the Thinker

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Virtually filmy!!!

What is the one thing that irks us when they suddenly barge on our TV sets, interrupting our favorite show, serial, movie, etc? Commercials!! Nowadays, it looks like, some kind of an ad-invasion is on its way.

Advertisements come in all shapes, sizes and mediums. If you are wondering what I am blabbering about, just check out that irritating pop-up box that jumps up like a “jack in the box,” offering you home loan, car loan or some other product on the internet. It will occupy a significant amount of our computer's screen space, thereby obstructing our view, just when we are about to visit our favorite link or are on our way to our mailbox.

Even when one is listening to FM radio, there is no respite from them. Here the medium is different. More of them are jingles and funny conversations to attract listeners’ attention.

As far as advertisements in TV are concerned, you can love them, hate them; but there is no way you can ignore them. They are ‘in-between’ every show. Even when we are glued to our TV sets to watch the last over of a crucial match between India-Sri Lanka; all of a sudden we will see some cola advertisement booming on our TV sets.

But when one sits back and takes a look at these ads that keep buzzing on our TV screens 24/7, one could easily classify them into categories that are reserved for films generally. I do not know how many of you share my view-point, but most of the dramatic elements are present in ads. In miniature, they represent our popular cinema culture. For my own convenience and merriment, I will classify certain ads in specific categories.

Emotional genre:

An ideal example is the recent Times of India advertisement, where an old grandfather celebrates the selection of his grandson in the hockey team. He cherishes the news on the paper that his grandson has been successful, where he failed.

One could even cite the recent Western Union ad, where the father is unable to hear his son, who is calling from overseas, as his (the father’s) hearing aid does not function properly.

Comedy genre:

This genre seems to be very popular in movies as well as ads. I do not remember the company, but it was some paints advertisement. A man appreciates his neighbour for a new house, new car…and a new wife.

Most of the baby ads (diaper and stuff). Well, some of them fall in the emotional genre as well, but it is a healthy mix. Then there is the Alpenlebie ad, where a kid colours himself in different colours on the occasion of Holi, to extract money from not only his father, but also other people.

Musicals: I do not know how many of you remember that ad, which glorified ‘milk’ more than any other ad. The jingle went on like- “Doodh, doodh …doodh hai wonderful, pee sakte hai roz glassful.”

Another dairy company, Amul’s jingle, almost sounded like an anthem. It went on like-“Amul, the taste of India…”

Sensuous genre:

Most of the contraceptive advertisements-a liberal dose of sex and sensuality comes to the foreplay with them.

Some of the deodorant ads use this funda to attract people. And of course, who can forget that famous Denim advertisement, where a woman opens the buttons of a man’s shirt. Then he suddenly stops her.

Romantic genre:

Again, just like films, this is another popular genre in advertisements. However, love is more a commodity in the world of commercials. You have boys falling for girls who use Fair and Lovely or some other bleaching product.

There is another ad of some car company, I do not remember the exact name. In that ad- you have this handsome guy taking his girlfriend for a ride and laying out a candlelight dinner for her. A romantic song being played in the background, just acts as a sweetener.

Fairytale genre:

There are ads in this genre as well, mostly playing on the love for fantasy and escapist attitude of people. There is one recent Maruti Swift ad, where Cinderella runs away with the guy driving a Swift car.

There is one advertisement in the recent times of ‘Orra Diamonds,’ which comprises snippets of fairytales, there is nothing concrete in it.

Celebrity genre: The celebrity invasion in the ad-world in the recent times is unprecedented. One can contribute an entire category of ads to them. They are here, there and everywhere.

Among these ads, the ones, which I tend to remember till this date, are among the controversial ones. There was this Pepsi ad, which became a hot topic of discussion a few years back. In that ad, they showed a look-alike of Hrithik Roshan in a supposed demeaning fashion or something like that. SRK being the hero in the ad, it became a topic of feud between SRK and Hrithik Roshan fans. The most overblown topic I have ever read or heard of.

Then there was this recent ad by Lux, which featured SRK again. He was seen in midst of a bathtub, filled with rose petals. I have no idea, how much Hindustan Lever (the company which owns the Lux brand), benefited from the ad, but the ad became a hot topic of discussion, SRK’s sexual orientation being the focus.

The most silly ads, which celebrities indulge in are chaddi and banyan ads-the ones which mostly feature Govinda and his like.

Action genre: There are some of vehicle ads, motorbike ads which try to emphasise viewers through stunts. There is this recent Tata Safari ad, with a tagline-Reclaim your life. The car is seen somersaulting and jumping in the sand.

Some ads try to “caricature” action ads, that’s how I view them. One must have noticed those Sona-Chandi Chavanbrash ads, where Sunny Deol fights villains and defeats them, because he gets strength from Sona-Chandi.

Animation genre:

This genre is getting more and more prominent in recent times. Mostly ads dealing with kids use a generous dose of animation. For instance, there is this Sunfeast Cream biscutes ad, where SRK (again) takes a child for a joyride to an animated cream world. There are some baby soap ads, like that of Doy soap, where once again animated figures come to play. These are basically targeted at kids and the younger age group.

However, some of these ads appear like those play station samples. There are these advertisements showing animated mosquitoes and cockroaches who barge into a household, only to get exterminated by some mosquito or cockroach spray.

Straight genre:

These advertisements are like ‘label’ headlines in newspapers. Their job is to inform, without frills or thrills. In a newspaper, these headlines sound like this-‘Nepal on strike.’ Nothing more, nothing less. Its duty is to inform, without any drama.

Ads which are very short and mainly say, “Hurry offer ends till on so and so date,” are examples of straight ads.

Phew!! I guess I have exhausted my resources. I do not have to give a disclaimer, but still, being a journo, its in my blood. “All these are my personal views, without any relevance to any particular brand or product.”

Posted by Amrita at 5:53 AM

good one...i was also in the process of classifying ads...you made my job easy...thanx

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u r welcome.

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hi,i'm new to this world of blogging...somehow got to ur blog...i've created one for me today only...letusthinkbeyond.blogspot.com...i would appreciate if u drop in some comments/suggestions...

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This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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Wow!!! Thats some classification...

The Ad you are talking about in the romance genre is for Tata Indigo Marina. Mostly the Ads done for TATA are really good. Like, Safari Dicor and the one which had kids playing football in the rain...

The most hilarious moment when watching TV is whenver a batsman is out, he will be talking about his secret of energy or something like that. As soon as Narain karthikeyan moves to the back of the grid or crashes, he will be talking about speed for Amaron batteries or for Bharat Petroleum. :)

I must confess that I watch TV to catch up on the creativity of the AD world though you get to see the flimsiest ads sometimes.

Good to see your blog being updated after a long time!

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hi sumit, welcome to the blogging world.

hi, 1.618,

yeah, that is the irony of the ad world. some of them win over us, some irritate us and some make us smirk

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Interesting read!The cure for your woes is called Tivo.Can't imagine my life without it every since i got it couple of years ago!

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thats a nice classification of Ads Amrita...
Its really nice to see u back in blogging

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Hola Amrita!
Ads certainly fall into categories as the ones you define... I don't know what cars' ads are like in India, but here in Spain I would certainly make a category just for them... They are so abstract and absurd that I wonder if anybody feels inpired to buy a car by watching them.

BTW,
Have a wonderful New Year!!!

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hi motorama,

ur advertising on my blog?! hahah. i will check out tivo.

thanks art, good to see u back.

gonsings, glad to see u. yes some ads are very abstract, infact there should have been an abstract category for ads. i find onida tv ads very funny.

Byways, A very happy new year to all the bloggers!!!

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Some of the commercials you've mentioned here are nice indeed.

I have 3 Live News channels here + SUNTV + B4U Music via Satellite at home.

I am very impressed with the quality of Commercials.

That said, these advts..which are popup by the cable guys are annoying.!!.

One reason why I listen to NPR radio ( www.npr.org) or watch PBS stations ( www.pbs.org) is the same..no commercials.!!

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hi narayanan, nice to see u, which of these commercials do u like?

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amrita, great writup as usual...I remember the time as a kid,when we had no other option other than the infamous "Door dharshan" in India. Those wer days when the remote control had no use. cant skip to the next channel wen the ads barged u. And so, u end up knowing each ad by heart...we used to sing the jingles like film songs all the time...but have to admit, some of the ads wer much better than the programes in DD ! sigh!

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your page layout is very cheering and soothing. that colour combination is amazing.

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hmm i appreciate that you mentioned it romantic.certainly not to mellow with that word. I never understand that word infact. few words and feelign i hardly understand and one such is romantic. love poems.. oh no.........................
i never tried to write one.. but after you saying i am reading that in that angel. i just scribblee what i feel. the last one i scribbled to write a thankyou for the old year that passed by , but at the end it sense as if i am talking with a woman.

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hi ashok,doordarshan days had a distinctr charm of their own. yes some of those adds- i remember there was this long animated thing which showed how a flock of birds save themselves from a bird catcher-went on like"sooraj ek, chanda ek, taare anek.."

Thanks known stranger,

u write very well, visited ur blog

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hmm, it appeared as if u visualised the year as some beautiful woman, that is no less romantic

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oh! u remember that bird animation? Some day i must write about our DD days!

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haha, sure. i will be looking forward to that post

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hey
that was a superb recollection of ads...too cool
My fav among current ones is the Avenger ad..nice music and concept

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hey.. where are you.. come alive

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hi ppl,

dont worry, i am very much alive. it is just that i dont believe in putting up a new post, just to get loads of comments. I want other ppl to give some thought to the topics on which i write, even if it is for the moment for which they read it. i write on something that actually enthuses me and forces me to think. Yes, one or two of my posts are for fun. Fun should be there, but some thought should be invested in that as well. meaningless fun can often be offensive-dont u guys think so too? Therefore, I call my blog-the Thinker.

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Nice writeup Amrita :) I very much like this bike ad (I think it is Bajaj Wind, not really sure) that goes on like "I forgive my barber... I forgive the government..." et cetera and says "You feel like God." It just lifts your ego to limitless height! Nice solid attack on the customers :)

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hi travisprice,

i am sorry i am not spelling out the numbers along with ur name. i will surely make it some time, to ur blog.

hi dd, welcome to my blog. i like that ad as well and i agree, if one needs an ego booster; he should see that ad.

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