The Times of India Sunday Supplement Times Life! has much to offer. The food for thought that they dish out is indeed conisdered a delicacy by my brains atleast!
The following is an article that Purba Dutt wrote in today's edition.
The advertising trends have drastically changed and the tiny tots are increasingly replacing the 'stars'. These youngs ones aged between 5 and 10 years, have claimed airtime substantially and when all else is over-shadowed by the heavy, grey clouds of cynicism their innoncence appeals to our being and thereon shines the "Umeedo wali dhoop...."
The following is an article that Purba Dutt wrote in today's edition.
The advertising trends have drastically changed and the tiny tots are increasingly replacing the 'stars'. These youngs ones aged between 5 and 10 years, have claimed airtime substantially and when all else is over-shadowed by the heavy, grey clouds of cynicism their innoncence appeals to our being and thereon shines the "Umeedo wali dhoop...."
Can a 10-year-old sell you a bike?
Advertising gurus are turning to kids to help them sell products to all you adults. Just how did tiny tots beat cricketing stars to land airtime, asks Purba Dutt
Agang of children, all aged five to 10, let their lips make exaggerated ‘o’ and ‘e’s as they enunciate every word of what is the new inspiration anthem, courtesy AR Rahman. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp’s latest television commercial, Hum Mein Hai Hero ditches that actors and cricketing stars of Dhak Dhak Go, turning to a group of young children to instil in customers, faith in their inner potential, and perhaps sell a couple of bikes along the way.
“There is a lot of cynicism around us. It’s only kids who can spring hope within us with their innocence and purity,” says Prasoon Joshi. Joshi’s word is as good as gospel truth, considering he is executive chairman of the Indian arm of global marketing communications giant, Mc-Cann Worldgroup and currently Bollywood’s most sought-after lyricist. He too decided to turn to children while scripting the lyrics for cola giant Coca-Cola’s latest TVC. Umeedon wali dhoop, sunshine wali aasha, Rone ki wajah kam hai, hasney ke bahaney zyada…Zidd hai muskurayenge, khush rehne ka hai waada, Joshi made the child actors sing, murdering cynicism in one clean sweep.
Creative teams at advertising agencies are betting on junior power, and clients look convinced of the idea of children selling products meant for adults to adults. FlipKart, India’s largest online shopping store, has picked two kids and perched them on salon chairs, with rollers in their hair, to preach the virtues of online shopping. Kartik Iyer, CEO of Bengaluru-based Happy Creative Services, the agency behind FlipKart’s commercial, says, “Only kids can trust unconditionally. Add to that the subtext that the FlipKart service is so easy to use, even a child can use it. That was the starting point of our storyboard.”
Often, advertising is not just about generating sales. Building an image is key to a brand’s success. When Hero Motors disassociated itself from Honda Motor Company of Japan last year, it announced a new name, logo and identity, with the Hum Mein Hai Hero commercial at its core. It was a new positioning pitch — a hero lies in all of us — and fitted snugly with the brand name.
Rahul Nangia, chief creative officer (west and south) of Law and Kenneth, the agency that created the Hero ad, says, “When we launched the first commercial in this series on August 15 last year, the response was overwhelming. With thousands of people uploading their own videos against the track on Youtube, the commercial gained a life of its own. Shooting it with kids alone was the next logical step. The client isn’t looking at marketing anything with this ad. It’s looking to create a brand identity. Through kids, we are trying to open up people to their own potential.”
While there is no gainsaying that kids bring a fresh breath of purity, what about credibility? Joshi, who has wrapped up the lyrics for a new Greenpeace commercial has children pleading with adults to place nature in their custody. “When children make an impassioned plea, you realise the situation is alarming, and it’s time to act.”
And creative gurus claim it’s cost them no labour to convince clients of kids’ potential. Responding to, how does a motorcycle manufacturer fit into a 10-year-old’s life or what do a pair of lovable brats have to do with online shopping, Iyer says, “That’s like saying why show dogs in an ad where the product is of no use to the dog.” While he admits that frequent discussions with his client were needed to plug loopholes, Nangia says his client’s reaction to exploiting the marketing power of kids was ‘fabulous’.
For the audience, what matters is that the ad appears natural, like a slice of life. Kids who behave wise beyond their years make a commercial contrived. Koushik Sarkar of Apostrophe Films, the firm that directed the Coca-Cola TVC, says the kids you see in Sunshine waali asha.., weren’t picked because they were good-looking or acted well. “We just wanted kids with a spark.” Sarkar remembers dropping in on the sets one morning to find the kids lost in rehearsal. “They were being their naughty selves, poking each other, screaming. I asked my team to stop rehearsing, and roll the cameras. I wanted the oddities included. Listen in carefully, and you’ll notice bits where the kids are singing out of sync. None of the imperfections have been edited.”
“There is a lot of cynicism around us. It’s only kids who can spring hope within us with their innocence and purity,” says Prasoon Joshi. Joshi’s word is as good as gospel truth, considering he is executive chairman of the Indian arm of global marketing communications giant, Mc-Cann Worldgroup and currently Bollywood’s most sought-after lyricist. He too decided to turn to children while scripting the lyrics for cola giant Coca-Cola’s latest TVC. Umeedon wali dhoop, sunshine wali aasha, Rone ki wajah kam hai, hasney ke bahaney zyada…Zidd hai muskurayenge, khush rehne ka hai waada, Joshi made the child actors sing, murdering cynicism in one clean sweep.
Creative teams at advertising agencies are betting on junior power, and clients look convinced of the idea of children selling products meant for adults to adults. FlipKart, India’s largest online shopping store, has picked two kids and perched them on salon chairs, with rollers in their hair, to preach the virtues of online shopping. Kartik Iyer, CEO of Bengaluru-based Happy Creative Services, the agency behind FlipKart’s commercial, says, “Only kids can trust unconditionally. Add to that the subtext that the FlipKart service is so easy to use, even a child can use it. That was the starting point of our storyboard.”
Often, advertising is not just about generating sales. Building an image is key to a brand’s success. When Hero Motors disassociated itself from Honda Motor Company of Japan last year, it announced a new name, logo and identity, with the Hum Mein Hai Hero commercial at its core. It was a new positioning pitch — a hero lies in all of us — and fitted snugly with the brand name.
Rahul Nangia, chief creative officer (west and south) of Law and Kenneth, the agency that created the Hero ad, says, “When we launched the first commercial in this series on August 15 last year, the response was overwhelming. With thousands of people uploading their own videos against the track on Youtube, the commercial gained a life of its own. Shooting it with kids alone was the next logical step. The client isn’t looking at marketing anything with this ad. It’s looking to create a brand identity. Through kids, we are trying to open up people to their own potential.”
While there is no gainsaying that kids bring a fresh breath of purity, what about credibility? Joshi, who has wrapped up the lyrics for a new Greenpeace commercial has children pleading with adults to place nature in their custody. “When children make an impassioned plea, you realise the situation is alarming, and it’s time to act.”
And creative gurus claim it’s cost them no labour to convince clients of kids’ potential. Responding to, how does a motorcycle manufacturer fit into a 10-year-old’s life or what do a pair of lovable brats have to do with online shopping, Iyer says, “That’s like saying why show dogs in an ad where the product is of no use to the dog.” While he admits that frequent discussions with his client were needed to plug loopholes, Nangia says his client’s reaction to exploiting the marketing power of kids was ‘fabulous’.
For the audience, what matters is that the ad appears natural, like a slice of life. Kids who behave wise beyond their years make a commercial contrived. Koushik Sarkar of Apostrophe Films, the firm that directed the Coca-Cola TVC, says the kids you see in Sunshine waali asha.., weren’t picked because they were good-looking or acted well. “We just wanted kids with a spark.” Sarkar remembers dropping in on the sets one morning to find the kids lost in rehearsal. “They were being their naughty selves, poking each other, screaming. I asked my team to stop rehearsing, and roll the cameras. I wanted the oddities included. Listen in carefully, and you’ll notice bits where the kids are singing out of sync. None of the imperfections have been edited.”
THERE IS A LOT OF CYNICISM AROUND US. IT’S ONLY KIDS WHO CAN SPRING HOPE WITHIN US WITH THEIR INNOCENCE AND PURITY
— Prasoon Joshi, lyricist-copywriter
— Prasoon Joshi, lyricist-copywriter
FlipKart’s television commercial shows two children seated at a salon, discussing the virtues of online shopping
Kids are the only protagonists in the latest Hum Mein Hai Hero ad
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