Campaign India Team
Jul 25, 2016

Creative Critique: Ad reviews of the week 11 to 18 July 2016

Cheil's Vijay Simha and Campaign's Gokul Krishnamoorthy review ads from the week (11-18 July), while Population First's Dr AL Sharada scans them through a gender lens

Creative Critique: Ad reviews of the week 11 to 18 July 2016

Vijay Simha (VS): Deeply insightful and a treat to watch. Reminds me of ‘Wheelchair Basketball’ which I had done for Mother Dairy Chillz, seven years back.
 
Gender Sensitivity Score (GSS): NA
 
Gokul Krishnamoorthy (GK): A special kind of friendship is celebrated in this film for a product called ‘Friendship Bucket’. We simply loved the nuance: celebrating the differences that make a friendship special. And for keeping it light while dealing with the differently abled. Will win hearts, if not awards.
 
GSS: NA
 
Dr AL Sharada (ALS): Diversity and inclusiveness seem to be getting more space in advertising. The ad is appealing and speaks of diversity in a very subtle fashion. However, it is seen that often the clientele of the multinational food joints are men or men and women together..I wonder why we do not have more ads showing single women accessing public spaces.
 
GSS: 5. Gender neutral. 
 

VS: Very entertaining campaign for a very low-involvement category. However, ‘son’ and ‘sister’ films pale in comparison to ‘age’.
 
GSS: NA
 
GK: Brilliant use of humour to say ‘keep what’s important to you – personally – safe’.  We have come to expect this of the brand, and this is what helps Godrej Security Services stay head and shoulders above the rest in the category.
 
GSS: 4. Three films here, and one of them rides piggyback on the ‘women drivers are a disaster’ cliche. Another shows a woman hiding her passport to hide her age – I’m not taking away points for that one though.
 
ALS: An amusing ad though very much cliched in its storyline, which shows a woman hiding her age in the safe!
 
GSS: 4
 

VS: Belaboured story-telling is a wasted opportunity. The brand's role in the stories is tenuous. That the brand has been around for long is relegated to a voiceover.
 
GSS: NA. 
 
GK: ‘Paani ka pressure hum lete hain’ is a pun that serves two purposes, arguably well. The radio campaign comes to life this time on screen. Amazingly apt voice over; loved the location of the rural film, too. But the films fail to move the viewer. 
 
GSS: NA
 
ALS: It is  true that women bear the brunt of water woes but the exaggerated portrayal of a woman in full make up and jewelry trudging miles and miles of parched land unfortunately tends to trivialise the issue.
 
GSS: 4
 

VS: This is one of those rare montage films that touches you deeply. Role of the product/brand is integral to the story and it makes the point quite powerfully.
 
GSS: NA
 
GK: Rebels without a cause are less potent than rebels with one and this film proves that. In this case, the fight is against Angrezpanti, which has a nice ring to it, not to forget the perfect product proposition fit. Powerful manifestation of ‘Nuts. Guts. Glory.’
 
GSS: NA
 
ALS: Yet another ad that talks of diversity...linguistic diversity this time.  
 
GSS: 5. Gender neutral.
 

VS: After Cadbury's it's BB that's beginning to own the festive advertising space. High social relevance makes it sweeter!
 
GSS: NA 
 
GK: The paperless phatakas of last year have been followed up with this one, helping the retailer own the festive spirit, irrespective of the festival. This one tugs deep with the ‘month/festival of righteousness’ (Neki ka maheena) thought – with nothing more than a slice of a day in the life of someone fasting during the holy month. One could argue that a doctor helping a patient about to deliver was a tad predictable, but it works beautifully.  
 
GSS: 6
 
ALS: Would it have made a big difference to the ad if a male gynaecologist is shown instead of a female? While the ad deserves appreciation for portraying a woman as a successful and committed medical professional, it could have gone a step further and broken gender stereotyping of professions that happens in our society by featuring a male gynaecologist.  
 
GSS: 6
 

VS: Slightly unreal but quirky. Entertaining for sure. Memorable? Maybe not.
 
GSS: NA
 
GK: Fly, uncompromised. Nice use of humour to bring alive the pain points associated with air travel. While the ideas are refreshing, the films could perhaps have done more justice to them.
 
GSS: 6
 
ALS: Yet again a cliched theme of a man finding himself unexpectedly in the company of beautiful women. However, it goes to the credit of the creative team that the focus remains on the women as confident professionals and not on their bodies and their desirability. The male gaze is totally missing which is such a relief.
 
GSS: 6
 

VS: Riveting right from the word go. The mechanical toys and the child-like enthusiasm in the jingle melts my heart, and takes me back to childhood. Ogilvy seems to have mastered the art of tourism advertising.
 
GSS: NA
 
GK: Painstakingly crafted and it shows. The toys do half the job, and the sound track brings alive the child in the viewer.  
 
GSS: 6. Sounds like a girl child singing. And guess what, it works better for the film too.
 
ALS: GSS: 5. Gender neutral. 
 

VS: For lack of a better phrase – very ‘addy’. Makes me feel like I do after watching an Indra Kumar movie.
 
GSS: NA.
 
GK: Farhan Akhtar, Boman Irani and this? It possibly does the job it was created for and ticks the boxes.  But it certainly could have done more.
 
GSS: NA
 
ALS: GSS: 5. Gender neutral.
Source:
Campaign India

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