When business is good it pays to advertise.

When business is bad you’ve got to advertise.

Which Country's Police Force Is This? I Want To Be There!

Have you paid attention to the ads being played in the IPL? First IPL : there was no uproar in the advertising sector. So we had to watch same ads that showed during the ODIs. Once IPL was a hit (mid-way through the tournament) the ad agencies woke up to a new dimension. Then there was a rush to make the most eye-catching ads. There was an entire school of thought devoted to making ads to suit the IPL format. How much can you say in 12 seconds? How will you convince a customer who not only has a short attention span but has an ultra short attention span. Added to it is that it should be in cohesion to the game being played. Earlier it was that they made demographic or clientele specific ads. Now they’re only cricket-centric ads making us cry at the screen. The Axe Effect ad will convince you about that. It wants you to be on the field & get injured, if only to get the girls. On the other end of the spectrum is the Direct to Home set top boxes that promise that you can watch your match live & your better half can catch up on her soap later. Damn the gender bias when the same match’s replay will go on for the next 24 hrs.

These Little White Idiots Are Reproducing At An Alarming Rate!!! Are They Out To Kill Us?

It all began with a cute Zoozoo. Vodafone unlike Airtel & Idea did not have a remarkable ad. So it got this outsourced a cartoon character to promote itself. That was when they pioneered IPL centric ads. How many times have you seen a Zoozoo outside IPL? Airtel dropped Shah Rukh Khan for Sherman Joshi to catch the fast moving generation. Sure that boy next door is garnering enough air time for himself. Look out for his films now. On the other hand Samsung forgot its Mr. Average of the Guru phone line and got Aamir Khan to endorse it. Bachchan Junior has transformed himself to match the new Idea ad. No “Sirjee” now. Videocon is solely promoting its Made in India touch phones.

What is common between Spice, Micromax, Karbonn & Maxx? They are all Chinese made phones branded in India & selling like hot cakes. Plus they have huge billboards to themselves on the grounds. They are all still marketing the phones based on their features. That helps when the viewer is bombarded with excess ads of the same stuff. Theory in Numbers! Docomo, Cookie & Corby are still continuing their old ads. So does Capt. Cool Dhoni with Aircel. Though they are refreshing.

Mr. Shilpa Shetty has not changed his jeans in four matches & SET Max plays shampoo ads. Garnier, Sunsilk, Fiama di Wills & Clinic All Clear are aiming for the female crowd. Also throw in the Katrina Kaif-Slice ad with it. These ads are completed when they show Shilpa, Nita, Shamita, Prity, Deepika all with open flowing manes.(BTW have you noticed their Boobs when they wear their respective jersey, aren’t they perked up a lil bit.) Fiama has gone a step ahead with Hannah Montana, looking for fickle teenage girls.

Can you sell computer/ mobile games through cricket? Here comes the ibibo & Abhishek Bachchan charisma. Though the Idea ad is well executed with a side kick & a hottie, the ibibo is plain boring. Yet every time it is there in your face.

What About This Living-Breathing-Billboard?

LG, Samsung & Godrej are betting big on high end electronics. You think that this is a small market. Reverse psychology: the more you show, the more you sell. No self respecting person will be watching a match on anything less than a flat screen at 16deg C. Couple these with ‘high def’, ‘direct’, ‘MPEG’, ‘broadband connectivity’ and you are relieved of your pocket.

MRF will not make an ad but will keep a Hindenberg Blip high up in the air. The channel-walas will voluntarily give it air time. This time the sole food item advertised is the awful Bingo chips with no ad making strategy (apparently this is their strategy). Goodbye 30 min pizzas. It so happened that Dominoes covered their ground during the last IPL. Have you noticed the L-shaped ads displayed while the match is in play. Quite irritating. After all you want to watch the players (or the sponsors on their jersey) not some in-your-face-ads.

There is no longer a wicket, a six but or a catch, It is CBZ extreme Six, Karbonn Kamaal catch, Maxx mobile Strategic Time Out, Kingfisher fairplay. But the Baap is DLF IPL. So if you got an apartment from DLF then you have a tiny share in the tournament.

Lastly, the body deodorant ads play once the game is over. Wonder why?

Love,

Paris