addendum. Small gift, big winner

A young man suitably dressed up for Diwali looks at the little gift he has bought and then makes his entry into a room where another gifting scenario is already playing out. His mother is ooohing and aaahing over the chunky necklace his father has just gifted her. The young man stops short, clearly feeling the smallness of what he has bought, compared to the extravagant gift his mother has just been thrilled with. But then Tanishq and Lowe Lintas Partners are about to show you that little bit of magic which can only be labelled ‘a mother’s love’. The young man is shown hesitantly saying that with his first Diwali bonus he has bought his mother a small pendant strung on a thin chain. The look on the mother’s face and the full force of Brand Mom comes to bear on a touching scene as she just keeps the chunky necklace aside and accepts this little token of a son’s love. Powerful emotions have been carefully stitched together in this little gem of a TVC. The final voice-over urging you to gift gold for Diwali could have been completely avoided. The line suddenly brings you from an emotional high to a commercial low.

Complete, all over again

The Complete Man is a true legacy. Something every communications person should be proud of. Because here is a brand that has persevered and not allowed change for the sake of change. It has believed in its core values and has only sought to re-interpret them with every successive campaign. After a long and loving stint with RKSwamy BBDO, the baton of the Complete Man has been passed to Famous Innovations, and in their first TVC, they have not fumbled while taking up the baton. A father and his teenaged daughter are enjoying a walk in the park, the daughter clinging to the father’s hand. Suddenly the daughter lets go of the father’s arm as she waves excitedly at a group of young friends who ask her to join them. Torn between the need to continue the walk with her father and the tug of young friends, the girl looks to the father imploringly. Scenes flash through the father’s mind, of the many instances of the child clinging to his hand as she grew up. He then indicates that she should join her friends. And the voice-over says that one of the attributes of the complete man is “letting go”. Good insight, well made, Raj. Something that any parent can relate to. The Complete Man has slightly aged (gracefully) and if I am not mistaken the voice-over has usually been male. This time it is female. A nice touch! The brand lives on!

Right in time

I’ve liked most of the ads created for Titan and this one is no different. Kalki Koechlin is shown in some place that could be Paris. Akhil Akkineni the Telugu star comes back, is thrilled with the sight of the Tower and starts photographing it with his phone. In the banter that follows, Kalki complains that Akhil is spending more time with his phone than with her. He counters by saying that it was Kalki who gifted him the phone in the first place. And then she asks him whether he would spend more time with her if she now gifted him time. And as they embrace she slips a Titan watch onto his wrist, to the strains of the Titan signature tune we all know so well and love. Simple, nicely crafted and most important, the thought behind gifting time this festive season is a winner. Ogilvy South for Titan.

Vox Pop: Reader Veera Katpitia from Mangalore writes to say the PC Jewellers advertisement where the lady says “I am the woman of the house” touched the right chord with her and made her proud to be a woman. She exhorts us all to watch the ad. Veera, marketers are waking up to the fact that women are an important part of the audience and we can hope to see more advertising that is not just gender-sensitive but also women-centric. And if I might add, you have every right to feel proud of being a woman, Veera. With or without an ad.

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

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