addendum

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.

Chinjabi

Capital Foods have this monster of an ad film. It’s all of Bollywood masquerading as the ad world.

You have Rohit Shetty directing it, Ranveer Singh as Ranveer Ching and a gorgeous Tamannaah Bhatia as the damsel not quite in distress.

If you like a Rohit Shetty film (which Indian doesn’t) you’ll love this Ching, sorry, thing.

The fight and action scenes are the asli stuff that Rohit is famous for. The tumkaas are worthy of any Bollywood lass. The dialogues are really funny. And Ranveer, well, he’s Ranveer. Whacky, unconventional, very natural and completely likeable as far as I go. Adorable to female audiences. What I saw was a five-minute-plus extravaganza. Obviously made with a tonne of rupees. Edits are expected on the TV screens very shortly.

This is an unabashed pitch for desi Chinese food. What we would call “Chinjabi” rather condescendingly. Here, they take this and make it as in-your-face as, well, Punjabis. And I love the positioning. There’s nothing apologetic or defensive about it. It’s brash, loud and thoroughly enjoyable. Forget about the script and the storyline. All you will remember is the scale, the characterisation and Ranveer Ching.

Rohit Shetty has a winner on his hands and he doesn’t have to wait nervously for the first weekend to show results. This one will be shown for some time. And there will be more.

Bollywood actors took the food away from the mouths of professional models. Now, directors of ad films, beware! Rohit Shetty and his ilk have arrived. Mind it!

Start your day

Remember the last Nescafe ad with the stuttering stand-up comic? I’d rather forget it. Just my personal view. But forget the past. It’s a great new day today. And there’s this great new TVC for Nescafe from McCann Delhi. It’s all about RJ Rishi, the young RJ with a coffee in one hand, and no one to call in to his early morning show.

But he perseveres and how he gets people to call is the heart of the story. When you take a simple story line this and turn it into a memorable film, you know you’re onto something very good.

Good direction, tight editing, a nice script, and good casting. It’s scheduled to hit a TV screen near you before you read this, so happy viewing.

No jhatkas

Potholes are endemic to most cities and towns of India. I can speak for Mumbai. Every monsoon we have the same sorry story. A municipal corporation which is richer than many States in India can never ensure a smooth ride for its citizens. Potholes assume lunar crater-like dimensions and if you are riding a two-wheeler, you had better take care!

Ogilvy has come up with a TVC for Bajaj Platina ComforTec, an entry-level two-wheeler that highlights the comfort level that is available on that bike. Quite a bold promise for an entry-level mobike.

You really don’t associate the promise of a smooth ride with such a product, but with the monsoon on, and the potholes in full evidence, the timing for an ad like this is just perfect.

So strategically, the thinking is spot on. Now, the creative. I thought the idea of showing two Tanjore dolls called Paro and Gulabo riding pillion on two mobikes, one a Platina ComforTec and the other, the competition, was great. The sensitive moving parts of a Tanjore doll are a great way to depict reactions to a bumpy ride.

Typically North Indian names on these South Indian dolls work very well for me. And there you have it. A very creative and effective communication for the Bajaj bike. Ogilvy, I like it!

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

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