Mussskurale

Express yourself, originally uploaded by Sarfraaz.

There are so many TV channels now a days, that the viewer despises even a single second that he has to spend watching an ad on TV. The moment an ad flashes on the screen, there goes the remote with the channel surfing in full speed. The surfing doesnt stop on any channel that has ads going on at that instant, and only after scanning all your favourite and second favourite channels and still failing to find a channel without ads, does one return back, hopefully, to the same channel where he started his surfing.

In such a competetive environment, it really is a herculean task to make an ad that not only succeeds in capturing the attention of the viewer, but also gives away the right image and purpose of the product. Think more into it and you will realise how much of creative effort is spent into ads, and the amount of creative energy that gets wasted just because there are so many channels to watch. One can have an endless debate if the huge number of channels is rather a boon or a bane to the advertising industry.

In these tough times, I found one ad that intrigued me to watch its full length [ I guess, its about 3 to 4 minutes long ], and brought a smile on my face and in the end even succeeded in giving me the proper message of the product. Its the "Happydent White", Muskurale ad. The concept, the picturisation are just perfect for the promotion of the product. I watched it twice or thrice to get the full length meaning of this ad, and praise the innovative ideas in this ad. The most fundo shot is the one with 2 guys sitting on the sides of the car with bright white sparkling teeth as headlights !!! You wont realize that there are actual people sitting on the car unless you watch it carefully. You can even find guys in the chandlier and under water, showing off their sparkling white teeth and lighting up the whole place and city. Perfect rendition of the product qualities.

One more ad that I liked, more for the way they promoted the ad itself, and not for the ad was the Cadbury's "Miss Palampur" ad. Showing Amitabh dressing up well to go and meet Miss Palampur and not telling anything more, was a very good preview for the ad. This definately left a lot of things untold and I am sure had the viewer captured. Initially I thought this was some new TV serial ad and was excited that Amitabh would be back in another TV serial. But, when they actually showed the full ad it was fun. The whole village gathers at Amitabh's house, all dressed up to meet and impress "Miss Palampur", and when an old granny asks where the newly crowned queen is, we get to see a cow coming out of the house wearing the "Miss Palampur" gown :p Funny promotion of the ad, though it doesnt really match the product.

Another good ad is the HSBC ad, where a young girl buys a used/torn/worn-out jeans for the rugged look of it. But when she brings that home, her mom misunderstands it to be torn, and gets down to stitch the jeans. This very nicely shows the concept of people having 2 perspectives for the same object. A very good way of promoting the same group of HSBC products that cater to a varied interests of people.

So, the next time you think of switching channels, spare a moment for the enormous amount of creative effort that is spent in making these great ads, well atleast the few great ads.