Military Milton

To say that our war heros enjoy tea during a recess is something. And to say that they enjoy a hot cup of tea from a flask while on guard is something else—taking it a little too far.

Most of us know the difficulties they face at the border. Reaching supplies to the borders itself is a task sometimes. If anything, one needs to educate the public about the hardships faced by our warriors. The ad instead shows a man guarding a watchpost pouring tea out of a Milton flask and enjoying it. And to add to all this, he remembers his wife and drools over his tea! This is gross misrepresentation of reality. I am positive this ad will infuriate any military man!

This ad I guess is part of a campaign by O&M, Mumbai for Hamilton Housewares, the company that owns the Milton brand. The ad for Milton Electron Tiffin, probably the first ad in the campaign, shows army men posted in sub-zero conditions. One of them gets a tiffin box from home and he calls his friends and shares the hot home-made food with them. All this happens in the barracks, which is comepletely understandable and truly touches your heart. Most agencies fail at extending a good ad into a campaign and that is exactly what has happened here. 

King Khan’s Ye(L)pme

Who is to be blamed for a wrong association? There were days when celebrities were roped in for endorsing brands based on the values that were associated with him/her. If Kapil Dev endorsed Boost, it was because of the values associated with him, a sports star—endurance, strength, popularity, winning, likability, etc. And one likes to believe that such a deep thought process is involved even today. And, the common man is expected to think that the celebrity uses the product. For example, when Katrina Kaif endorses Lux, people believe that she uses it herself. Otherwise no one would believe what she says about the brand, right?

Now see this..

A grand tripartite crime invloving the agency, the client and Shah Rukh Khan has, in my opinion, been committed when he was roped in to be YEPME’s brand ambassador. The world knows how rich the man is. The world knows his fashion interests. And the world also knows he does not wear YEPME!! Come on, whom are you kidding??!!

YEPME is by no means a fashion brand. A quick look at their website will tell you that most of their products are priced around 600. Indian Rupees, not American Dollars. So what were the three of them thinking?! This is as good as saying Amitabh Bachchan rides on a Scooty Pep! 

Originally posted in http://www.greatlakes.edu.in/blog/ 

The Volkswagen Chameleon

We all have grown up seeing ads of 'the beetle'. Well, if you are in the western side of the globe, you would have grown up seeing 'the beetle'. Have you now seen the new 'Chameleon'? 

I don't know what the Volkswagen guys or the agency (DDB Mudra?) guys had in mind, but I'm assuming that this definitely was not their intention. Or was it?

Assuming it was not, and the idea was to show a chameleon not being able to take his eyes off the new Jetta, this should not have been the line. It should have said something like 'One cannot...'. The moment one reads 'You can't take your eyes off the New Volkswagen Jetta', he would either expect to see a human being or the car. Hope you get the drift!

Let us wait and watch how they build the campaign!

Wah OLX Wah!

I can never agree with OLXs strategy of not following a campaign methodology. It looks like there are 10 different agencies working on the account. (There probably is!!) There is no connection between one and the other. This leads to confusion in the minds of the consumers who cannot recall which brand the ad was for! The whole purpose of advertising is beaten! 

Ideally there must have been two campaigns, one targeting buyers and one calling for buyers!

But amongst all this ruckus, there is one which I simply loved! 



Great idea! Hits the TG directly and drives home the message. The ad is sure to make you empathise with the parents! Brilliantly written and brilliantly shot!