Rasna Ad Through the years

The branding culture in India


".......Brand battles became spicy with the print war in Mumbai and yes, the month of Jesus Christ saw pink becoming the rage with Hutch dropping orange for good and fashion gurus anointing it the colour of the season. With more than 50% of the population in the “youth” category and over 50 million mobiles beeping aro-und the country, communication turned “youthful”.

Did all this impact advertising? If yes, how? Let’s look back at the ads of 2005. There were ads that came, spoke and conquered, while there were those that simply dropped off the radar. The list below is not exhaustive; we have selected 10 ads—five that did their job well, and five that didn’t.

SBI and SBI Life (O&M)

Whether it’s the bank or the insurance product, SBI made a great effort to break free from the PSU advertising model it had followed for decades. The SBI Bank campaign was an instant hit as it conveyed the service superiority through situations that were hilarious. The SBI Life ad conveyed the proposition of “financial freedom in old age” beautifully through the husband presenting his wife with a diamond ring in 2004. In 2005 it was bang on target with the “Happy Birthday Chhotu” ad that drove home the point that growing old does not mean retiring from fun and enjoyment. So you can continue to be “Chhotu” even at the age of 70!

Surf Excel (Lowe)

In a category as humdrum as detergents, brands have played the “white” card in all its various hues. The Surf “Daag achche hai” ad stood out by putting real life kids in a real life situation. It just goes to show how times have changed— from attacking “daag” with all the ammo in the bag, here’s an effort to actually pamper it.

FasTrack (Lowe)

The ad was aimed at making FasTrack a fashion statement for the campus youth. I think it was one of the first to rightly capture the behaviour of the youth and use it effectively in its communication.

According to Bijou Kurien, CEO, Watches Division, Titan, “Sales of FasTrack watches (April-July 2005) increased six times compared to the correspon-ding period last year. And we have run out of stock at the company and retail level.” Now this is what I call effective advertising.

Jeevansathi.com (FCB-Ulka)

Traditionally matrimonial portals spent bulk of their money in online advertising and co-branding efforts. The year 2005 saw matrimonial portals becoming big spenders in mass media. Ads of Times Matri and Jeevansathi.com, focusing on the net-savvy screenagers, were bang on. Jeevansathi.com communicated “don’t marry the worst mistake of your life” in a way that tickled the funny bone. In a subtle way, it questioned the arranged marriage system still prevalent in India........"