Dear 15% agency commission, nice knowing you. You have been abandoned by your own ilk. Do they have a better option? You tell me.
15% agency commission: reduced to a pipe dream
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Vaseline and the pitfalls of a borderless digital world
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Vaseline India creates a Facebook application to support Vaseline for Men’s ‘Be Prepared‘ advertising campaign and it’s being talked about across the world. Unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Blame it on the borderless digital age that we live in, but Shahid Kapoor and the app get mentions in PC World, CBS News and even The Atlantic (!). While some have used strong...
Media as commodity and rise of the procurement guys
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When I first read about an FMCG company asking media agencies to pay for a pitch (on a Twitter feed of a well known media personality in India), I couldn’t believe what I read. And then the news reports confirmed it: Reckitt Benckizer called for media agencies to pitch for their business by paying a pitch fee and committing to return 2.5% of the commission they (the media agencies) receive...
Apple & Consumer Reports: of PR losses and gains
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Mention ‘iPhone 4’ now to anyone and chances are the response will be ‘faulty phone’. Apple’s detractors have always perceived the brand to be low on utility/value and high on aesthetics. This whole antenna problem falls right into their waiting hands. Given the propensity of Apple fanboys to come to the defense of Apple every time there is a negative mention in...
I heart Old Spice digital campaign
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Brands are discovering fresh new ways of using social media & digital advertising by the day – Whopper Sacrifice, Twelpforce, Blendtec come to mind. But Old Spice has just raised the bar several thousand notches with their on-going digital campaign. In what is surely a first, Old Spice is sending video responses to people who mention @OldSpice on Twitter. What’s more, the...
‘So what do you use an iPad for?’
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I got an iPad 3G recently. Yeah, I know what you must be thinking. ‘What a waste of money! What use is it in India? It’s just an expensive toy’. Well, perception is reality – especially for Apple products in India. The perception is not entirely uncalled for since its utility was not clear to most prior to launch. Coupled with reports of it not having a camera, USB ports...
Pan-India advertising: lost in translation
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I find majority of ads meant for the southern markets lacking in that certain something – a connect, a feeling of familiarity…of speaking the same language (apnapan, as they say in Hindi). They seem to lack that. Example: a potato chips brand advertising their Diwali offer pack in TN with an ad featuring Saif Ali Khan and friends playing ‘taash‘ (playing cards) – a...
Vintage Indian print ads: of pickle bottles and after shaves
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@sansip sent me some vintage Indian print ads. I vaguely recall seeing the Savage , Avis and the Prudent ads. Have also seen the Kishore Kumar-Brylcreem one on the net, but the Dilip Kumar one was a total surprise.
More vintage Indian print ads: here. Am sure readers of my vintage are feeling nostalgic.
Old Spice smells like a man and has questions
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The award winning, ‘Smell like a man, man’ campaign for Old Spice has a new ad. Like in the first ad, a shirtless Isaiah Mustafa features in this one too moving effortlessly from beach to kitchen to waterfall to motorbike. Agency: Weiden + Kennedy While some wondered if last year’s ads were really Grand Prix worthy at the Cannes, I think what worked in its favour was its huge...