This fortnight a print ad overshadowed all the TVCs, becoming the talk of the town. As IPL draws to a close, cricket continued to be a big theme.

Clever bites

Interiors Platform Homelane put out an eyecatching set of print ads with striking visuals and creative copy. The national ad shows a man’s head as slices of cake being eaten away with the headline screaming “Expert ways to eat a new homeowner’s head” . Each bite is captioned wittily — for instance, “Third Bite — Time is money, take more of both.” The tagline at bottom says Save your head, visit Homelane. The ad effectively and punchily conveys the message of the hassles involved in hiring contractors, with the neat suggestion to opt for Homelane. Agency Talented which did the ad follows it up with the same idea executed regionally with the correct colloquial nuance. For instance, the Chennai ad shows a harassed lady with many hats on her head (placed in a cake shape) with the line “How to Thoppi potu-fy (fool) a new homeowner”. Good to see such creativity in print.

Stepping into a new crease

Mountain Dew’s latest ad continues its “Darr ke aage jeet hai (winning over fear)” messaging. But there are no scary stunts here. This ad honours the bravery and perseverance of debutant talent on the cricket field. The campaign shows a new cricketer gearing up to step onto the field. As he buckles up, doubt begins to creep in, but he fights through them, grabs his bat and walks out with his head held high, overcoming his fear with a resolute look on his face. This transformation from apprehension to courage is celebrated by the film.

Connecting roads

JK Tyre’s new ad campaign is a visual and sonic feast taking you on a journey through Indian roads on many terrains. Anchored in an anthemic song sung by Mohit Chauhan with lyrics penned by Amit Gujral, CMO, JK Tyre, the ad pushes through the message that roads are a force of connection across India even as it showcases the strength and diversity of the tyres. “Our insight about JK tyres enabling human connections was strong. So staying true to the brand’s ‘Desh ka tyre’ positioning, we decided to make a grand film which evokes a sense of pride in every Indian,” says Amit Nandwani, National Creative Director, Cheil India.

Filling the learning gaps

P&G’s new campaign for its CSR initiative P&G Shiksha #StandUpForLearningGap featuring the standup comedian Rahul Dua, spotlights the issue of learning gaps in children. Conceptualised by Leo Burnett, the film shows two memes popping up at Dua’s standup comedy show as someone asks a simple math question to children and they answer incorrectly. As the audience bursts out laughing, Dua poses a question to them: “Would you laugh if it were your child in the video?” Through humour, the campaign conveys the message tellingly.