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.

With the festive season on, we will have to give those abridged reviews once again. We’re short of space but long on commitment.

Sparkling ad, don’t forget the guys

Diwali came early for me. I saw this Tanishq TVC and it brought the festive sentiment behind it sharply into focus. Just situations of men gifting gold jewellery to their wives. But the way the film was made brought a very wide smile to my face. The reactions, from awe to delight to sheer happy disbelief. The peppy song in the background. The colours of the sets, the clothes everyone wore, the great casting. Here is a very simple idea that is executed to perfection. The mood of Diwali, its look and feel and joy of giving has been shown almost to perfection.

Moral of the story: Gift someone you love some gold this Diwali. If this ad is right, it will be worth every paisa you spend. So did I miss anything in the ad? Sure. What about a lovely lady gifting something golden to the man in her life? You really think there isn’t a market for that at all? A couple of frames, guys, and you would have really struck gold!

White’s right

Raymond have this rather powerful new TVC for a range of white shirts. When you think about it, there is nothing more formal that a white men’s shirt. Apart from the fact that it can be paired with just about any colour, it has an understated, timeless elegance that defies explanation. So Raymond tries to tell you why white is so special. And the script-writer tries to imbue it with everything from hope to power to everything in between.

The film has a rather surreal look about it which is interesting. If they hadn’t gone on for so long and stopped before the part where they make it a point to say it is not made from white flags (as we thought it was) and hadn’t tried so hard to sell something that really doesn’t need selling to a particular audience, I would have liked it more. And why does that model remind me of the new, not improved Zodiac Man? Anyway today’s boardrooms are owned by the likes of Marc Zuckerberg and his ilk. Forget about white shirts. They don’t even wear formal shirts. I have a t-shirt that says “Success means never having to wear a suit”, therefore never having to wear a formal shirt, white or otherwise. But I digress. I loved their tag line “100 styles, one colour”. My t-shirt be damned! I’m visiting a Raymond showroom to see this new range of white shirts.

Give joyously

There’s Daan Utsav, the Joy of Giving week which, unfortunately, is behind us. But then who needs a “week” to give joyously? It could be something we do every time we can, so in this festive season let’s spread some joy. Let’s give of ourselves. And Dentsu One has this video for digital and cinemas only (unfortunately) where it takes a different route to express the joy of giving. It’s all about a young lady who cooks in many houses, and finally, because she’s been given a day off, she’s thrilled because she can not only cook for her own children but actually spend time with them as well. Nice message. Give your domestic help a day off, guys! They certainly deserve it.

Shaken, not stirred

This column does not review communication about liquor and tobacco. It does not dignify surrogate advertising with comments.

Yet, Pierce Brosnan doing a desi adaptation of James Bond for a pan masala advertisement deserves a mention. Yes, it means pan masala is huge business. It is positioning itself as something that signifies success, which is poppycock, and I guess an unemployed James Bond will do anything for a fast buck. Even endorsing something he probably has no idea about. I am shaken, not stirred.

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