I was wondering why are they not releasing a TVC for Tata Nano. It came and it came with everything it stands for.  I’ve been terribly bored of car TVCs of different car brands, which kind of look the same.  They will choose most picturesque locations,  and our ‘desirable’ car will be taking turns in slow motion or sometimes speeding on clean roads and then doing all the twisting and twirling like every other car. Oh yes, they perhaps experiment with the amount of light falling on the car and with the camera angles (left, right, up, front, rear and what not?). Yes, it’s not wrong that any car’s looks matter a lot. Also the ability to twist and twirl could make one feel how good the ride would be. But is that it? Is that’s all a car stands for? Looks and ability to move round and round is all what one would use to woo a customer?

I was bored with all these…In between came one ad which was different and I loved watching it. That was Tata Manza. More about it, later. Let’s first talk about Tata Nano…Wow!What an ad. I am sure you too would have noticed how much Tata Nano’s ad is close to what the brand represents. Did u see the one in which girl is waiting for the Nano to arrive in the village? This girl is waiting keenly for the new Nano to come. She’s on peak of her patience and asks her grandma, “when will it come?” The moment she gets a reply from grandma, she sees the Nano coming. She’s so sure that it’s their car because nobody else in the village seems to haves one. On the way, somebody says to the driver, “the road is rough ahead”. And then the vehicle is shown passing from there easily. Then, this watchman sees and says, “Its big”. The Nano reaches home and this girl oozing with happiness comes down and sees the car. She gives a look to the car as if she’s kissing it with her sight. As if they have been separated for long. As if she was dreaming about it for years. There in her eyes one could see what Nano stands for. It stands for all the hopes and dreams that a middle class family has about owning a car. What a clarity of thought the ad-maker had while ideating for the ad.

I have been impressed with such clarity once earlier. And that was Mahindra Scorpio’s ad. Remember the one in which a lady is shown walking in a desert with two glasses? She puts a glass in the sand, covers the entire glass with sand leaving just the top portion open. And then they show a golf ball reaching there. The very next moment the mighty Scorpro comes there flying and only then a viewer understands how much far the ball would have been hit from. The Scorpio owner would have hit it from far and travelled the distance in his Mighty SUV. The Scorpio comes flying and lands in style. The well dressed young gentleman comes out. Who could this person be? Must be a rich, tough and outgoing  person. Somebody who lives in style and possess sporty things. See, how clear the ad delineates who’s the target audience.

The Nano’s second ad also is so clear (the one in which couple is shown teasing each other on a traffic light). Tata has gifted this one lakh Rupees car to Indian public. The middle class man’s dreams have got fulfilled and that’s where they have hit in their ads too. Lately, Tata has been giving good ads you see. Tata Manza’s ad ,plus the music in it is one of my favorites. Tata Manza’s ad would have been just another addition to the boring, regular ‘twist and twirl’ ads. But just one insight made this ad, one great ad. That is insight is, ‘A car surely is fun to ride if the owner likes to drive it himself and not hands over the job to a driver’. They have a point. And see how beautifully they have executed their idea. The car does ALL the twisting & twirling but the person at the back is unaffected. He’s in fact enjoying his newspaper!!!

I wish other brands learn something from Tata’s and may be from Maruti  Suzuki too (Maruti after their Swift ad have been not so great. I am keeping aside their latest ad for company as a whole-‘For a country obsessed with mileage’. That is just awesome).  I don’t know what happened to them after Swift. Did u see their Estilo’s ad? And the Ritz? I didn’t like them at all. Well, let’s not end it at what I did not like. Let’s end it on a positive note . So, thumbs-up for you Nano!!!

Vodafone 3G ad-How will it look like?

I have been quite intrigued about something lately. And that is, the ongoing 3G hype in the market. Two prominent players in telecom industry have rolled out their 3G services(BSNL and Airtel). I have seen the TVC for airtel. What intrigues me is how Vodafone’s 3G ad would look like. Personally, I have been a fan of Vodafone’s ad for of course the high brand recall they have brought for Vodafone. And for the strength they have added to Vodafone as a brand. The brand managers and the marketers behind Vodafone have surely done a wonderful job. Remember, how did Vodafone enter the Indian market? Yes, by acquiring Hutch. To my surprise, Vodafone easily found space in hearts of the ‘junta’ which used to identify Hutch with the famous Dog (so much so that even Vodafone had to use the dog in the initial ads). Vodafone has evolved in India and has slowly and intelligently moved out of (got rid of) the Hutch image. According to me, there are no traces of hutch in the Vodafone brand fabric now.

Anyhow, let’s come back to the primary topic. So, let’s try figuring out how would Vodafone’s 3G ad look like? Well, can you tell me a few fundamental things which are inherent in every Vodafone ad? I asked the same question to a few friends. The answers varied from being ‘simple’ and ‘sensible’ to ‘nostalgic’. I added one essential thing to the list. The one thing that remains fundamental to all Vodafone ads is their Juvenile nature. You doubt what I say? Just recall the ad from the time when Vodafone entered the Indian market.  In early days it came with ‘happy to help’ campaign. The one in which ‘small’ cute girl with curly hair was always happy to be helped by the dog. Then came the much talked about, everybody’s favorite zoo-zoo ads. By the way, what were zoo-zoos? In a layman’s language, zoo-zoos are cartoons or derivatives of cartoons. Who are cartoons meant for? Surely, kids. If I remember it right then Vodafone’s Blackberry ad was the first ad which showed adult men & women in it. But here too, the Vodafone did not drop it’s ‘juvenile/childish’ way of presenting things. The song (we are the blackberry boys), the tune, the mood, the way the blackberry boys danced, all in a way had child-element in it.

And how could we forget the latest series of ‘Vodafone-delight’ ads. The ads based on the small, beautiful insights carefully handpicked from our lives (the girl giving more number of chocolates to her best friend/keeping a seat next to her for her friend/slowing down the bicycle for giving lift to her closest friend). The latest series of ads ALSO have the kids-element in them. The Vodafone just can’t lose this juvenile-component in their ads. 

The question now is, what would Vodafone possibly say when the most coveted of the positioning has been occupied by other brands. Consider the brands talking about wireless broadband, 3G sticks etc. MTS and TATA photon have already occupied the ‘fast/fastest’ speed positioning. MTS has smartly exaggerated the idea so much so that it shows the job seeker typing in something and then flying with his chair, breaking all the walls and the windows in the way, and landing directly to the desk of recruiter with his CV.  

Airtel chose its position smartly while launching 3G. It chose to be out of the ‘race’ of claiming ‘I am the fastest’. 3G is about faster data transmission, video calls etc. etc. Airtel spoke about ‘carrying your entertainment everywhere’. This is such a different pitch than claiming faster internet, but yet so strong. The ads also have been beautifully designed. One among the two released till now is the ‘street performer’ ad. In this, the guy in the crowded market is performing so well, that this passerby girl can’t stop looking at him though she appears to be expected elsewhere. After watching him for a while, she moves on (with a very slight sorry feeling of missing the street performer). The boy follows the girl and starts dancing around her (the boy symbolizes the girl’s entertainment here). Then comes the voiceover, “aapka entertainment rahega hamesha apke saath… dil jo chahe paas laye, airtel” .

The other ad with the two lovers about to get separated is the favorite of one of my friend called ‘Tunga’. The lovers get separated but are not separated ever. They find each other around as soon as they turn after bidding goodbye (the message being they are always connected through video calls). Then the voiceover ‘hamari dunia mien aap apno se kabhi juda na hongay , dil jo chahe paas laye, airtel’. What a wonderful choice of positioning. Airtel is talking about the customer being surrounded in ‘their 3G world’. I have so much to say about airtel’s choice. But the question which haunts me again and again is what would Vodafone choose to do? It would be so interesting to watch. Considering the entire scenario, I made one entire campaign for Vodafone and presented it in front of my friends. Of course I ain’t insane and keep doing this all the time. I was having chat with one of my friend’s called Dhurjati about our careers. One thing led to another and I had to make this imaginary campaign for Vodafone. 

You of course might be thinking, I have said so much yet said nothing about how would Vodafone’s ad look like(and I appeared to be talking as if I am gonna tell what EXACTLY it will be). Sorry folks, I  ain’t that big of champ. I can just tell you how it will not look like. And the fact is Vodafone’s ad will not be anywhere close to the ‘I am the fastest’ positioning. More about ‘my’ campaign for Vodafone later (probably). By the way, you are welcome to comment if you have any feeling about how Vodafone’s 3G ad will look like.