Addendum - Advertisement review and comments

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 to

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Spot on

Full marks to Raymond for staying the course with ‘the complete man'. Maybe not all its TVCs have been winners but their dedication to one single message that sums up the qualities of the Raymond brand is admirable. Now, after the headmaster series (which I liked) and a couple of forgettable films in between, comes the “foreign posting” which deserves positive mention. The film shows a well-dressed young man coming home and tantalisingly brandishing a letter to his mother. When she finally gets her hands on the letter she reads what is an appointment letter for her son to work in Singapore. The delight in her eyes is shadowed by a hint of sadness as one can almost read her mind beginning to gauge the pain of separation she would soon feel. At that time the son whips out a passport and ticket and the expression on the mother's face when she realises that she would be accompanying her son to Singapore really makes the entire film. It could be difficult to portray emotion in an advertisement for a company that manufactures suit material. When it is attempted, and executed sensitively, with good acting and a script that understands the mind of an Indian mother, the result is very pleasing. The Complete Man really comes across as someone who not just looks good, but also does good. R.K.Swamy has certainly got it spot on this time.

A smart one

We are always looking for something new. The novelty value of an innovation is huge. And when someone plans a campaign around innovative products, it tends to attract more than probably its fair share of attention, and rightly so. Prestige has launched a three-TVC series on what it feels are innovative products. Not being an expert in this department, I couldn't vouch for the innovativeness of a mixer-grinder which takes care of kneading dough and dicing onions (I would have thought they all do these things nowadays), but an induction base pressure cooker did sound a little impressive to me. Anyway the TVCs centre on this young housewife who thinks smart, and so she buys smart, and so, you guessed it right, she buys the Prestige range of cookers, mixers and gas ranges. Competent is what I would say about the series.

What a to-do!

Someone turns the gas regulator to “High” and then tells us that DO is more than just two letters. It is a million imperatives. And that's why Lenovo builds these mean ‘Do machines' that are change agents that make things happen. And for your information, the ‘DO' inside is an Intel i5 chip. Well I ‘do' understand what a great computer is and now, I ‘do' realise that ‘do' is more, so much more than just two letters. It's just that I ‘do' really find it difficult to get all fired up (please turn the gas regulator down) with these two letters. And I really ‘do' not get all excited that the ‘do' inside is a chip. But I ‘do' appreciate the creativity that has gone into taking these two letters and turning them into a million, or was it a billion, imperatives. No, I really ‘do'. And please forgive me if I keep thinking of “Do the Dew”. I know it is awful to compare this awesome “do machine” to a carbonated beverage, even one with some real fizz.

Hits the bull's-eye

What happens when a child speaking at a school function to a hall full of parents says “my mother has another man in her life?” Well, as visions of shame and scandal flood your mind, your attention is absolutely riveted to what juicy nugget is about to spill out now. If there's anything we love more than gossip, it's scandal, and that's what Liliput kidswear has banked upon in its TVC. Of course, the script meanders on to say the other man is the child, but I must say this is definitely off the beaten track. And right up our alley.

Vox Pop: Angaraian from Delhi is a person of few words. But he is clear when he writes in about the Docomo series which we reviewed last time. “There is nothing 'original' so to say in the ad featuring a young actor. If you had seen the Seinfeld series, you would have known from where the idea has come from”. Now we will have to see Seinfeld . And if it is anything like the Docomo series, or the other way around, we are sure we will enjoy it. Thank you, Angaraian!

Ramesh Narayan

(The writer is a communications consultant.)

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