Addendum is a fortnightly 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. Write in with either advertisements you wish reviewed or with your comments at >addendum.brandline@gmail.com

We are a noisy country. We revel in noise pollution. When India wins a cricket match, or a politician wins an election, or someone is getting married, or if someone has died. And we try to score divisive brownie points on the basis of language if we do not have any other sensible thing to do for our country. The best gift India could get on Republic Day was the Silent Anthem made by Mudra for Big Cinemas. The film shows a school quadrangle where students with hearing and speech impairments “sing” the national anthem with their beautiful sign language. Sensibly created and sensitively shot, the film has the music of the national anthem in the background and the little children communicating silently yet so evocatively in the language of signs. Yes, patriotism needs no language. Bobby Pawar and his team at Mudra, take a bow! Let's all try and make this anthem popular. It's really what the nation needs - patriotism without the politics of language.

Surfeit of saffron

Lovers of pan masala , and more so lovers of saffron ( kesar ) will be very thrilled seeing this TVC for Vimal Pan Masala. There's a song with a lilting tune sung by someone with a lovely voice playing in the background while saffron rains down on everything, on sand dunes and rustic Rajasthani streets to scenes where a Mercedes approaches a haveli , over a swimming pool, a lake where two youngsters are jumping in, a city traffic scene … we get the message, buddies! Vimal Pan Masala is drenched in saffron. We could have got the message in ten seconds. The 50 seconds that follow could have been saved for another TVC.

In top gear

It must be quite a challenge bringing out the strong points of an engine oil in an interesting way. If you are a Bollywood fan (who isn't in India), the three TVCs for IndianOil Servo 4T engine oil created by Grey Mumbai will surely bring a smile to your lips. And that means they have your attention. The commercials are rather funny spoofs of scenes from Don, Dhoom and the classic Amar Akbar Anthony . All three show the hero failing to either make a getaway or keep up with the others due to some engine problems that beset his motor bike. The voice-overs extol the virtues of the ECG (engine clutch gear) specialist that Servo 4T is cleverly branded as.

LG & World Cup

I've warned you before. You are going to be seeing a lot of cricket-related advertising. LG, the official mobile phone of the World Cup, is offering to take 2,500 people right into the World Cup stadia to see the matches up front and close. And to drum up support for this promotion you have Genelia saying, “If you can shake it, you can make it” and John Abraham saying, “That's my move” while they catch your attention with some “original” dance moves. Simple, straightforward and definitely eye-catching. That's the way to use celebs. Rediffusion Y&R has a neat offering for LG Mobiles. While I'm still figuring out what one has to do to be a part of this mobile army, I guess the idea is to drive traffic toward a Web site and an SMS number.

Compelling sans hard-sell

The mood in the bungalow is sombre. The man of the house has evidently taken sanyas , and now tonsured and in robes he is bidding his final farewells. As he leaves the house, a representative of IDBI Federal accosts him and reminds him of an appointment he had given him. The next scene shows the sanyasi back in the house and asking his assistant for his cheque book. Another TVC shows a dark street scene where a clean-cut young man (the IDBI Federal representative) walking alone is dragged into an alley by a mean-looking thief with a knife who demands he hands over his briefcase. The next scene shows the thief emerging from the alley with a sheepish look on his face as he asks the IDBI Federal representative if he should pay the premium by cash or by cheque. The voice-over explains that IDBI's Wealthassurance plans are bought by everyone who hears about it. Both TVCs are rather well made. There is no obvious hard-sell. The situation is built up in a manner where little needs to be said, and yet, a compelling narrative is managed. A good script, good casting, tight direction and editing, and you have a couple of gems.

(The writer is a communications consultant.)

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