The last game

Addendum is a weekly column that takes a sometimes hard, sometimes casual, sometimes irreverent, yet never malicious look at some of the new or recent advertisements and comments on them.

By the time you read this, the biggest show in the world would be under way and Scolari and his merry men would be on their way to create history or heartbreak. Yes, the FIFA World Cup would be occupying mindspace all over the world. The build-up has been impressive. India is waking up (literally) at really odd hours to watch what is becoming its favourite game (cricket is a religion, not a game) and red eyes and stifled yawns in meetings and classrooms could kindly be excused. The mass hysteria that this sport is creating has Nike at the forefront of the advertising blitzkrieg that accompanies such major events with a series of wonderful films culminating in the The Last Game . Animated caricatures of the favourite footballers from around the world are literally booted out by clones who play the perfect, risk-free game. Then, one man brings together the all-time greats and motivates them to challenge the clones to an epic sudden-death game. He exhorts the humans to play the way they normally do. Without being afraid to take risks. In fact, these are people who risk everything to win. The great match follows and after some fun clips of the greats, “Cristiano Ronaldo” finally nonchalantly back-kicks the ball into the net, and saving the world of sport from the clones.

The animation is superb. The long format does justice to the script and direction. The dribbling of Neymar, the bludgeoning run of Rooney, the explosive power of Zlatan Ibravomich and the finesse of Ronaldo is all captured and tied in with the tag line that Nike has been pushing – “Risk Everything”. A great film for a great event where every player will play every game like it’s the last game. Pity Ibra will not be playing. And guys, believe me Shakira’s La La La beats Pit Bull’s “official” song any day.

“Like” it

After a prolonged period where everyone derided the on-line shopping space, suddenly everything seems to be going well. Flipkart has scaled impressive new highs, and joined the merger and acquisition bandwagon. And with all this growth, the media has something to cheer about too. More advertising from these brand new moghuls of a brave new world. Myntra has a very catchy song accompanying its commercial these days. And in keeping with the new order prevalent amongst young people these days, the models keep trying on the clothes and accessories, clicking selfies and posting them to garner as many “likes” as possible. The film is well edited to show each new picture harvesting the likes in real time. After all, who dresses up for oneself these days? It’s a world where you bare your soul and whatever else you wish to, and expect acknowledgement if not validation. And that too instantly. The tag line of the commercial is “Live for likes”. I wouldn’t like to be the target audience, but hey, this audience really does live for likes and is honest enough to not just admit to it but flaunt it. The theme, the quick cuts and the memorable jingle make me press the ‘like” button for this commercial.

Yep, me, selfie

In the same genre, there’s this Yepme.com commercial which advertises a special Esha Gupta limited edition line of apparel. The approach to indulge in selfies is evident here as well (I’ve always maintained that reel life imitates real life) but this is an ode to Esha Gupta. The camera languorously shows her trying on the range named in her honour and thereby gives the audience a chance to appreciate the range and the model. There’s nothing to really make this ad stand out in a crowd except Esha herself. And that’s nothing to turn up your nose at, though Yepme better get another eye-stopper next time. This one is history after the first showing and the big idea seems to be the big model.

(Ramesh Narayan is a communications consultant. Send your comments to >cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in )

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