‘We’re not in the advertising business anymore’ – said Sir Martin Sorrell in the context of advertising business needing new skills today. I guess Sir Sorrell was referring to the big role tech & data play in today’s advertising business. While there is no denying that the business has dramatically changed over the last decade, and new skill-sets are essential, I believe it is fundamentally the same since the days of Thomas J. Barratt, “the…
NIKEiD: in-store experience An in-store experience installed in London uses Kinect motion sensors to track people and recognise patterns and colours and suggests what style of Nike Air Max trainers would suit them best. I liked it because ‘does this look good on me?’ is a question we ask ourselves or companion shoppers at a retail outlet. A ‘machine’ scanning one’s clothes adds to the fun element and it has a direct link to the…
Advertising exaggerates. That’s something we’ve come to accept. No one is likely to believe that a face wash brand will help in acing an interview or chewing a strong flavoured gum will actually spike your hair. There is ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ when it comes to most of the advertising – people know that they exaggerate only to drive home a point. Very often, such ideas are appreciated for their creativity. So why are we…
The Apple Event held yesterday was low-key (‘underwhelming’ as many called it) with announcements along expected lines. The lack of energy was palpable in the presentation. But it is unfair to expect Apple to reveal a breakthrough product every year and deliver it in a high-energy, goose-flesh inducing presentation. That’s the price Apple is paying for setting the bar high. The iPhone SE was expected to be an India-specific phone with respect to its pricing.…
Between bookmarked sites, Twitter and RSS feeds which showcase advertising, I come across many new creative ideas every week. As with advertising in real life, only a handful are memorable. It was an unusually slow week and I struggled to compile the list. Here are my picks for the week ending 18th March, 2016: Flipkart, IPL, Vodafone and more. IPL: Fun. Fans. Fantastic The IPL carnival is upon us and this film captures the ‘cricket…
There was a time when news was what we read in the papers about events which happened the previous day. Opinions and commentary about news were left to editorials and periodicals. Later television channels became our go-to destinations for live news – such channels had the power to shape our views on current affairs too. The digital age ushered in a 24×7, ubiquitous, all-pervasive news through social media. In my view this re-shaped news landscape…
If it is legal to manufacture it should be legal to advertise it – that’s the argument put forth when it comes to advertising of categories like tobacco and alcohol. Sure, there’s merit in that. But governments and society at large have come to realise the need to restrict advertising of certain products like tobacco. In India, packaging, in-store and on-store are the only places for ‘advertising’ tobacco; there are restrictions on where such products…
Between bookmarked sites, Twitter and RSS feeds which showcase advertising, I come across many new creative ideas every week. As with advertising in real life, only a handful are memorable. Here are my picks for the week ending 11th March, 2016: Under Armour, Microsoft and more.
Advertising is meant to effect a change – either in behaviour or attitude. In my book, the most effective advertising is that which achieves a behavioural change – be it a simple purchase or some other ‘act’. Yes, there is room for ‘feel good’ advertising or lifestyle advertising too, which makes current users feel good about using the brand and non-users aspire for it. If done well, such ads build equity, likability for the brand…
In ad agencies, it is pretty common to review the creative work, on the day of the big meeting with the client. In fact, it is not uncommon to have a review on the way to the client meeting. There could be 3-5 options as TV scripts and the decision to present which of those is often taken just three traffic signals before the client’s office. The end result – everyone is ad-libbing their way…