I quite liked the Nokia-Priyanka Chopra ad. What works? The ‘non-ad’ approach. (It was oh-so-evident in the SRK ads). Everyday situations well juxtaposed with the features of the phone. Nicely captures the insight that a phone is an appendage and not just an instrument to make calls. While it is meant to promote the Nokia 3600 Slide and 7610 Supernova phones, it would do well for the Nokia mother brand. The international campaign of this…
Apple has posted it’s Q4 results for Fiscal 2008 and has beaten the Street. Not just that, it has achieved it’s self-proclaimed target of 10 million iPhones by 2008 already – 3 months ahead of time! Here are the headlines: Revenue: $7.9 billion, up from $6.22 billion in Q4 2007 Profit: $ 1.14 billion, up more than 26% from $904 million in 2007 $25 billion of cash in the bank with zero debt Sold 6.9…
Pepsi is on a revamp mode. It involves a packaging, merchandising and marketing overhaul of its soft drinks business. But it’s agency partner for 50 years, BBDO may play a reduced role in this process. BBDO, as we are all aware, is closely linked with Pepsi’s success globally. One of BBDO’s great creative minds Phil Dusenberry (former Chairman of BBDO North America) worked closely on Pepsi. When Phil passed away, Roger Enrico, former Chairman and…
The good folks at Smoking Apples – the most rocking Apple blog this side of the equator – have posted one of my rants, as a guest contributor. The blokes behind Smoking Apples have one enviable quality: unbridled, limitless and absolute passion for all things Apple. Just the kind of qualities that make a huge difference in any field. What’s more, the combined age of all the guys behind it must be 25 – OK,…
Wired Magazine has some advice for bloggers: shut down your blog. The premise: professional blogging sites (who have an army of writers posting upto 30 posts a day) leave no chance for individual bloggers to get noticed. Some of the professional blogging sites mentioned – Huffington Post, Engadget – are virtual magazines, professionally brought out and churning out posts like a factory. They are also likely to employ specialist SEO consultants who can ensure high…
We all heard of Pepsi’s Blue Billion effort in 2006. While the idea behind it was commendable (understandable?) – an association with cricket which later turned into a community portal. I am not sure if it was a gooseflesh of an idea. The performance of our cricket team added to the problem and the whole effort did not generate the kind of buzz it could have. Here is something that could. Earlier this year, Adidias…
The Get a Mac ad juggernaut rolls on. Two new ads, ‘V word’ and ‘Bean Counter’ have been posted on the Apple website. I particularly liked the Bean Counter one – it smartly takes a dig at the recent advertising blitz from Microsoft. Some critics of the ‘I am a PC’ ads have pointed out that slick advertising is not the solution for Microsoft’s problems which is led by product perceptions on Vista. If you…
Yesterday’s Sunday supplement of the Times of India carried a men’s fashion brand ad in every page. In all of them, the lead model simply stares into camera – the variations are in the eyewear (seen with or without), the headline and other such minor issues. On the front page there is the ad for Louise Philippe urging you to Wear Young. Next comes the Zod ad. Since this is club wear, the model is…
Here’s a car ad that’s different from the usual stuff in the category. Volkswagen Canada is promoting its TDI Clean Diesel through a series of humorous TV spots. The idea: dramatize the environment-friendliness of the car, combined with its power. It is taken forward with a simple idea of two people getting together – each representing one facet: power and environment. My favourite is this one: In another ad, a hippie meets a woman on…
If you are a Frasier fan, like I am, you will love this commercial. Fraiser claims that it has been scientifically proven that the 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper can be truly relished if it is drank slowly. That’s a cool way of talking about product attributes. Typical Fraiser lines follow: when he says that ‘we should savour all our relationships’, his ex-wife Lilith calls and asks him how come he has never ‘savoured her…