Pepsi's Change The Game with Chelsea stars

Pepsi, in India, has largely been a cricket brand, and a big presence during World Cups and IPL. But now, they are taking a new positioning. Pepsi is trying to cash in on the vast and relatively untapped football watching market with its brand new "Change the Game" campaign, which was previously associated exclusively with cricket (remember those quirky ads about Dhoni's 'Helicopter Shot' and Bhajji's 'Doosra'? Those were actually good, even for a non-cricket fan).

The new campaign saw Ranbir Kapoor try to convince a kid to give up football and take up cricket, only to be convinced that it is he that should change the game and take up football. You can read more about the campaign and watch the original ad at exchange4media and read more at afaqs.

Now we saw a teaser ad that introduced the concept of Drogba, Lampard, and Torres taking on "apne bande," or the Indian cricketers. Little did I know that it would lead to the ad in question, pictured above. Watch the entire ad here.

So the Chelsea trio (and for those of you who don't know, these guys are legends and extremely good footballers) enters a cricket training pitch, and Drogba says, "Let's get a Pepsi." The hilarity starts here. Then they are challenged by Virat Kohli to play cricket, in a sequence that makes them all look like retards. Finally the footballers do some tricks and kick the ball to clean bowl Kohli... only for the mysterious umpire who turns out to be Dhoni to call a no-ball. Poor Torres doesn't know what a no-ball is. But Dhoni kindly explains in rofl fashion that "No-ball means... no Pepsi." Then they laugh and walk off.

I'm sorry. I tried to stay professional. But somehow when it comes to football, all bets are off.

Oh, the ad is of course by JWT, the incumbent Pepsi agency.

Now let me tell you why this ad bugs me so much, other than the obvious. It is my hope (and the hope of many others) that Pepsi's entry into the football market will be a great boost for Indian football. Pepsi is no doubt in it for their own profit. But that's okay. As long as something good comes out of it for the game, no one will care. Pepsi will be heroes, and indigenous football becomes a thing.

Hmmm. Let us at this point jump into the good and bad of it.

Good:

• Pepsi's overall attempt is a noble one (let's assume it is). Let football grow in popularity across India, supported with huge European stars. Hopefully this will overflow off into Indian football. In the links above, you will come to know about the T20 Football event and the reality show on ESPN covering it. It is all radical and exciting stuff.
• They have stuck to the positioning of "changing the game" from cricket to football. It is almost like Pepsi is gently trying to wean the public off of cricket and on to football. The roping in of major Indian cricket stars may be a masterstroke to get the attention of cricket stoics, even if it doesn't come off to well with the incumbent football crowd.

Bad:

• There is everything about the execution of the idea that is bad. Now it is probably so that the ad aims more at appealing to cricket fans, which is not a bad thing. However, they make the footballers (and everyone, actually), look like retards. Drogba should not be talking. At all. And granted that none of them are natural born actors, but surely Kohli could have done better than to look like a 10 year old teasing his little brother.
• Next comes the silly, slapstick feel of the ad. The ridiculousness with which the guys on the bench laugh, Kohli's stupid expression, Dhoni's closing line, etc. Yes, the dialogue was extremely bad. It looks like a 7th standard student wrote it.
• They did a good job to include the footballers showing off their skills. But it was obviously so edited. How does it honestly showcase their often mind-numbing trickery and skill? That too with a tennis ball. Obviously, a lot of it was edited too. They should have had a few sweet, fluid, single shots. Now I agree, if I am going with my assumption that this is largely targeted to a cricket audience, it shouldn't matter to them. They just want to see something flashy, they probably even wouldn't notice the level of skill if it was one shot. I still find this annoying, even though I speak as a football fan.
• If this was aimed at the cricket audience, well... I saw it for the first time during halftime of a football match. Sigh. So if that theory doesn't hold, they have not done enough to appease a football fan.
• Finally, the footballers lose. I don't understand this. This is reinforcing the notion of cricket's dominance over football. The whole "change the game" theme doesn't fit at all. To further that argument, why are the footballers playing cricket? Shouldn't it be the other way around? The is very disconcerting indeed. Unless this is the first part in a tiny series of commercials which will see the Boys In Blue (and I mean the Indian cricketers) trampled by the Chelsea stars on a football pitch- then this point would be moot. But as a standalone ad, it sends the wrong message.

Obviously, my objectivity has been compromised, what with football being involved. It's okay. I still have faith in the larger Change the Game campaign. It's just that this ad did little more for me personally than to make me laugh. For all the wrong reasons.

IndiGo's Musical Ad

Old post from original blog dated Feb 18, 2012.


I know, this one is a little old, but I can't not pay attention to it.

Wow! What a blockbuster ad!

IndiGo Airlines releases this ad to announce their new international flights. The ad is in the form of a musical, starring the pilot and all his supporting crew, including ground staff, control room staff, and charming air hostesses. They all sing about the efficiency and international reach of the airlines. And if you haven't seen it yet, you simply must watch the ad here.

Grand. What a beautiful Broadway feel. The coreography is excellent, and the dancers are superb. The air hostesses are really hot. The stage design is wonderful, with a beautiful use of bright lights and complementing colors (blues, blacks, browns, golds...). The cinematography is great, like the quick zoom-ins at certain points. The music and the lyrics are catchy (the song is inspired by the number "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major General" from the 1983 Gilbert & Sullivan operetta "The Pirates of Penzance"). The TVC has been shot in Los Angeles, directed by Steven Antin, director of the Christina Aguilera musical feature Burlesque, and choreographed by Denise Faye of Chicago fame. This is a highly entertaining ad.

I love the grandiosity, which is obviously tongue-in-cheek. The use of grandeur to relay a simple message has always been to me a humorous thing, and subtly so. In the meantime, the ad broadcasts its message of the international flights and relays with panache and utmost style the message of the complete efficiency of all its staff, metaphorized by the minute detail and synchronization of a musical. I am reminded of their previous ad which I also liked, the "Conveyor Belt" TVC that again metaphorized their efficiency quite creatively. But if I liked that ad, then I love this one (and yes, I am a fan ofGlee).

The target audience, in my opinion, seems to be the "upper" middle class (which I say for lack of a better term). I mean to say the educated middle class that is indoctrinated enough with Western culture. (Please excuse the use of the word "upper," I did not mean to sound conceited). The "Star World" class, if you will. They are the ones who would benefit most from this communication, the ones who can afford this service, and would most likely be the only ones understanding this communication.

So let's break it down:

Good:

• Very creative. Rises high above the clutter. I cannot praise enough the execution of this ad. I love it. (And that's what matters the most).
• Effective use of the metaphor of choreographed precision to make an entertaining ad and get across a message.
• The humor is there in the delivery. An entire musical? It's a bit much, yes? Perhaps that's the point.
• Hot air hostesses. I mean really hot. And the smiles they give.
• Choreography. Set design. Cinematography. Lyrics and song. Very crisp (they did get some of the best to help). 

Bad:

• It's too "English." While getting the words was no problem for me, not everyone got more than a few words here and there. Such was the opinion expressed by much of the ad fraternity. It raises the question, who exactly is the ad for? The message may be missed.
• The ad is too Hollywood. Too Broadway. Granted the song is taken from a Broadway musical, but does it strike a chord with a majority of the Indian public (even keeping in mind the target audience)? Probably a Bollywood version would have resonated with the TG more, and a wider audience as well. Subtitles could have helped too (another widely expressed opinion).
• They don't talk enough about the international flights! Where do they go? It's left to the consumer to find that out. But perhaps it was a small (a very large small) sacrifice to make to keep the integrity of the ad).

The agency was Wieden+Kennedy. Read more insights from professionals about this ad from here, here, and here.

HTC's Finger Ad

Old post from original blog dated Jan 13, 2012.


This is a new series where I will be analyzing ads that I liked or hated or impressed me in any other way. I hope to be the guy who makes the ads soon.

The HTC finger ad touched me immediately. Pun intended!

The ad features a girl (very cute, btw. What? I had to say it, ok...) who is followed by painted fingers. The fingers walk like a person, and they are painted to look like they are wearing clothes. In the beginning of the ad, she is clearly annoyed with the fingers, but as the ad progresses she becomes steadily amused by them but continues to play hard to get. Near the end of the ad, the fingers threaten to jump off a ledge, but finally just sit down. Flash from the fingers to the feet of a boy sitting on the ledge of a building. To his side is his mobile, and in the corner of the screen, we see a pair of feminine fingers moving towards him, and his phone beeps with the delivery of an SMS. His girlfriend has finally forgiven him.

Loved it! And the song is catchy and fits very well with the ad.

The ad is clearly aimed at the youth. The whole girlfriend-boyfriend dynamic plays perfectly to their wavelengths. It's a time of high-romance for college-goers, and these little petty fights are something they can relate to, look back at, and laugh on. Also it plays to the fact that youth are quite tech savvy and use texting as a primary mode of communication.

So let's break it down:

The good:

• Loved the concept. You won't understand the first time what is going on, but by the end of the ad, you'll figure it out. I think it's clever and funny. I wonder how much thought went into the painting? They did a good job.
• The song really works for the ad. Perfect fit. Has a wonderful youthful vibe to it. Nice music and lyrics.
• The girl is great. And I don't mean she is only cute, but her expressions are spot on. I especially like the "Oh, really?" look she gives at the end when the boy threatens to jump.
• The cinematography. I like how each time they just capture the hand, with the rest of the arm out of the frame. It is artfully done. Like when the girl is sitting at the table having lunch.

The bad:

• The song. Personally, I knew it had a very short expiry date with me. I would not be able to stand it from the 2nd time I saw it. "Waiting waiting, sweety pie..." Shut the fuck up! God! At least it's not as bad as that fucking Airtel "Har Ek Friend" song.
• In the links below, you will read what the professionals had to say. While the ad is nice and catchy, the message is old and the delivery can be confusing. I'm not at that level yet, so I couldn't pick this out!

Some nice comments at exchange4media. You can check the print ads also. They too are eye-catching.

Some more stuff here and here.