• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Victoria

Remember when Advertising Avenues created the Onida devil and cracked not just a TV screen but a host of myths and records? Those were heady days for Avenues when its cutting edge creative won it a slew of awards. The combination of the flamboyant Goutam Rakshit, the shy and retiring Ashok Roy and the maverick Gopi Kukde clicked in style. Then, O&M grabbed the Onida account, and the rest is, well, history. However, looks like it's true that the world goes around and around and comes back to the same place. After mothballing the devil when O&M handled the creative responsibilities, Onida has brought it back, albeit in a "new, improved" version with Rediffusion DY&R at the creative helm. The marketing team seems to have "discovered" the tremendous equity and recall value the devil had vis-à-vis the brand. Well, better late than never. Welcome back devil, we missed you. And Mr Rakshit, you can justifiably say, "I told you so."

ASCI advertisement

Some newspapers have been carrying a series of small advertisements created for the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) by Madison Creative. The headline of one advertisement reads "If an ad is wrong, we will set it right." The copy urges the readers to send in complaints regarding dishonest, misleading or indecent advertisements to the ASCI.

Kudos to all. To Madison, for having created the advertisement (pro bono, we are sure), to the clutch of newspapers for carrying the series (pro bono, we are sure) and to ASCI for putting out the advertisements. How many industries proactively urge their consumers to send in complaints to an independent self-regulatory authority? In fact, how many industries have set up an independent self-regulatory authority?

The advertising industry can safely pat itself on the back this time.

Hoardings and heritage

After the pat on the back, a rap on the knuckles.

While the Bombay Municipal Corporation has been held in contempt of court for not removing hoardings from specified heritage sites, one wonders why the advertisers have not pulled out their messages from these sites on their own. After all, concern for their city should be shown by respecting the law in its spirit, and not just in its letter.

Aaj Tak

Bright new colors and a brand new look are what the design-doctors ordered for Aaj Tak, and one must say the new livery does present a rather contemporary look. The `sabse fast' channel was acquiring what a wag called a typical bhaiyya look. Now all that seems to be changing. The bright red colour in the background and on the tables reminds one of Red FM. Maybe that was the spin-off they hoped for.

BPCL: Sweet music

The new Bharat Petroleum commercial — "energizing lives" — may not be the greatest one ever made, but the tune playing in the background is certainly very memorable. Just shows the magic of music. One good tune can hold aloft a complete TV commercial.

Indica

Wow! The print and TV campaign that Indica has unleashed to ensure people get off their backsides and move along to a dealer where they can test drive an Indica is certainly very compelling. One loved the TVC where the sultry siren who happens to be the barber at a hair salon watches in amazement as the customer who was snuggling down to enjoy a close shave with her takes off to test drive the India. Everything else can wait.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Cadbury's big Bytes

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line